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War and Peace ~ Our Position on Military Service ~
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Although war cannot always be avoided - there is no honor or victory in war. We believe war always represents the failure to achieve peace and it is always something to be ashamed of. War is to be remembered from the perspective of failure and as a lesson to learn to avoid war in the future. We in the Church or Reality understand - especially in this day of nuclear and biological weapons - that peace is not something that is optional, and that we have a responsibility to our fellow human beings to do whatever it takes to avoid war.
Sometimes going to war is the right thing to do. There are times due to the mistakes of others that going to war becomes necessary. However, it is more often the case that war is not necessary and is in fact counterproductive to the effort towards peace. And if going to war is necessary there is a code of moral conduct that Realists should follow in the execution of the war. This document is here for the purpose of giving instructions and guidance for those of you who are being pulled into battle. Realists do not behave like other soldiers. As a realist you are required to set a higher standard and to actively adhere to this higher standard even if it puts you at personal risk.
The first duty of Realists is to uphold the Sacred Principles of the Church of Reality.
The first duty of Realists is to uphold the Sacred Principles of the Church of Reality. This duty takes precedent over loyalty to your country, your military unit, your commanding officer. If the cause of war is just, you are at best a team member fighting together with non-realists towards a common higher goal. To this end Realists should set a shining example and strive for positions of leadership in the military unit in which they are fighting. A Realist who practices Realism should be in a position to realistically assess the situation and to be able to help make the realistic choices in how to best execute the war and to build the peace after the war.
If the cause is a just cause, then the Realist would be the ultimate war asset in order to maintain intellectual discipline to make the right decision and positively affect the outcome of the struggle. The Realist should set an example of personal behavior and inspire his fellow soldiers to be smart and wise and to fight efficiently and effectively and to not degenerate into committing atrocities. The Realists sees into the future and envisions the end of the war and to building of the peace and to integrating the enemy into the world's society as a productive peaceful member.
The Church of Reality doesn't prohibit its members from going to fight in a war. It does however prohibit its members from fighting in an unjust war - and it requires its members to make a personal determination if the war they are about to participate in is just or not. Members who do participate are required to adhere to a code of moral conduct that puts the Sacred Principles ahead of everything else and are required to refuse to participate in anything that is clearly immoral and to actively resists orders of superior officers who would lead troops down the wrong path. Realists are expected to think for themselves and to make wise choices in times of war. |
Although, like everyone else, Realists are born into nation states, Realists see themselves as citizens of this planet. We are members of a common species and we are all interconnected through the Tree of Knowledge and are dedicated to the advancement of the human race through the Principle of Positive Evolution. Realists see nation states as temporary subcultures, as artificial man-made divisions that exist for a time, evolve, and eventually disappear. Our loyalties and our religious commitments are to the advancement of humanity and that commitment supercedes any commitments to nation states.
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The best way to win a war is to make sure war never happens in the first place. To that extent Realists are the first soldiers on the battlefield to make sure that the enemy never becomes the enemy in the first place. We are the ones who fight the war so that the war never needs to be fought. Our duty to the Principle of Positive Evolution is to move forward into a world where war is not part of the human experience.
To this end the Realist is involved in peace organizations who's charter is to avoid war from happening in the first place. This activity to resolve conflicts and to maintain the peace is the front line to winning war. The biggest military victories are not the ones that are won on the field of battle - but the ones that make sure we never end up in battle in the first place. |
We put unjust wars first because most wars are unjust. War mentality relies heavily on using the human herd instinct to shame the soldier into fighting the unjust war. One is told that they should be a brave soldier and fight for some cause that is in fact a bullshit cause. They are promised glory and honor and that if they die, then their memory and their families will be attributed with greatness because the honorable brave soldier gave his live for the supposedly noble cause. But often the noble cause is just some oil company trying to set up an unelected puppet president in order to steal oil from a less powerful group of people.
The Realist is required to think things through and to determine as best he can what the truth is and if the war is unjust, to resist the war and to refuse to participate in it. In an unjust war the Realist is expected to fight against the war effort - to protest - and to make the truth known to as many people as possible. |
Sometimes a madman is allowed to seizes power and to become a threat to the civilized world and has to be taken out. I think most people would agree that taking Hitler down in World War II was something that was absolutely necessary to preserving the future of mankind. In such a situation the Realists will conclude that war is necessary and will do whatever it takes to win the war with the goal of restoring the peace.
In such a just war the Realists should be the military's best friend - even if the chain of command doesn't fully appreciate the Realists contribution. In times of a just war - the Realist is expected to be a shining example of conduct and to lead by example to influence his fellow soldiers to do the right thing.
