Green Party Platform:
Militarism and Involuntary Servitude
Militarism is harmful because it consumes both natural and human resources which could be better employed in useful endeavors. People have a basic right to decide how they will serve their society and contribute to it. This choice should be based on the individual's religious, moral and ethical beliefs.
Today, young men are still required by law to register with the Selective Service System. Even though actual conscription has not been used since the Vietnam War, the military's propaganda ("Be All That You Can Be"), and its invasive recruitment tactics in schools, have resulted in a so-called all volunteer force that is, in effect, a "poverty draft." Young men and women are enticed into the armed forces as an escape from poverty and may then find themselves obligated to fight wars that they don't believe in, or even find morally objectionable.
Our most recent military venture, the Gulf War, made it painfully clear that the U.S. Government and large segments of the population support military rather than diplomatic solutions to conflicts. Once the political-military machine has developed a popular war mentality, dissenters are dealt with harshly. As a result of the Gulf War, 2,500 military personnel faced criminal charges for refusing to participate in the war for reasons of conscience. In many cases, the military has acted illegally by failing to properly consider claims concerning conscientious objector (CO) status.
The Green Party urges measures to counter the injustice inherent in militarism:
- Respect the right of all citizens in and out of the military to follow their principles in claiming conscientious objection--this includes the right to selective CO. Congress should monitor the military's procedures in processing CO claims.
- Grant amnesty to personnel whose rights were violated by the military's failing to follow proper procedures in processing CO claims.
- Give equal time to opposing viewpoints in any school where military recruiters have access to students. This will allow students to make informed choices.
- Withhold access by military recruiters to the names of graduating seniors unless they, or their parents in the case of minors, sign a release authorizing that information.
- Hold military recruitment materials to the same "truth in advertising" standards that are required of businesses.