A Place for the Just

Henry David Thoreau: "Under a government which imprisons any unjustly, the true place for a just man is also a prison."

"On May 18, Lieutenant Commander Matthew Diaz was sentenced to six months in a Navel brig and removal from the Navy for courageously upholding the constitution of the United States. Apparently this is a very serious crime in America today. Lt. Cmdr. Diaz is actually counting himself lucky, as the 41-year-old officer with 19-years of service to the U.S. Navy faced a possible 14 years in prison." - Courage to Resist web site: http://www.couragetoresist.org/x/content/view/311/1/

His crime?

"On orders from Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, the U.S. had refused to release the names of the prisoners that were being held at Guantánamo. The U.S. continued to stonewall all requests for this information even after a federal court ruled that the names must be turned over.

Diaz took action to uphold the law, knowing the risks involved. Concerned about this abuse of human rights, Diaz sent a Valentine’s Day card to the Center for Constitutional Rights in February 2005. The year earlier, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in support of C.C.R.’s right to represent these prisoners. Included with Diaz’s card, printed in very small type, was a list of about 550 names of prisoners held at Guantánamo." - from COURAGE TO RESIST.

Please consider a donation to Courage to Resist. One of the most effective strategies for ending the Iraq war and rebuilding the love of peace in Christian hearts everywhere is to give direct financial support to those who have the courage to refuse service in the U.S. military at this time. In the words of the web site: "COURAGE TO RESIST is a group of concerned community members, veterans and military families that supports military objectors to illegal war and occupation and the policies of empire. Our People Power strategy weakens the pillars that maintain war and occupation in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere by supporting GI resistance, counter-recruitment and draft resistance, which cuts off the supply of troops. We are autonomous from and independent of any political organization, party or group." The empire cannot maintain its power unless it finds young men and women willing to die for its false ideals. If soldiers refuse to fight, then its power is at an end. Money will never be enough to compel service because the ideal has to be strong enough to appeal beyond the risk of death and dismemberment. By giving material support to those whose conscience has lighted up, we put our resources on the line to resist the organized murder that undermines the very basis of Christian morality.