war policy
Sickness is the Health of the State? Civil Liberties and Conflict during a Pandemic
by John Whitehead The COVID-19 pandemic has consumed the world’s attention during these early months of 2020. The virus’ health threat, especially to older people and other vulnerable groups, is correctly the primary concern right now, with the pandemic’s economic consequences perhaps being the second greatest concern. Both these aspects of the pandemic fully deserve…
“Remember Pearl Harbor—Keep ‘Em Dying”: War and Racism in the Pacific
by John Whitehead American planes dropped firebombs on Tokyo 75 years ago, on the night of March 9-10, 1945, killing an estimated 80,000-100,000 people. The firebombing began a six-month-long American bombing campaign against 66 Japanese cities that culminated in the two atomic bombings and killed roughly 400,000 people in total. This killing campaign was the…
In Defense of “Yes, But” Rhetoric: The Case of the Suleimani Assassination
by John Whitehead The U.S. government’s assassination of Iranian General Qasem Suleimani began the year 2020 with violence, and the possibility of more violence. The assassination, in retaliation for Suleimani’s alleged involvement in attacks on U.S. personnel in Iraq (and supposedly to prevent further attacks), threatened to escalate into open war between the United States…
Fifty Years of Protesting for Peace
by Lisa Stiller Fifty years ago I was running from tear gas on the university campus in Madison, Wisconsin. Massive protests had erupted opposing the Vietnam War. Classes were often canceled as students clashed with police and the National Guard during the two years I attended school there. I was right out front, making protest…
Abortion and War: Breaking through the Euphemism Barrier
by Sarah Field Have you ever noticed the similarities between pro-abortion and pro-war arguments? It seems that whenever we want to justify killing people, we just automatically adopt similar conversational rules in order to maintain a veneer of respectability. Of course, it’s important to be clear that one is not supporting killing in general. For…
On Praying for the Military
The following is a letter CLN board member Julia Smucker addressed to her church at the request of one of her pastors after raising these concerns in person. As a nonsectarian organization, we welcome perspectives from various faiths, as well as secular ones, that affirm consistent-life principles. Since attending my current church, I…
Peace & Life Referendums
by Rachel MacNair For updated information starting January 6, 2020, see this constantly-updated website: Peace and Life Referendums The original post was published September 3, 2019, and revisions were added until January 6, when the website took over the function A reminder: The Consistent Life Network doesn’t necessarily endorse everything said in its blog,…
Explaining Belligerency
by Rachel MacNair Why did U.S. slaveholders insist on expanding slavery into new territories, despite existing political wisdom that keeping the practice out of places where it might encounter stronger opposition would be more practical? Why are there advocates for war, or for abortion and euthanasia, who can’t stand the idea of conscientious objection, even…
My Personal Journey on Veganism, War, and Abortion
by Frank Lane I’ve been an ethical vegan for about 28 years and a vegetarian for 16 years before that. My passionate conviction came from a profound sense of the sacredness and wonder of my existence, the natural world, especially the unborn, animals, and trees. I was a registered conscientious objector to war and…
Finding Common Ground on and Learning from World War II
by John Whitehead Writing on this blog, Consistent Life Vice President Rachel MacNair recently examined several moral issues related to the Second World War and how we interpret and remember that war today (see The Darkest Hour—“Glorifying” War?). An observation in that piece that struck me was that when a nonviolence advocate discusses war with…