Veterans For Peace Rally and Activist San Diego: Important Information

Vets For Freedom is a veterans organization, heavily funded by right wing groups, who are touring the country to boost the war effort in Iraq. Their nationwide tour begins next Friday here in San Diego at a 6:30 PM event at the USS Midway.
The San Diego Veterans For Peace and other local peace groups in San Diego have decided to demonstrate at the entrance to the USS Midway that the war is wrong and that using veterans as a prop for the war is wrong. It is hoped that our demonstration will gain as much local press coverage as their event on the USS Midway.
Please come stand with us from 5-7 PM, next Friday night (March 14th) at the USS Midway.
Bring signs appropriate to the occasion.
Peace. Gil Field, President, San Diego Veterans For Peace

www.sdvfp.org 858-342-1964
Activist San Diego
General Meeting Mon. March 10th, 7PM: Focus on our Peace Offensive & March 15th Rally
Film showing & discussion:
SOLDIERS OF CONSCIENCE
Eight US soldiers today face the most difficult decision of their lives: to kill or not to kill. A film about war, peace, and the transformative power of the human conscience.
NEW LOCATION - Joyce Beers Community Center, 1090 Vermont, one block north of University, next to Trader Joe's Hillcrest Shopping Center, San Diego 92103
* please park in Ralph underground parking lot Who: Everyone Welcome, bring a friend.
Post screening discussion with Dave Patterson, SD Veteran for Peace
Contact info: Martin 619-871-9354 or ASD office 619-528-8383 or email ASD Office at info@activistsandiego.org OTHER TOPICS: How to expand the Activist Film Series Community Outreach for the March 15th peace rally - Donation requested - for info: 619-528-8383 www.ActivistSanDiego.org SEE THIS PROMO >> SOLDIERS OF CONSCIENCEDescription = USA, 85 minutes, documentary http://www.socfilm.com/
SYNOPSIS:

Their country asked them to kill.

Their hearts asked them to stop.

Four sincere war fighters and four sincere conscientious objectors, all struggling over the question: to kill or not to kill.

Made with official permission from the US Army, this film transcends the usual divisive rhetoric of politics and instead reveals a surprising shared truth.

All our soldiers are “soldiers of conscience,” torn between the demands of duty and the call of conscience.

From West Point grads to drill sergeants, from Abu Ghraib interrogators to low ranking reservist-mechanics; this film allows soldiers to speak about killing, and what it means to them.

When is it right to kill?

Is war inevitable?

What is your duty to your nation?

What is your duty to God?

To your fellow soldiers?

To your conscience?

SOLDIERS OF CONSCIENCE breaks the taboo of talking about this subject, and provides access and intimacy to the issue of killing that is rarely, if ever, seen in documentaries.

Within the first five minutes, a US Army sergeant describes “the demons” that haunt him ever since he killed a 10-year-old grenade-throwing Iraqi boy. At Ft. Jackson, we see and hear the bloodcurdling chant of “kill, kill, kill without mercy” as new recruits are trained to overcome their aversion to killing.

At a Penn State ROTC class, we learn the startling US Army statistic from WWII: among US soldiers who were under fire, in combat, with their own lives at risk, 75% did NOT try to kill the enemy.

SOLDIERS OF CONSCIENCE follows the emotional and spiritual transformation of four soldiers as they decide not to kill and become conscientious objectors. Two go to prison: Camilo Mejia, the first combat veteran to come back from Iraq and refuse to continue the war; and Kevin Benderman, a 240 pound, 6’3”, 10-year veteran Army sergeant from Tennessee.

The other two, guided by their faith, get honorable discharges: Joshua Casteel, an Evangelical Christian, and Aidan Delgado, a Buddhist. The majority perspective on war is voiced by Major Peter Kilner and three Ft. Jackson drill sergeants who are combat veterans. Major Kilner, a West Point professor of ethics and former 82nd Airborne infantry commander, combines his real-world military leadership experience with a PhD in education and Masters in Philosophy, to articulate the need for the strong to protect the weak, the moral justification of war, and the appropriate use of lethal force.

Screened at both West Point and peace churches, this is a unique and powerful film. Respectful, balanced, cinematic, and dramatic, SOLDIERS OF CONSCIENCE is a realistic yet optimistic look at war, peace, and the power of the human conscience. PRESS QUOTES & BLURBS“Thoughtful … fascinating … tight and balanced storytelling” - Moira Macdonald, Seattle TIMES =
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www.ActivistSanDiego.orgNetworking for Social Justice

I never intend to adjust myself to the madness of militarism.

Martin Luther King, Jr.