World Can't Wait rally speech

On October 5, 2006, I was invited by the Honolulu Chapter of IVAW to speak at the World Can't Wait rally in Oahu's Thomas Square.

Introduction

Our next speaker is Lucky Laituri — a six-year active-duty Army vet. I served with him; he's got some great things to say.

The Talk

I only prepared something because when I start talking, I don't know what I'm saying — I'll just go off and forget what I was talking about. So excuse the formality.

I have to open with a disclaimer, since I'm still in the Army: I should inform you all that I'm still an active-duty soldier. Nothing I share with you today should be taken as the views of the 25th Infantry Division, the U.S. Army, or any other branch of the Armed Forces. The views I hope to share with you today are my own, and don't reflect the official stance of any organization or entity other than myself.

I'm speaking today because I cannot remain quiet about what my conscience has called me to. It should be remembered with much gratitude that we live in a country that allows us not only to hold these beliefs, but to share them with each other in an open, peaceful manner. As much as we may disagree with the policies in place today, I'm thankful that we can come together like this without being harassed the way people in other countries are.

Real briefly — I put in my application to become a conscientious objector back on June 5th. I sought status as a non-combatant, because I was trying to go back to war without a weapon. I felt that would be an extremely powerful witness. I'm a Christian, and I think that would be a great way to show other people who are still in the military how Christians can be compassionate and sympathetic toward people who may not practice or believe what they believe. My God is so enormous, so large and loving, that he doesn't just bless America — he blesses the whole world.

When I realized that, I couldn't ask for a discharge, because I felt I could still have a place in the military, at least until my contract was up. Unfortunately, my unit didn't like that story — they told me I was just trying to get out of a deployment. But I still hope to go back, at least to the Middle East. I'll be going to Israel on November 19th with Christian Peacemaker Teams, if things go well. I'll be able to see what it's like to be in the Middle East, constantly exposed to that strife and conflict that's been there for centuries.

The Confession

But here's what I have written. That being said, I have a confession: I'm a coward. It's true. I came upon this realization last June, when I was in Washington, D.C., lobbying my senators to incorporate plans into their political agendas for the abolition of poverty and international violence. I was sitting in the National City Christian Church when I was struck by my cowardliness. You see, two weeks prior I'd submitted my request for status as a non-combatant conscientious objector — it had been received without much contempt or scorn. [Laughs] That would come later.

Anyway, in the church, as I had this epiphany, I scribbled down the letters: C-O-W-A-R-D. In the Army we have a lot of acronyms, which is probably why I instinctively wrote it vertically. Beside each letter, I started a new word:

• C — Conscientious
• O — Objector
• W — Willfully
• A — Against
• R — Rendering
• D — Death

[Applause]

Joshua Dawson: You say you're a coward? But what did I hear before — "the meek shall inherit the earth." Amen.

I'm not a pacifist, because I don't think passivity is my calling — I don't think just sitting and enjoying peace is enough for me. I call myself a ["crucifist" — heard as "crucifix," but this reads as a likely coined word, possibly a blend of "crucifix" and "pacifist"; confirm your actual wording]. I believe peace takes a sacrifice, that peace takes some kind of action or commitment on the part of the people who want it. In my application, I sought to return to Iraq without a weapon so I could do exactly what I'm doing right now: providing a strong witness for peace, based on my deep love for Jesus Christ, who died so that others may live.

Finding Faith, and Reconnecting with Joshua

I only found Jesus a few months ago. He was on the bus with my infantry company when we were on the way to HNL [Honolulu International Airport] to fly to California for a training event, on April 20th. He wrecked my life in the most amazing, unimaginable way. Every waking moment since that day has been professionally, spiritually, emotionally, and physically demanding — but I wouldn't trade it for anything. The Bible has taught me awesome things about peace that have impacted me to the core of my being. I've also learned much about war, and everything it brings.

Joshua and I deployed January 2004 to February 2005 to Iraq. I reconnected with him by chance when he answered the GI Rights Hotline, back in late May, when I called them up seeking more information on CO status. We both experienced firsthand what war does to innocent families and their very livelihoods.

On War and Prayer

War morally destroys the aggressor as it physically destroys the victims. I believe war is never justifiable from a religious standpoint — morally and ethically it fails as well; in no historical instance has it produced the ends it ultimately sought to achieve. I worry that our current foreign policy is counterproductive to global peacemaking. I fear our weakness is in not admitting our own national responsibility for the events that began unfolding when zealous, misled, spiritually and ethnically offended extremists began their campaign against the West with the USS Cole and embassy bombings in Africa.

From a historical perspective — did we ever ask ourselves what we, as an international presence, effectively did to inspire such hatred and fanaticism? What did we as a nation do to correct those misconceptions, before we decided to go to all-out war on a single, suspiciously ambiguous word? We cannot change the past, but we can begin to take action to change our current course.

Allow me to reveal part of my plan to affect national change — to alter world history: humble, fervent prayer, coupled with the willingness to act on my convictions. I firmly believe prayer destroys enemies and demolishes hatred. It reminds us of our shared humanity and dependence on both the Creator and each other. It's a gentle reminder of the power of love to drive out fear, which is at the root of all war. When I came to fully trust in Jesus, I was able to see terrorists as the confused, deceived, hurting human beings that they were.

Closing — Thomas Merton

I want to close with a quote from a monk who lived during the Cold War and the nuclear arms race, and who knew much about what inspires war — his name is Thomas Merton. I had to edit it slightly to apply to the current situation. It's kind of a long quote, but I really like it. He said:

If we can trust and love God, who is infinite, who is infinitely wise, and who rules the lives of men — permitting them to use their freedom even to the point of almost incredible abuse — we can love men who are evil. We can learn to love them even in their sin, as God loved them. And if we love the men we cannot trust — if we can, to some extent, share the burden of their sin by identifying ourselves with them — then perhaps there is some hope of a kind of peace on earth, based not on the wisdom and manipulations of men, but on the inscrutable mercy of God. For only love — which means humility — can exercise the fear which is at the root of all war.

When I pray for peace, I pray not only for the terrorists, but above all for my own nation, and myself. When I pray for peace, I pray to be protected not only from the terrorists, but also from the folly and blindness of my own country. When I pray for peace, I pray not only that the enemies of my country may cease to want war, but above all that my own country will cease to do things that make war inevitable.

In other words, when I pray for peace, I'm not just praying that the terrorists will give up without a struggle and let us have our own way — I'm praying that both we and the terrorists may somehow be restored to sanity, and learn how to work out our problems as best we can together, instead of preparing for global suicide.

To some men, peace means the liberty to exploit other people without fear of retaliation or interference. To others, peace means the freedom to rob their brothers without interruption. To still others, it means the leisure to devour the goods of the earth without being compelled to interrupt their pleasure to feed those whom their greed is starving. And to practically everybody, peace simply means the absence of any physical violence that might cast a shadow over lives devoted to the satisfaction of their animal appetites for comfort. Many men like these have asked God for what they thought was peace, and wondered why their prayer was not answered.

I applaud everyone here who had the courage to get off their couches and contribute, in their own individual way, to the pursuit of peace. I hope I've inspired some of you to introspection and contemplation. If you'd like to learn with me what it means to wage peace, I'll make myself available to anyone who feels compelled to explore biblical and practical peace a little further. For anyone who'd like to pray with me for peace, please find me after the conclusion of the event, or I can share my contact information. For anyone who'd like to hear more about my story — thanks.

[Applause]

Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you to Iraq Veterans Against the War again.