Posted on 02/22/2011 8:04:08 AM PST by SmithL
Richard Nixon wasn’t a real Quaker, he had prior knowledge of a murder in Dallas.
I'm not exactly convinced of the authenticity of Ens. Izbicki's Quakersim either. At least Nixon served.
Growing up in San Clemente, Calif., Izbicki was enthralled by the stories both his grandfathers told of serving in World War II. Then came the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11."That really made me feel like now is the time to serve my country," he said.
While in high school, Izbicki also began a long and sometimes arduous quest to develop his religious beliefs. He started attending a nondenominational church and eventually read the Bible cover to cover.
A standout student and voracious reader, he studied the religions of the world as his identity as a Christian grew. While at the academy, he attended campus services, went to an off campus Baptist church and engaged his friends in marathon discussions on faith and belief, he said.
Even when he graduated from the Naval Academy as an ensign in 2008, he said he saw no conflict between his religious beliefs and military service.
But after being assigned to submarine training in South Carolina, he was given a routine psychological exam. Among the several hundred questions, he was asked if he could launch a nuclear missile.
"It was the first time anybody had really put it so bluntly," he said. "At that point I thought to myself, I couldn't."
That answer flagged him for further interviews with a Navy psychologist, who recommended he talk to a Navy chaplain. After numerous meetings, Izbicki said the chaplain suggested he may be a conscientious objector — a terms he only vaguely knew — and gave him an application to study.
Izbicki said he eventually decided his Christian beliefs forbid him from killing. He initially hoped he could continue his career in a noncombat role, but ultimately decided he could not support war in any way, he said.
True. This was fairly common back in the days of the universal military draft when objection to war or killing was not sufficient reason to be excused from the draft.
I wonder if the official position has changed now that the services are voluntary.
Still, it seems there would always be a need for skilled non-combatants.
Wasn’t General Smedley Butler, USMC, a quaker?
Butler served in the Spanish-American War, Boxer Rebellion, the Banana Wars (Caribbean, Central and South America), Mexican Revolution, and World War I. Thirty-four years as a Marine, with numerous firefights in countless combat situations would make him a rather different kind of Quaker, IMHO.
O.K. I’m sure he was deserving, but he also wrote the book “War Is A Racket”, making him the darling of the left.
Can you say FRAUD?
link to related article:
Reversing Itself, Navy Grants Ensign Conscientious Objector Status
Michael Izbicki Was Stationed At Submarine School
http://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-izbicki-objector-0223-20110222,0,5322160.story
From what I’ve read, it seems he became a Quaker recently, because it supports his recent conversion to pacifism. His family has a history of military service. He tried to connect his upbringing as a Christian with his newfound pacifism, by asking “What would Jesus do?” He tried to blame his lifelong adherence to mainstream generic Christianity, but nobody bought it. He had to convert to a religion that suited his purpose. If he had any honest core beliefs that would not have been an option. But he had no problem casting aside his “deeply held beliefs” for a new set of “deeply held beliefs.” And when his needs change, so will his beliefs. When it comes time to repay the money he owes, he’ll switch to a religion that gets him out of that one too.
Maybe he's decided that the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" would put him in a position (as in 'bend over') where he had to accept homosexual behavior as normal....which is against all Christian religions (and Muslim too as far as that goes).
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