My Dad did a student elective in New York in 1977 as part of his medical degree. Met a few friends he’s been lifelong pals with and he talks about then often.
This guy’s name is Al and they are still pen pals to this day. I think he was a philosophy major so my Dad was impressed he could fake a condition so well (aside from just being impressed by the ballsiness of lying to the authorities to avoid fighting in an unjust war).
AFaithfulNihilist@lemmy.world 2 hours ago
Not wanting to bomb brown people in the name of fascism is quite a far cry from being a coward.
Vietnam should not have been invaded. Not wanting to participate in that shit show is just a reasonable moral decision.
steeznson@lemmy.world 1 hour ago
I think if you asked the dude he’d admit he was doing it out of self-preservation as opposed to a moral stance.
He’s got a fascinating life story: His father was upper class in Russia in the early 20th C. and got drafted into the red army at the start of WW2 as an officer, but got captured by nazis and defected. When Berlin fell his father deserted, married the first German girl he saw and they emmigrated to the USA. My Dad’s friend was literally born on the boat over.
His father was highly educated but due to being in the two least popular armies in US history he had yearly visits from the intelligence services. Wasn’t allowed to get a good job and spent his entire life shifting chemical drums while the family grew up in poverty in New Jersey.
AFaithfulNihilist@lemmy.world 59 minutes ago
Self-preservation is a morally acceptable reason to not do something unless a reasonable case can be made that you should do that thing.
It’s not cowardly to not throw your life away for no good reason. Unless he had a moral reason to go, he had a moral right to not go.
Conscription produces bad soldiers and it’s morally reprehensible to conscript soldiers to invade a country that does not pose a threat to you.
steeznson@lemmy.world 51 minutes ago
Yeah I broadly agree. Idk when I was younger (and doing a lot more psychedelics) I had this idea that all soldiers were murders and being a conscientious objector was a moral imperative.
I’ve softened that view the older I’ve gotten but certain wars, like you point out, such as Vietnam or Iraq where the country isn’t posing a threat probably retain that same moral calculus.
It is different when your country is under threat like if you were Ukranian. However I’m not sure what I’d do if I were put in that situation. To be honest I might also try to chase self-preservation over anything else.