Spirituality is the foundation of my decolonial journey and my appeals to Quakers (Friends) and others to escape from our current colonial nightmare. I was raised in a multi-generational Quaker family and community in rural Iowa. I attended a Quaker boarding high school, Scattergood Friends School and Farm, and a year at a Quaker College (Earlham)-cut short because of my Vietnam War resistance. I had a spiritual experience at Bear Creek meetinghouse when I was about ten years old that has been a source of spiritual guidance, strength and challenge ever since. We don’t have good language for expressing spirituality, but that spiritual experience made the continuing presence of the Spirit real to me, then and at other times since.
Testimonies
Quaker testimonies are the outward expression of our faith. The acronym “SPICES” is sometimes used to express the Quaker testimonies of Simplicity, Peace, Integrity, Community, Equality, and Stewardship. There is a common admonition for Quakers to “let our lives speak,” for our actions to match our words.
First Spiritual Challenge
My first spiritual challenge was the requirement for males in this country to register with the Selective Service System (the draft) on our eighteenth birthday. Quakers generally believe in peace and nonviolence, but how they choose to express that varies. It was clear to me that I could not participate in the armed forces. The question then became whether I could accept the common Quaker choice to do two years of alternative service as a conscientious objector. The deeper question was what was I willing to risk for my faith and principles? Confrontations with the state have been common throughout Quaker history, particularly in terms of war and peace.
The issue of registering for the Selective Service System is related to the testimonies of peace and integrity. I was clear on the peace testimony, but struggling with integrity. Resisting the draft could result in a felony conviction and imprisonment. Lifelong consequences.
Integrity
But it was also very clear there would be lifelong consequences for me if I took what I saw as the easy path of cooperation with the draft as a conscientious objector. I would not have acted with integrity if I accepted alternative service because I don’t believe in participating in war in any way. An Epistle I read at that time, signed by several Quakers I knew, put it well:
Those of us who are joining in this epistle believe that cooperating with the draft, even as a recognized conscientious objector, makes one part of the power which forces our brothers into the military and into war. If we Friends believe that we are special beings and alone deserve to be exempted from war, we find that doing civilian service with conscription or keeping deferments as we pursue our professional careers are acceptable courses of action. But if we Friends really believe that war is wrong, that no man should become the executioner or victim of his brothers, then we will find it impossible to collaborate with the Selective Service System. We will risk being put in prison before we help turn men into murderers.
It matters little what men say they believe when their actions are inconsistent with their words. Thus we Friends may say that all war is wrong, but as long as Friends continue to collaborate in a system that forces men into war, our Peace Testimony will fail to speak to mankind.
An Epistle to Friends Concerning Military Conscription [Excerpt]
I used similar language in the epistle I wrote about decolonization in An Epistle to Friends Regarding Community, Mutual Aid and LANDBACK
It has become clear to some of us who are called Friends that the colonial capitalist economic system and white supremacy are contrary to the Spirit and we must find a better way. We conscientiously object to and resist capitalism and white supremacy.
It matters little what people say they believe when their actions are inconsistent with their words. Thus, we Friends may say there should not be hunger and poverty, but as long as Friends continue to collaborate in a system that leaves many without basic necessities and violently enforces white supremacy, our example will fail to speak to mankind.
Let our lives speak for our convictions. Let our lives show that we oppose the capitalist system and white supremacy, and the damages that result. We can engage in efforts, such as Mutual Aid and LANDBACK, to build Beloved community. To reach out to our neighbors to join us.
We must begin by changing our own lives if we hope to make a real testimony for peace and justice.
Note: Modeled from ‘An Epistle to Friends Concerning Military Conscription’
An Epistle to Friends Regarding Community, Mutual Aid and LANDBACK [Excerpt]
