words, words, words
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If I begin to detail myself here, will you understand?
P. I am me
Q. I don't always know exactly who that is
R. I am Quaker
S. I like words and playing with them
T. I like genmaicha tea
U. I like the word napkin more than most others
V. I spend time walking my neighborhood
W. I cook rice often
X. I sleep well most every night
Y. I eat large amounts of fruit and vegetables
Z. I munch, sleep, write, create, cook, bike, watch, walk, listen, hope, learn, drink, live, breathe, touch, know, question, taste, copy, read, stare, carry, talk, dance, finger, try.
raisin@gmail.com
albums:
Magnetic Fields: 69 Love Songs
Erasure: I Say, I Say, I Say
Depeche Mode: Black Celebration
The Beach Boys: Pet Sounds
Marvin Gaye: What's Going On?
David Bowie: Hunky Dory
George Michael: Listen without Prejudice
George Gershwin: Porgy and Bess
Yo La Tengo: And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside Out
songs:
Wild is the Wind: Nina Simone
Come Undone: Duran Duran
Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini: Rachmaninov
My Funny Valentine: Chet Baker
Feeling Yourself Disintegrate: The Flaming Lips
This Must Be the Place: The Talking Heads
Hyperballad: Bjork
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Monday, November 25, 2002
I am turning in my application for conscientious objection today. This is the beginning of the formal process and the investigation. I've labored over the questions on the application for a long time, and I can't say I've ever written anything more taxing. I don't know that it's my best work, but I think I finally said what I needed to. I'm including the first answer here, to the demand: "A description of the nature of the belief." There's plenty more, and all of it is too formal for my taste, but I hope it serves its purpose. How do you translate emotion into a formal document? I hope I have shown what moves so strongly inside me. There's still too much of me that says, no, don't let it go! What if they mock it, what if they shame you? I will ignore those pleas as best as I can. I can't keep it all in forever.
"I believe I should never seek to take another person’s life, regardless of the short or long-term goals or circumstances. I hold all human life to be sacred and feel I have no right to choose death for others. I cannot agree with the argument that American lives are worth more than the lives of those we have currently deemed as the enemy. I respect and love all people, as much as I possibly can.
According to the teachings of Jesus and his establishment of a new covenant, we are to love our enemies, do good to those who hurt us, and pray for those who spitefully use us. There is a part of God in all of us, and I must respect and respond to that part with love. My own conscience tells me that no matter how strong I am, I have no right over others’ lives. I feel there are other, less deadly ways to achieve peace than relying on the armed forces as a deterrent and safeguard. I cannot support combat, which inevitably leads to the deaths of people on both sides of the conflict. In order to follow these beliefs, I feel I cannot remain a part of the Air Force."
12:48 PM
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