Home > Keywords > Authors > Monica Benderman

Monica Benderman

  • Silencing Conscience
    6 January 2007 par (Open-Publishing)

    January 5, 2007
    Silencing Conscience Monica Benderman
    In the Military Courts –Martial of Sgt. Kevin Benderman, having filed a Conscientious Objector application after ten years of honorable service in the Army including a combat tour in Iraq:
    “COMES NOW THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, by and through its counsel, and files this Motion in Limine.
    The Government moves this Court to grant the following relief:
    (ii) Preclude the Defense from raising irrelevant issues to the Trier of (…)

  • Congressional Briefing for Conscientious Objection. Statement made by Monica Benderman
    25 May 2006 par (Open-Publishing)
    2 comments

    On May 16th I was invited to participate in a Congressional Briefing hosted by Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney, at the Longworth Office Building, Washington DC. This briefing was to call attention to Conscientious Objection and Military Recruitment practices. The Briefing was re-broadcast twice on C-Span TV, and is scheduled to be shown again on C-Span this weekend. It has been broadcast on C-Span Radio as well. I have attached a transcript of Kevin’s and my statements as I (…)

  • How to Stop a War
    25 April 2006 par (Open-Publishing)
    1 comment

    by Monica Benderman
    Three years ago we were spending time together, every moment we could, building the type of relationship we would need to survive the unknown we were about to face.
    It was our choice - going to war. Based on the information we had, and knowing that we don’t take our commitments lightly, we knew that we would face this duty to country together - the commitment we had made. Kevin to defend the constitution, the country and all that it represented as a volunteer in the (…)

  • Apathy of Biblical Proportions
    3 February 2006 par (Open-Publishing)
    8 comments

    by Monica Benderman
    Across the country men and women have been jailed, not for committing a crime, but rather for making a conscious choice to live by their moral principles adhering to the laws of a higher authority. They are jailed because those who believe themselves to be in positions of authority are frightened by the truth of their stand and the strength of their convictions.
    Who are these people of “authority”? They are people who have been elected to serve the citizens of our (…)

  • A Call to America: Dare to Make a Principled Stand
    20 January 2006 par (Open-Publishing)

    by Monica Benderman
    Terrorism is the use of fear tactics to coerce others to bend to your will or way of thinking. Terrorists employ threats as a means of controlling the actions of others.
    The root of terrorist actions lies in simple aggressive behaviors, often referred to as disciplinary actions, designed to scare a person enough to make them “tow the line” and follow directions even when the directions lead to a violation of their own ethical principles.
    The most severe acts of (…)

  • Have You Forgotten?
    20 January 2006 par (Open-Publishing)

    by Monica Benderman
    Have you forgotten? We are people.
    Have you forgotten? There are feelings inside.
    Have you forgotten?
    We are fighting for our lives. We are fighting for the right to live in peace, as we choose. We are fighting to live by what we believe, in the hope that others will be allowed the same opportunity, even as they choose to live differently than what we have chosen.
    Have you forgotten the purpose - while you fight so hard for the cause?
    We gave more than you (…)

  • What Have We Learned?
    4 January 2006 par (Open-Publishing)
    1 comment

    by Monica Benderman
    Christmas comes but once a year. Why?
    Maybe it is a reminder.
    Churches are full on Christmas Eve. So many pay homage - listening to the story of Christmas. Year after year, children memorize the Christmas story, learn to point in the direction of the Star of Bethlehem, and surround a cradle full of hay to sing “Away in a Manger,” with hands folded sweetly to their chins.
    The children grow and remember Christmas past as they watch their own child’s hands wrapped (…)

  • A Viet Nam Veteran: His Name Was Earl
    4 January 2006 par (Open-Publishing)

    by Monica Benderman
    His name was Earl. He spent his days in a wheel chair, hand propelled, sitting along the sidewalks of the seawall in a Victorian city along the coast. He kept all of his possessions in a shopping cart, while his valuables hung from the handles of his chair. I met him one night while walking on the beach. I walked past a hollowed out part of the rocky seawall, and something moved. It was Earl, and a blanket. After going across the street and returning with cups of (…)

  • What Peace Needs
    2 January 2006 par (Open-Publishing)

    by Monica Benderman
    The Regional Corrections Facility at Ft. Lewis, Washington is vintage World War II. The windows are cracked and can’t be closed. It’s below freezing on most nights now.
    I could go on - but what good will it do in this country of warmongers, idealistic pacifists, and evangelicals? Nothing like love for a cause - any cause - as long as it’s impersonal enough that everyone can remain detached, can share their emotions through the war cries and protest chants, staring (…)

  • An Open Letter To the Congress of the United States
    1 January 2006 par (Open-Publishing)
    2 comments

    by Monica Benderman
    .... at the exclusion of the few courageous members who are willing to stand on their own and speak the truth... with all due respect.
    What are you afraid of? That without your office you are nothing? That it is your elected office that makes you who you are, and if you lose it, you will be nothing more than a common citizen again? Perhaps that is what has to happen, for you to realize that even in office, you are a common citizen. You are failing us - time to go (…)