Operation 10 COW
'Operation 10 COW' is the execution of my project to share with others my '10 Conscientious Objections to War', and to leave the military. Although I officially submitted the CO application papers to my officers in 2008, the story begins long before with the history of War, and my understanding of War began to formulate in my mind since my youth.
I was born a bicentennial baby in 1976. When I was a child I loved to patriotically march around our town band stand waving the American Flag every Fourth of July. As a kid I loved to play with my toy soldiers and GI Joes. I also have always loved to play War games, and when I am competitive I like to win, but this is regular testosterone-driven social conditioning. I was so obsessed with War that I constantly played out imaginary battle scenarios, as many boys do; but as an artist and author I went beyond normal interest in fighting by filling entire books with scenes of conflict from my mind. In fact my entire life I have spent drawing page after page of people and monsters fighting, hurting, and killing each-other. However as I grew older, and perhaps wiser, I began to realize and question some of the problems with making War and living with the consequences.
Military Service uses contradictory contracts based on War propaganda and martial law, which is the opposite of freedom. This creates Orwellian perpetual war profiteering quagmires. Blind patriotism depends on political ignorance and belligerent xenophobia. Corporate capitalist greed is masked as 'free-market' competitive economics, but in reality is a plutocracy which enslaves the masses with debt. The Military Industrial Complex dominates all civilian militias, which were the basis of American Independence and Liberty. Militaries have polluted our Environment in the name of War. War ignores and tramples American Freedom and Civil Rights.
War interferes with local community service by sacrificing able young people, putting them through the machine, and producing physically and emotionally crippled veterans who are taught to use anger and bullying to abuse and control others. This creates a culture of aggressive vampires and apathetic zombies.
War exists in contrast to Ancient Wisdoms which have taught us for thousands of years not to kill other humans, show compassion, and hold the Golden Rule highest. This dichotomy is found easily in most religions and philosophies.
There is a ‘conflict and loyalty appeal’ about military service, which places slavery to War above the freedom of Peace. War depends on selling the appeal of glory through conflict and honor through loyalty.
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Ten Conscientious Objections to War
Written by Walton Danforth Stowell II* Submitted to the US ANG June 2008**
*
2008 Video Recordings [ Youtube private ]
SCOD Blog - Operation 10 COW Summary
Audio Recording - Air Force BMT Part 1
Audio Recording - Operation 10 COW Introduction
Audio Recording - 10 Conscientious Objections to War
*
Before I separated from US military service for reasons of personal conscience, I submitted a paper to the officers of my ANG base in Martinsburg, WV; which I later published as 'Operation 10 COW'. My 10 conscientious objections to War were:
1. I object to contradictory contracts based on War propaganda.
2. I object to perpetual war profiteering quagmires.
3. I object to political ignorance and belligerence.
4. I object to corporate capitalist greed masked as freedom.
5. I object to modern military domination of civilian militia.
6. I object to War polluting our Environment.
7. I object to War ignoring Civil Rights Freedoms.
8. I object to War interfering with local community service.
9. I object to War in contrast to Ancient Wisdoms which have taught us for thousands of years not to kill other humans, but rather show compassion, and hold the Golden Rule highest.
10. I object to the 'conflict and loyalty lie', which falsely appeals to patriotic honor by conflating it with perpetual war; Constant conflict places slavery to War above the freedom of Peace.
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*
CO Official Application & Letters of Support.
* Published with the permission of the Author
** Links will be added as web pages are made for each section
The diagram below is called the "Wheel of War" by Drogo Empedocles
