Did Everybody in the Greatest Generation Fight?
My Uncle Harvey is one of 12,000 who joined the Civilian Public Service (CPS) during World War II to do"work of national importance," rather than agreeing to kill other young men like himself. He didn't believe, as the government advertised then, that he was"the good guy" and that the Germans and Japanese were the"bad guys," worthy only of being slaughtered. He was a" conscientious objector" (CO). Twenty-five thousand others were noncombatants assigned to military units, and six to seven thousand were imprisoned for refusing conscription. None fit the pattern of uber-nationalism that was evident then and is in danger of becoming institutionalized now. Perhaps this was their greatest legacy, though they have many, for they too were part of"the greatest generation".
Harvey and his wife endured the rigors of a CPS camp before volunteering for service at the mental hospital in Norwich, Connecticut, where they remained for four long years. They became part of the heroic group of CO's who humanized the barbaric mental hospital system through their principles, whistle-blowing, educational efforts, and professional and caring behavior. Other CO's smoke-jumped into forests to stop fires, began a soil conservation program to save farmlands from erosion and misuse, and offered their bodies, sometimes their lives, to"guinea pig" medical experimentation now considered unethical. Despite courageously providing national service that few would willingly do, for virtually no pay, they endured jeers of"yellow-belly" from children as well as adults, questioning of their patriotism, and constant scorn at home and in their assigned communities. It was considered a difficult war in which to live one's principles, as perhaps all are.
I visited my uncle last August, and recently saw the film"The Good War and Those Who Refused to Fight It" (PBS). This film and my own research have revealed to me the truth of the old saying,"The more things change, the more they stay the same." Everything didn't change on September 11th; much is only being recycled.
In World War II the government tried to insulate the public from criticisms of the war, without making martyrs of the interned CO's. CO's were vilified, misunderstood and unappreciated for the wide-ranging services they performed. Newspapers fraudulently reported that they were"sitting around" doing as little as possible. The energy, money and propaganda used to stifle anti-war sentiments, including knowledge about conscientious objectors, foreshadowed the methods of today. The Selective Service was expert at using"wartime hysteria" and the"hostility of 'super-patriot' groups" to control the CPS and keep it out of the public eye, according to historian Richard C. Anderson. The National Archives and Records Administration stated,"Words, posters, and films waged a constant battle for the hearts and minds of the American citizenry just as surely as military weapons engaged the enemy." World War II, however, had its share of protest marches, just like today; one million American students"struck" for peace with signs saying"War is mass murder" and"We want our fathers here, not over there".
Today, the corporate-controlled media inundate us with patriotic platitudes, failing to report on the many domestic and international anti-war protests, or to relate information about peaceful alternatives or the gruesome realities of war outside New York City. George Bush threateningly says"you're either with us or against us"--as if anything in life after kindergarten were that black and white--and John Ashcroft proclaims that anyone who speaks against"the war" is a traitor. Neither carries the moral weight to make such onerous statements. University professors and other authorities are harassed and intimidated by the likes of Lynne Cheney for doing their jobs--which is to encourage enlightened thinking and free speech, two principles upon which our nation was founded. Just as conscientious objectors and Japanese-American citizens were herded into camps back then and kept out of the public eye, rights to peaceful dissent and to the exercies of deeply held values are victimized today.
The threat grew greater as HR 3598, the Universal Military Training and Service Act of 2001, was introduced into Congress on December 20th, to reinstate the draft in the U.S. and U.S. territories for 9 million American males aged 18-20. If passed, conscientious objectors would be inducted and trained as non-combatants in a"war" with no clear-cut enemy, no objective goals, and no end in sight.
John F. Kennedy said,"Wars will exist until that distant day when the conscientious objector enjoys the same reputation and prestige that the warrior does today." The legacy of the conscientious objectors of World War II is what should guide our era, rather than submission to government manipulation which suffocates us today.
This article first appeared in the Register-Guard in Eugene, Oregon.