EXPERIMENT: Stand With Honor

Somewhere around the world, a soldier kneels at his bedside. His mind goes in circles, his spirit is wounded, his heart beats fast. He’s been given orders that deeply conflict with his conscience, and he knows he’ll be punished, ridiculed and misunderstood, if he takes a stand and disobeys orders. He’s about to face his fellow soldiers and his commanding officers, and he knows what he must do. His conscience and his honor is on the line. He calls in the VisionForce. And he stands. For his honor. For his conscience. For other soldiers seeking the courage to stand. For being an example to his sons and future generations.

Context

“The pioneers of a warless world are the young men (and women) who refuse military service.” – Albert Einstein

Being such a pioneer and defying orders that you deem to be immoral, unconstitutional or against your values means facing ridicule from peers, punishment from authorities, judgment from society, and more. Victor Agosto knows first-hand (first video).

Observing this judgment and humiliation our Soldiers of Conscience receive, JFK predicted that, “War will exist until that distant day when the conscientious objector enjoys the same reputation and prestige that the warrior does today.”

Honoring Our Soldiers of Conscience

Eric Jacinsky is an Iraq vet, who came home with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, and dared not return to Iraq for fear of what he might do to himself or others because of his PTSD. Rather than treat Eric and honor him as a veteran, the military gave him more medication and told him he must deploy. Eric went AWOL, later turned himself in and was court-martialed.

What if the courageous stand that these young men and women take could be seen and felt by those who might otherwise judge them? What if these soldiers of conscience were honored by society instead of punished and humiliated? Enter StandWithHonor (second video).

Purpose:

To honor Soldiers of Conscience and those who stand with them!

Vision:

Governments, militaries and societies universally honor and stand up for the soldier of conscience, who dare to disobey orders when necessary, as a matter of conscience.

Initiatives Include:

StandWithHonor.com

A web site that in a number of ways draws on VisionForce work to support soldiers who are considering taking a stand on conscience in the face of authority and society.

Viral Honor Videos

Through StandWithHonor.com and through other means, we invite Soldiers of Conscience to take a stand on video and share it with the world; and then invite others to honor the soldier with a video of their own. Instructions are provided to help make the videos powerful and moving.

VisionForce Concepts & Tools

VisionForce offers our concepts and tools to empower those who are standing for Soldiers of Conscience, which can be used for outreach, for inspiration, for training, etc. Some of these concepts are offered via video on StandWithHonor.com.

Scholarships for Visionary PeaceMakers

Selected individuals who are supporting soldiers of conscience receive scholarships to receive VisionForce training, and participate in our programs.

“PeaceMaker Boot Camps”

VisionForce is planning special iStands for Soldiers of Conscience and those who support them.

Much More…

To get a better perspective on OPERATION: Stand With Honor, see how we have supported Thad Crouch, the driving force behind Stand With Honor.

Visionary Profile: Thad Crouch