Divine Obedience

I have to admire those who are willing to suffer
for their beliefs.

I've written previously about Father Roy
Bourgeois, who heads SOA Watch, an organization
dedicated to closing the School of the Americas,
where the U.S. teaches torture and terrorism to
soldiers from Latin America. SOA grads have been
responsible for horrible atrocities in Latin
America, and names you know – like Manuel Noriega
– are graduates of the U.S. “School Of Assassins.”
Believing that it is wrong for us to train
torturers, terrorists, and assassins, Father Roy
is committed to closing the SOA. To draw
attention to his cause, Father Roy has been
involved in a number of acts that some might call
“civil disobedience”, like illegally entering the
SOA at Fort Benning, Georgia, and playing a tape
of the last sermon of Archbishop Oscar Romero, who
was assassinated by SOA graduates. For his
actions, which he prefers to call “Divine
Obedience”, Father Roy has been imprisoned several
times.

I've also mentioned Sister Jackie Hudson. Sister
Jackie, with two other nuns, cut the chain on the
fence surrounding silo N-8, which contains a
Minuteman III missile armed with a 300 kiloton
nuclear warhead, poured their own blood on the lid
of the silo in the shape of a cross, and hammered
on the lid and prayed until they were arrested.
Sister Jackie and her companions were imprisoned
for several years for their actions, but they were
willing to go to prison in order to bring
attention to their cause of peace and the
destruction of the thousands of nuclear weapons
the U.S. possesses. Jesus said, “Blessed are the
peacemakers”; those who commit acts of Divine
Obedience to end the insanity of nuclear weapons
are surely blessed peacemakers.

The latest to commit an act of Divine Obedience is
First Lieutenant Ehren K. Watada. Lt. Watada is
the first commissioned U.S. Army Officer to refuse
to serve in Iraq. In a statement made on June 7,
2006, Lt. Watada said:

“It is my duty as a commissioned officer of the
United States Army to speak out against grave
injustices. My moral and legal obligation is to
the Constitution and not those who would issue
unlawful orders. I stand before you today because
it is my job to serve and protect those soldiers,
the American people, and innocent Iraqis with no
voice.

It is my conclusion as an officer of the Armed
Forces that the war in Iraq is not only morally
wrong but a horrible breach of American law.
Although I have tried to resign out of protest, I
am forced to participate in a war that is
manifestly illegal. As the order to take part in
an illegal act is ultimately unlawful as well, I
must as an officer of honor and integrity refuse
that order.

The war in Iraq violates our democratic system of
checks and balances. It usurps international
treaties and conventions that by virtue of the
Constitution become American law. The wholesale
slaughter and mistreatment of the Iraqi people
with only limited accountability is not only a
terrible moral injustice, but a contradiction to
the Army's own Law of Land Warfare. My
participation would make me party to war crimes.

Normally, those in the military have allowed
others to speak for them and act on their behalf.
That time has come to an end. I have appealed to
my commanders to see the larger issues of our
actions. But justice has not been forthcoming. My
oath of office is to protect and defend America's
laws and its people. By refusing unlawful orders
for an illegal war, I fulfill that oath
today.”

Like Father Roy and Sister Jackie, Lt. Watada is a
hero. Although his act of Divine Obedience will
likely result in several years of imprisonment,
Lt. Watada has chosen to do the right
thing, the moral thing – he has refused to
participate in what he believes (as I do) is an
illegal and immoral war.

You may ask what possible good can come from acts
of Divine Obedience that result in imprisonment?
Well, if it hadn't been for Father Roy, I might
have never heard of the School of the Americas,
and you probably wouldn't have, either. There are
now protests at the School of the Americas every
year, with up to 20 thousand people participating.
There have been bills introduced in Congress to
close the SOA. That probably would have never
happened if Father Roy had chosen to just stay
home and write letters to Congress. Because
Father Roy obeyed what he calls the “higher law”,
thousands, perhaps millions, of Americans have
become aware that we are training terrorists at
Fort Benning, and are working to put a stop to it.

Because Sister Jackie, Daniel and Philip Berrigan,
and many others were willing to go to prison for
having taken part in the acts of Divine Obedience
they call “Plowshares Actions”, millions of people
have become aware that the U.S. possesses ten
thousand nuclear weapons, enough to end billions
of innocent human lives, perhaps enough to end all
human life.

And now, because U.S. Army First Lieutenant Ehren
K. Watada has refused to participate in the U.S.
occupation of Iraq, millions will become aware
that there is more than one possible point of view
on the Iraq war, even if you're a soldier.
Millions will read about this in the newspapers,
see the story on TV news, hear Lt. Watada's
statements on the illegality and immorality of
this war, and they will have to think about it.
Some of them even may be inspired to take action
to stop the war.

I don't think I've got the courage to take that
kind of action. I wish I did, and who knows,
perhaps someday I will. In the meantime, I will
continue to be inspired by those who do have the
courage to engage in acts of Divine Obedience, who
do have the courage to obey the Higher Law,
regardless of the personal consequences. I will
continue to read their stories, I will continue to
tell their stories, and I will continue to speak
out on the issues they raise. And I hope you will
do the same.

To learn more about SOA Watch, visit:
SOA Watch.
To learn more about Lt. Watada, visit:
Lt. Watada.