Pablo Paredes and other 'conscientious objectors'

Citizen Smash lambastes Paredes, who is claiming conscientious objector status to get out of the navy. According to this article, Paredes refused to ship out for the Persian Gulf last December when he was struck by an epiphany:

First of all, I’m opposed to war in general. Secondly, this illegal war in Iraq was a wakeup call.

Before the war, I was in Japan, so far removed from the idea of war. Once it began, and I found out that my ship would be transporting Marines to their possible death, I decided I had to take a stand and refuse to board.

Paredes goes on to say that he was "hounded" by military recruiters after finding that he couldn't afford to attend community college following a tuition hike.

Call me a cynic but I must say I find it striking that Paredes had this epiphany shortly before being deployed to fight a war. ( Smash, BTW, says his ship was first going to southeast Asia to provide tsunami relief).

Paredes seems to be buying into the argument that the military is exploiting low-income and minority volunteers by offering them benefits such as college tuition, in exchange for service. This presupposes the notion that these people are too stupid to make their own choices.

I had a similar discussion a few months ago with a friend who opposes the war. He said something about the poor dupes in the military. I said something about how they're all volunteers. He invoked the chickenhawk argument. I countered that the military was more than a hugely expensive government tuition program and besides, I said, I don't think the armed services are in dire need for librarians over the age of 40.

But I digress.

NPR also ran a story on another serviceman, Army Sgt. Kevin Benderman of the 3rd Infantry Division, who filed for conscientious objector status. Benderman is a 10-year veteran, who until he was deployed to Iraq had never faced combat. He is now convinced that war is the greatest evil there is. He cited the mass graves in Iraq. It's my understanding that we went there to oust the guy who created those graves. Besides there are worse things than war. Isn't it "better to perish than live as slaves?"

I don't mean to make light of this. I'm just grateful that there are thousands of men and women in the armed services who don't feel the way Paredes and Benderman do.

Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.