Breaking Cadence: Insights From a Modern-Day Conscientious Objector

Congress is poised to expand draft registration to young women. Some argue it's a sign of equal rights, of progressive feminist values. But during a panel at the 2021 Peace and Justice Studies Association Conference, three remarkable speakers debunk that theory and explain why the draft should be abolished once and for all.  The panel was called “Intersectionality & the U.S. Military Draft" and features Rivera Sun, Edward Hasbrouck, Sebastian Muñoz-McDonald (and Rosa del Duca. )Support the show

The author of Guys Like Me: Five Wars, Five Veterans for Peace has a new book out, focused on women and members of the LGBTQ2S community. It's called Unconventional Combat: Intersectional Action in the Veterans’ Peace Movement. What is "intersectional action" and why is it important? How does "situated knowledge" play a vital role in the next generation of activism? Listen in to find out. Find out more about the book here:https://www.unconventionalcombat.com/Find out more about Michael Messner here:http://www.michaelmessner.org/If you would like a copy of Breaking Cadence: One Woman's War Against the War, at cost ($5), email me at breakingcadence@gmail.comSupport the show

A conversation between a conscientious objector from the Vietnam War and a CO from the Iraq War. Longtime political activist and writer Joel Eis reflects on war resistance, counter-recruitment, and famous protests he was involved in during the 60s and 70s, including the strike at San Francisco State. Also, the debut of a special online Truth in Recruitment program. Coming soon at https://www.beforeenlisting.org/Support the show

Three veterans who joined less than a year before 9/11 share their stories of enlistment, service and life after wearing the uniform. Victor Inzunza and Eddie Falcon join host Rosa del Duca in a panel discussion.Victor Inzunza grew up in Stockton, California. In 2001, he enlisted in the Marine Corps and served with 1st battalion 2nd Marines. He did two tours in Iraq, one in 2003 and one in 2004. After his enlistment, he graduated from University of the Pacific with a B.A. in English and received an MFA in Poetry from University of San Francisco. USF chose Victor as its 1st Lawrence Ferlinghetti Fellowship recipient in poetry. His work has appeared in the literary arts magazine Calliope, After Action Review, an anthology by Warrior Writers, and Tin House. He works as a Policy Analyst for the veteran’s rights organization, Swords to Plowshares. Victor lives in San Francisco.Eddie Falcón served for 4 years in the USAF as an active duty enlisted aircrew member. He was stationed in Little Rock Air Force Base. He completed 4 short overseas tours, 2 in Iraq and 2 in Afghanistan, as well as performed medical evacuations in Hurricane Katrina. Eddie is a California native and moved back to his home state after separation from the military in 2005. He resides in Bay Area where he received a Masters degree in Spanish and has worked in high school education since 2012.      He has enjoyed writing since a teenager. He started writing poetry and to this day writes lyrics for his personal Hip Hop music. He is currently a board member of Warrior Writers, facilitates writing workshops for veterans and civilians, and organizes events for these writers to share their work in public.     Eddie is also a member of the Bay Area Aztec Dance community, plays the piano, is a fan of the NBA, is a cyclist, enjoys billiards, produces music, reads comic books, and practices sober living.Support the show

Ethics expert and Santa Clara University professor David DeCosse explains Just War thinking and how it went very wrong in the lead up to the Iraq War. We explore America's martial culture, how PTSD can also be viewed as an ethics issue, and much more. DeCosse is the Director of Campus Ethics Programs at the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics, a center designed to guide students, business leaders, government leaders, scientists, and others, through ethical decision making in the real world. How do we apply the lessons of Aristotle, Kant, Mills... in our everyday lives?Support the show

After living what he saw as a charmed childhood, Michael Mihalakis was bound and determined to find some adversity, and to overcome it. He joined the Army National Guard in 2002, at 17 years old. He was still 17 when he was deployed to Iraq. And then, on December 26th, 2003, the unthinkable. His sister, Kristine Mihalakis shares his story, as well as her family’s journey into the depths of grief, and the struggle to climb back out.Support the show

Hear songs like "Ft. Lee, VA," "Firestarter," and "Orion" explained. "Ft. Lee" was inspired by the strange experience of celebrating the 4th of July during boot camp. "Orion" is a tribute to all those suffering from PTSD, the war after the war. Rosa reflects on the lyrics, and the experience of co-creating these songs with guitarist Will Decher. Find all Rosa and Will's music here.Support the show

That junior and senior year of high school, the pressure is on to make some big decisions that will affect the rest of our lives. And yet we often make those decisions based on whims, on chance, or incomplete pictures. In our late teens, we are still coming to some major epiphanies. The parts of our brains that calculate risk and reward won’t be fully developed for several more years. We test limits. We feel lost, overwhelmed, and confused and don’t admit it. A discussion on all this, and more, and how it relates to the recruitment age.Support the show

Longtime activist Siri Margerin talks about manning the phones at the G.I. Rights Hotline, and much more. If you think folks only call when they are looking for a discharge, you'd be wrong. Sometimes even officers call, seeking answers they can't seem to get anywhere else. Siri is also part of an innovative program called Drop the MIC, or Drop the Military Industrial Complex. Find out more here.Support the show

Vietnam veteran turned peace activist Gregory Ross doesn't like being thanked for his service. He doesn't want to be wished happy Veterans Day. He shares what he would love to hear intead, and more. In a wide-ranging interview, Ross opens up on his top secret Navy job, what kept him from being a conscientious objector during Vietnam, and what he thinks of the War on Terror, and those fighting it through America's new draft, the "economic draft."Support the show

Steven Collier, a San Francisco lawyer, represented the first public conscientious objector in the Iraq War. He also went up against the federal government and won two habeas corpus proceedings for conscientious objectors. What is habeas corpus? In short, an old writ that protects soldiers and others from being "unlawfully detained." Because when the military denies CO cases, sometimes they do so out of spite or assumption. Support the show

Fanny Garcia, photographer, artist and veteran, tells us her story of becoming a conscientious objector during the Iraq War. She joined out of a desire to escape a small, confining life. Later, she realized she was a conscientious objector. And she took a big risk. She based her CO application on being vegan. Can vegan values help prove you have strong morals? Find out. After you listen, find out more about Fanny and her artwork at https://www.fannygarcia.com/Support the show

In the fall of 2000, I was a low-income, high school senior, itching to get out of my small town. Strong-willed, independent and a know-it-all, I impulsively signed a six-year contract with the National Guard to pay for college. My escape route was paved.At first, I was excited and proud to wear the uniform. But as the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq unfolded, I became anxious, depressed, and furious with myself for signing that contract. I became increasingly conflicted about my role in war. Eventually, I found out there was a name for what I'd become. I was a conscientious objector. In this inaugural episode of Breaking Cadence: Insights from a Modern-Day Conscientious Objector, we time travel. We go back to the fall of 2000 and I ask my mom and my two sisters what they thought when I announced I was joining the Montana Army National Guard. Later, I ask them what they thought when I admitted I was seeking a discharge on the grounds I was a conscientious objector. Many of us have moments like this. Big decisions that shape our lives in unexpected ways. Regrets that haunt us, that inform what kind of adults we turn out to be, that perhaps never sit well because they're just too fraught. Woven between these interviews are themes of youth, naïveté, choice, morality, and judgement.Support the show