 Photo credit Meta AI with prompts from author When Quakers talk about making a formal statement of conscience, as they might when they stand aside from war and stand up for peace, it is often talked about in legal terms. The words "formal statement of conscience." feel cold and devoid of emotion to me.
But what is conscience? What happens to us when we are moved? Do we not shake and emote? Writing down how we are powerfully taken by Spirit to a place of surety is a full body experience. Hence the term "spiritual affidavit." That statement is not an afterthought on another message or a not-fully-formed spiritual message. Oh no, it is full-on knowing. I AM FIRMLY FOR PEACE With the new law on Selective Service Registration coming soon (DEC 2026) we Quakers are poised perfectly to offer guidance on taking the spiritual message of conscientious objection to war and guiding people to turn that into a spiritual affidavit. Believe it or not, there are actual steps to the writing process and while they do adhere to the legal milestones that a statement of conscience requires there is also a way to bring that Message alive for the reader. And we want that, don't we? Are we not called to Witness? Besides being a committed, active way of living that rejects violence, refuses participation in war, and promotes peace it is also a way of sharing our deeply held belief. Shouldn't that written word be both factual and poignant? Ought we not move our readers? What if that reader was on a board evaluating your statement of conscience. I would want that person to be spiritually moved by my writing. Wouldn’t you? So, what does that look like? Consider these three steps
~ Joseph Olejak
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 Image created by Joseph Olejak using nano banana On September 5, 2025, Hegseth said changing the name of the Defense Department to the Department of War was part of his campaign to spread a “warrior ethos” at the Pentagon. The rebranding, he said, was part of “restoring intentionality to the use of force…. We’re going to go on offense, not just on defense. Maximum lethality, not tepid legality, violent effect, not politically correct."
And, by jingo, a year later, this is where we are -- mired down in yet another Middle East war with no end in sight. Maybe it's time for the American people to go on the offense too? And support maximum rationality, not idiotic stupidity, vociferous damnation, not political cooperation. Maybe it's time to stop feeding a dysfunctional system? I've heard from friends over the last many weeks urging me to get into politics or support a better candidate, etc etc. Saying in effect we just need better people and better policies. More people need to get out and vote. My answer is NO and here's why. The system is broken. A better tire on a car with two broken axles and no engine is pointless. A cabal of two political parties suckling at the teat of corporate money is the club in charge ... and guess what ... you ain't in it. No matter how much noise you make, how many letters you write, or how many small dollar donations you make to candidates promising change ... the system that is baked in place is designed on purpose (through supreme court rulings) to fail the people. . They have everything they need to keep going EXCEPT ONE VERY IMPORTANT THING ... the consent of the governed. What if no one showed up? CONSENT COMES FROM VOTING ... if there are no votes there is no mandate ... if there is no mandate they are illegitimate. Political power is rooted in three things: economic power, military power & the consent of the governed. Every system that had military and economic power without the consent of the governed has failed. In March I wrote that the way to undermine corrupt political systems is to make them irrelevant. When I said become a dropout I meant stop engaging in actions that deliver crumbs. Herod and Pilot were occupiers. Christ delivered the Sermon on the Mount and he delivered the goods too! Now insert Democrat and Republican in that story line and you can see clearly that the only way to bring sanity to governance is to step outside the system. Build something new. And by dropout I don't mean being a "do-nothing" or a person who doesn't care. DO SOMETHING AND CARE DEEPLY ... just do it hyper local. We need to create our own islands of sanity and we need to do it in a way where we can look each other in the eye, know one another, trust one another and, if necessary, hold one another accountable. Politics is a spiritual practice. Our Quaker principle of non-cooperation with war, whether it is military war, economic war or political war, is that of conscientious objection. We choose not to be soldiers, pawns, or be used through having our tax dollars conscripted to support violence and corruption. I also think about our Quaker committee process and how we operate as a "corporate" body where all voices are heard, where we listen for the sense of the meeting by engaging in the practice of stillness and discernment. Peaceful non-cooperation can easily be extended to participation (voting) in a system of governance that is fully corrupted and unworkable. And please understand that I am not commenting on the process of voting itself or the integrity of voting machines. That's the window dressing. I am referring to the corrupt two party system in all of its manifestations. Christianity has, since its inception, been a disruptive religion. Now more than ever we need to put our actions where our values are by putting our life force and energy into hyper local initiatives that build community and improve our lives. ~ Joseph Olejak |
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