At this time of a shockingly immoral presidency bent on war and destruction along with horrific dehumanization and othering,We Are Not Your Soldiers is sharing with you some excerpts from the presentation made in late May by Miguel Gabriel Vazquez to four high school classes in New York City. They had recently read The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien. Miguel was clear about something We Are Not Your Soldiers stresses in all presentations: the importance of morality in all we do.
I’m a Vietnam veteran, survivor of that war and of the post-traumatic stress that I brought home with me… I brought to war my Mexican heart. To me that meant my father was a farm worker, a very pastoral peace-loving, conscientious person and also a conscientious objector. I brought my consciousness in my Mexican heart, which meant that I was a humanitarian… I took with me my attitude, my perspective of what was right and what was wrong and that’s what I used to call my Mexican heart…
[While there, Miguel had] a really very traumatic experience which changed my whole life because you try to make sense of things. If you break your arm, you set it. It might be traumatic, but eventually you get over it as the arm heals. The cast comes off, you get on with your life, you can probably use your arm the same way you used to. But with moral injuries, it’s different. Moral injuries stay with you.
Read all of “My Mexican Heart” by clicking here.
Sharing a short clip of Rosa del Duca’s replies to student questions when, in April, she answered questions raised by college students regarding the especially urgent issues facing military members currently. If you know any military member who has questions as to what they can do with moral quandaries, such as applying for conscientious objector status, suggest they call the GI Rights Hotline at 877-447-4487 or contact About Face on their secure military support page.