A realist does not participate in atrocities. He does not rape and pillage the enemy. He does not deliberately slaughter the innocent. If a Realist sees a commander misbehaving he will do what it takes to stop the misbehavior whether or not it follows the chain of command or whatever rules the military think apply. If the Realist needs to leak information to the press or bypass the chain of command, then they are required to do so.
War is a difficult time and often judgment is impaired by the stresses of war. Strong factors are present that obscure reality and cause people to make bad choices. The Realist maintains self discipline and uses his wisdom to cut through and to make sure that the best choices are made. The Realist is to become the voice of wisdom during war and to help guide the effort to it's best conclusion.
It may also be advantageous for the Realist soldier to inform his commanding officer of his religious affiliation and to explain to the military unit that he has a religious duty to Reality as it really is and that he is required to think for himself and that thinking for himself is as much of a religious right as others have to pray to invisible deities. The Realist should explain that this is a good thing and if the Military is wise they will welcome realistic thinkers because being realistic helps achieve the goals of the military. |
The Sacred Principle of Peace is a fundamental principle of the Church of Reality. We are committed to the Principle of Positive Evolution that society should evolve forward towards a better tomorrow and away from extinctionism. Our quest to understand reality the way it really is depends on a peaceful sane civilization. It is therefore contrary to our religious beliefs to participate in a war that is unjust, immoral, or illegal. Members of the Church of Reality are required to shun such wars. We are a religion of Peace. Members of the Church of Reality are required to do whatever it takes to avoid supporting an unjust cause.
Realists live throughout the world. Sometime we live in countries that are the "good guys". Sometimes we live in countries that are the "bad guys". In both cases the home nation will call on it's young men and women to go to war claiming that it is the duty to the nation to participate in the battle to defend the homeland. In such a case if your nation's cause hasn't risen to the standard of moral justification for war, then it is the duty of the Realist not only to refuse to fight for the unjust cause, but to actively ensure the failure of such cause.
Nations come and go but reality is forever. Nations rise and fall and many once great kingdoms are at best a means of job security for Archeologists who's job it is to figure out what they did wrong to become an extinct culture. Realists do not act in a way to promote extinction but rather evolution. We are thinkers and we look at the big picture and we commit to a higher purpose than short term disputes over land, wealth, religious differences, and other petty issues.
Nations of the world, listen up! The Church of Reality hereby refuses to further your military cause unless we determine it is in the best interest of the advancement of humanity.
Many nations allow people to opt out of war based upon their religious beliefs. If their religion prohibits war, they can get a religious exemption. The Church of Reality is such a religion and a Realist can draw upon our policies and beliefs as justification to refuse military service.
Different nations have different standards regarding the qualifications of the religious beliefs that are acceptable to be exempt from forced military service. Some nation states require that you be opposed to all wars, not just the wars you don't like. In their view, the religion is either fully against war or it is not. Some religions are against all wars under all conditions. Other religions take no position on forced military service. Our position requires that war is only justified if it passes the highest level of scrutiny of justification. Support for a war requires a consensus of the Council of Realists. Without such affirmative statement of consensus, the war is unjustified and against our religious beliefs.
Our religion requires people to think. We are prohibited from accepting the justification for war on "faith" in our resident nation state. Thinking and deciding for ourselves is part of our core belief system. We are a doubt based religion and we shall not be denied our doubt. Our Principle of Compassion requires that we feel empathy for our adversaries. Our Principle of Justice requires that we fight for the just cause only. Our Principle of Inclusiveness requires that we resist religious and racial hatred. We believe that nationalism is a mental disorder that is contrary to the advancement of humanity. The Principle of Scrutiny and Doubt requires us to question our actions to determine for ourselves and as a Church, what wars are justified and what wars are not. Our Principle of Wisdom requires that we rise above the herd mind and think for ourselves. Our Principle of Personal Responsibility requires that we make sure that we choose what is the right thing to do and that we do it. Our Principle of Bullshit prohibits us from participating in a bullshit war. And our Principle of Activism requires us to actively resist causes that are unjust.
We are one planet, We are all here together. It is our duty to figure out how to live in peace and to do what it takes to make that happen.
The belief systems in the Church of Reality are different than most other religions in that we are a reality based religion. Most religions have limited resolution in their faith relying upon their holy books as to if war is permitted or not. We are different in that we are reality based and we think things through and therefore we have infinite resolution in our moral evaluation process. We are required to think about each situation individually and apply wisdom to make the correct determination. One of our Sacred Missions is to ask the Sacred Moral Question - what is good. So even though the basis for a religious exemption in some religions might be all or nothing, in the Church of Reality it would be an infringement of our religious beliefs if we were forced to treat all war as being equal.
