I really hope this doesn't become too contentious, but it's about an issue that I've thought about often over the last 25 years. In a current thread, there's been some creep into a discussion of the American kids who fled to Canada to avoid the draft. Our friend Troll suggested he could have some grudging respect for the ones who willingly went to jail instead, and LittleHawk told a story about a well respected guitar teacher (who I was familiar with) who affected Hawk's life very positively.

I knew a lot of draft evaders from living in one of the "safe houses" where many of them would stay for a few weeks before scattering across Canada. They were not "cowards" or "radicals" or any ONE thing, just as the kids who accepted their fate, or even the ones who gladly enlisted, were "warmongers" or worse. They were a rainbow of emotions, skills, intelligence (or lack of), motivations, Religious faiths.....with one thing in common. They had to make a monumental decision, at a time when family, peer, Government, and media pressure was HUGE. I think most folks on either side would agree that the Vietnam war was at least, 'controversial'.

I know that some won't believe me, but after getting to know several dozen of these kids, I can tell you that their decisions were often solidified by the last film they'd seen, or the last music album to affect them, or the last "adult" that had REALLY talked to them. One young guy from Buffalo New York told me that he'd asked his Pastor for advice, and after going through "duty, responsibility, etc." the Minister broke down, and said he was so sick of telling kids to do "the right thing" when he'd completely lost faith in his own Government. He told this kid to "go home and pack, and get your ass over the border". He added that the kid couldn't put things "right" if he was dead at 19. Told him to come back in a "couple of years" and help the ones who wanted to "make the Govt. care about people more than profits". I've no idea whether that kid I talked to ever DID go back, but maybe he did. Maybe he's been a Nader's Raider, or maybe today he's a respected republican somewhere. Or maybe he's a fiftyish Canadian fisherman, or Cop, or luthier, or Teacher. Who know? My point is that, had the person he last talked to, gave him reasons to answer the draft board's call, chances are he would have followed that advice.

I still know quite a few old draft dodgers, and THAT'S really what they have in common now. They're balding, ageing, family men, with as much courage as anyone else. Some are lefties, who still let "their freak flags fly" (if they've got any!) some are conservative, some wealthy, some musicians, many are teachers, some politicians, and I don't think I've ever heard ONE of them say anything disrespectful about their fellow kids who made the opposite decision so many years ago.

The Canadian Govt. of course did it's level best to keep these young men out (just as it did with European Jewish refugees during WW2), but fortunately (or not, depending on your point of view) we had in Pierre Trudeau, a leader who questioned the need for wars, more than most. When it came down to it, he was still a leader who craved power, as they all do, no matter the country, but he seemed to remember that when he was a kid, he too was conflicted about the same issue...so maybe the young Americans had someone who was "privately" on their side.

What I do know is that they've made good citizens, good friends, and I wanted to stick up for them a bit.

Rick