* In the 1920s, a group of Oxford University students in Britain took what came to be known as the Oxford Pledge never to bear arms. Those who signed the American version of the Oxford Pledge stated they would refuse to go to war even if their governments drafted them and sent them to war.

"I filed to be recognized as a conscientious objector in November 1988 while stationed in Germany as a US Army officer. My claim was still under appeal in June 1990 when I was released from active duty. I have since had the pleasure of meeting countless other COs -- as a military counselor for CCCO during the first Gulf War, as a historian researching the Vietnam-era GI Movement, and as an activist supporting the current wave of deserters seeking sanctuary in Canada from the war in Iraq.

One aspect of so-called “conscientious objection” strikes me as the most subtle and important: nowhere is the “personal is political” truism more profound. What could be more intimate and individual than a conscience that refuses to let one do what the world expects of them? What has greater potential to change the course of history than soldiers who refuse to fight?

In my case and for many others, becoming a Conscientious Objector was a lonely and traumatic change of course. However, that decision opens the door to true individual responsibility and power, unique political clarity, and a wonderful community of people who try to live by Gandhi’s dictum, “Be the change you seek in the world.”

Nothing gives me greater hope for the future than meeting others who have just announced, 'I will not kill.' "   
Jeff Schutts

"After a few months of training, I realized that no matter what the circumstance, I could not bring myself to kill another human being. Hoping that this was just a beginner’s revulsion that would subside after I was integrated into my regular unit, I suppressed my disinclination towards violence. During this time, I was able to experience first hand the camaraderie between soldiers that makes war movies bearable to watch. Together, we were taught how to objectify whoever our enemy may be. To do this, we had to find something within them, whether it be along racial, ethnic, national, or religious lines, which made them less than human and, thus, easy to kill. Being in an airborne unit, where statistically a few soldiers will be hurt on each jump, showed me that my buddies were my buddies only as long as they were functional.

The indoctrination and desensitizing did not end with my training. Rather, they intensified once enmeshed in an unit whose identity is based on a history of previous war time exploits and desire to accumulate more. No longer restraining myself because of a skewed sense of brotherhood and feeling ever more deeply a reverence for life, I submitted a conscientious objector application in August 2002.

It took being in the Army to truly see how dehumanizing killing is to both the killer and the killed. I hope that this campaign can show new horizons to people who feel that there is no other option in life for them but the military. I also hope it can show another picture to adolescents who, because they are products of the popular culture which pervades their existence, have a glamorous view of violence. May we shatter their illusions and show that there are other ways to see and be in the world."
Jeremy Hinzman

"The ‘I Will Not Kill’ campaign is a great campaign because it targets people who are most targeted by military recruiters. It is through the expansion of knowledge and the understanding of unity that will save our generation. It is now up to us to take what we know, use our resources, and do something. I grew up in a poor neighborhood and now a lot of my friends in Iraq risking their lives because they saw joining the military as their only way out. There are a lot of other ways to “get out” of an uncomfortable environment, one of these being education; educating is one of the key focuses in the campaign.”
Nina Churchward

"If you go personally to war, you cross the line yourself. You sacrifice ideals for survival and fury of killing. That alters you forever. That is why no on rushes to be a soldier. Think before you want to change so unalterably. The stakes are not merely one's life, but one's very humanity."
Deng Ming-Dao, Thoughts on War, C 2400 BCE


"Mankind must put an end to war, or war will put an end to mankind. War will exist until that distant day when the conscientious objector enjoys the same reputation and prestige that the warrior does today."
John F. Kennedy