In a further message to the militaries and nation states of the world, it is the duty of all realists to act for the betterment of humanity and that the nation state of residence is of no consequence. If a Realist is forced to serve in a military unit, it is the duty of the Realist to undermine the military from within and to bring down the fighting force for which they are compelled to serve. We want to make it clear that Realists are not the kind of people that you want to force to serve in a war for an unjust cause because they will destroy you from within. To a realist, being forced to serve in an unjust war is an opportunity to destroy you from within.
If that cause is just, a Realist is the military's best resource. If the cause is unjust, then the Realist is your worst nightmare. Our message to the world is, if you are contemplating war, you better take reality into account.
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In evaluating the justification of participating in a war or refusing to participate in a war, one must look at the conduct of the nation and the army of that nation to determine if the cause is worthy of participation. The Church of Reality has some guidelines to help determine if your country has the proper moral standing in the conflict.
Wars have at least two sides and it can be assumed that realists will be citizens of all countries involved. The Church of Reality considers blind faith in one's nation to be a bad thing because it will lead to Realists fighting against Realists. In theory if Realists think things through and use the Sacred Principles as guidance, then most realists of all countries should agree in the right path of action. A Realist's first duty is to the Church of Reality in its quest to promote the Sacred Principles. If a Realist is a citizen of a criminal nation, it is the duty of the Realist to act against the criminal causes of their own government.
Here are some principles that a Realist should consider when evaluation one's country's conduct and to determine if war is justified:
- Genocide, Ethnic Cleansing, Religious Wars - The Church of Reality declares that these wars are intrinsically wrong. Slaughtering people because of their beliefs or ethnic or genetic heritage is morally wrong. Such wars are automatically considered to be unjust and offensive to our belief system.
- War Crimes - Although war is in part about killing lots of people, not all killing in war is equal and justified. The Church of Reality recognizes the Geneva Convention as a basis for international wartime law. If your nation questions if this law applies to them or if it applies to the treatment of a specific enemy, then it is a strong indicator that their cause is unjust. Even if your nation approves it as legal according to their own laws, a Realist is required to think things through from a higher perspective and act according to the moral constructs of the Sacred Principles.
- Use of Banned Weapons - Realists should consider the nation's cause unjust if the nation uses internationally banned weapons or weapons that one can reasonably conclude should be banned weapons. Use of chemical, biological, incendiary, nuclear, fuel bombs, microwave, or other hideous weapons against civilian populations, makes the cause unjust. We are Realists and we do not do these sort of things.
- Torture - Torture is prohibited. You shall not engage in torture or support any military force or nation that practices torture. This includes the practice of shipping people to other nations where torture is practiced. One doesn't have to prove whether or not the nation is shipping people to other countries to be tortured. If torture is practiced or that it is commonly believed torture is practiced, then the Realists should assume torture is occurring and responds as if it were so. The practice of torture is barbaric and is automatically considered to be without justification.
Nations that have laws permitting torture or exceptions that allow torture under some circumstances such as intelligence agencies or officers, or who's laws provide immunity to torturers, or who fail to prosecute those who torture, or are otherwise known to allow torture to occur, is a nation that accepts torture. A Realist shall not further the cause of a nation that does not actively prohibit all forms of torture under all circumstances.
- Unprovoked Aggressor - In the rare cases that a war it justified, it would be to defend against an aggressor. One should never be the aggressor. A war is unjust if it appears that one's nation started the war for questionable reasons such as religion, ethnic cleansing, to take land, for oil, mineral, or other resources, or for political gain. Being on the side that started the war raises the level of scrutiny as to the war's justification. Likewise if you are a citizen of the nation that is invade, the level of scrutiny is lowered.
- Terrorism - Nations that commit terrorism or that sponsor terrorists who target civilian, are immoral and unjust.
- Imprisonment Without Trial - Nations that allow people to be imprisoned without trial or due process rights, and where individuals can be held merely by being accused of a crime, are inherently unjust. If your country ignores it's own laws or doesn't have habeas corpus laws that protect all individuals in custody, then it is very likely that the cause for war is unjust. Holding people in prison without being charged with a crime or due process of law is immoral.
- Secret Prisons - A nation that has a network of secret prisons or that ships people off to other nations where they are held in secret, are nations with suspect cause. Secret prisons are morally wrong.
- Rape - Nations that allow rape either explicitly or through silently allowing it to occur as part of punishment or interrogation, are immoral and unjust. This is especially true of nations that order women raped as punishment for crimes.
- Public Executions - Nations that execute people in public are immoral and unjust nations.
- Death Penalty - Nations that execute people for crimes other than the most serious of murders are immoral and unjust, especially the execution of women for sexually related crimes.
- Stoning / Cruelty - Nations that execute people by stoning or other means of cruel punishment are immoral and unjust.
- Balsphemy - Nations that criminalize speaking out against religious beliefs are immoral and unjust.
- Forced Patriotism / Political Repression - Nations that criminalize political speech or imprison people for failing to participate in patriotic symbolism are immoral and unjust.
- Assassination - Nations that condone assassination, either of it's own people or leaders of other nations, are immoral and unjust. Possible exception in the case the majority of nations agree that a tyrant is to be taken out.
Nations are judged on what they do, not what they claim they are supposed to do. A nation might have progressive laws but routinely ignore the laws. In the Church of Reality it's not what you believe in, it's what you do. What a nation actually does reflects what they believe in.
The above tests are examples of the kinds of issues that Realists are to consider in fulfilling their religious requirement to determine if a war is justified or not. One is required to take everything into consideration to weigh the circumstances objectively and determine the best course to achieve Peace. It is our duty to see through the fog of war and to take a leadership role to move the situation back to peace. We are a religion of wisdom and it is up to us to see the big picture and to craft a course of action that is likely to resolve the conflict and end the bloodshed.
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Here are some examples of just and unjust wars. Some of these examples are real and some are hypothetical. This also shows why it is impossible for the Church of Reality to be against all wars under any circumstances and why a Realist must evaluate each situation individually in order to fulfill their religious obligations. Although the final decision to participate or not to participate lies with the individual, these examples are here to give explorers guidance in making those choices.
This list shall not be construed by any military or government as church law in order to compel military service. Church law is that the individual decides based upon the circumstances of the war and his individual beliefs as to how he can best serve the cause of peace.
Examples of Wars:
- A civil war has broken out in Bosnia. Serbs, Croats, and Muslims are slaughtering each other over old religious and ethnic issues dating back over centuries. The United Nations, worried that this conflict will spread to neighboring countries, has voted to send in a multinational peacekeeping force in an attempt to end the violence. Your country has called on you to serve in that peacekeeping force. This would tend to be a just war because it is a military action to stop an existing war.
- Adolf Hitler has invaded Poland and an underground resistance force has formed to repel the invading Nazis who are hauling off trainloads of people to death camps to be tortured and executed. In a case like this it would be highly recommended that the Realist act in any way, including killing people, in order to undermine the invading force. When you are defending against an invading tyrant who is committing atrocities, it is just and moral to stop them.
Conversely, if you are a German citizen and you are called upon by Hitler to participate in the atrocities, then it is moral and just to refuse to serve and act against your nation's cause to stop the insanity.
- You are a citizen of Iraq and the United States has overthrown your brutal dictator who was using nerve gas against civilian populations, executed political dissidents, and maintained prisons where people are tortured, raped, and executed. The United Stated however after "liberating" you uses phosphorus shells against civilian targets, runs a prison allowing torture and murder to occur, and is basically there to install a fascist puppet government run by oil executives. You are called upon to be part of an insurgency to repel the liberating/invading force.
In a situation like this a Realist has a right to seek to free the nation from all invaders. The Realist is thankful that the current brutal dictator was removed but is not obligated to accept a puppet government installed by the liberators. So it may be moral to take action against the same people who overthrew your dictator. However the slaughtering of civilians to accomplish this would not likely be justified.
- You are a member of the United States National Guard and you joined in times of peace and took a military oath. During your service a new president takes power and he initiates a war based upon lies and without United Nations support, invades Iraq, overthrows a brutal dictator, installs a puppet government, and commits atrocities against the civilian population using banned phosphorus shells, setting up a network of secret prisons where people are tortured and executed.
As a member of the Guard you are ordered to Iraq to be part of this unjust cause. What is a Realist to do? In this situation it would be immoral to participate in a cause that is clearly wrong to objective observers. A Realist would not willingly participate in such a situation. The oath to the military would be invalidated because the military changed its mission from a just cause to an unjust cause and the Realist has a higher commitment to the Sacred Principles to be on the right side of justice. Thus the Realist's religious commitment would take precedence to the commitment to the nation state.
Unfortunately a war effort isn't clearly right or wrong, moral or immoral, or the good guys against the bad guys. Sometime it's bad guys against bad guys. Sometimes there is a mixture of good and bad elements. There are sometimes ways to participate that are productive even in an unjust war. This is why no one can create hard and fast rules that apply to every situation. Each conflict is unique and has to be dealt with individually. That is why Realists must think things through, come up with a plan for peace, and execute that plan so that whatever the situation is, the Realist can make it better.
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Newsflash |
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