Despite his views, Doss enlisted in the Army even though he could have gotten a deferment because of his conscientious objector status. He did so because he believed it was his moral obligation to serve and to support the fight for freedom and religious liberty.
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| Desmond Doss being awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor by President Harry Truman Credit: www. desmonddoss.com |
The story of Desmond Doss seems to be especially relevant as we enter the final stretch of this year's Presidential election.
I still talk to people who tell me that they can't vote for Hillary Clinton and they don't want to vote for Donald Trump. I understand where they are coming from. I could never vote for Hillary Clinton based on her longstanding record of corruption and incompetence. At the same time, Donald Trump was no better than my 15th choice out of 17 GOP Presidential aspirants.
Clinton-Trump was no more my choice for this year's Presidential election than it was for Desmond Doss to find out his country was going to war with Germany and Japan.
Doss recognized what was at stake even though he set limits on what he would do. I hope that those still confused and confounded by the choice before us will understand that they have a moral obligation as well.
We may not be in a shooting war like Desmond Doss faced but we are in a war nonetheless.
We are in an internal war to defeat those those who want to ignore the rule of law, subvert our constitutional principles and totally ignore our Judeo-Christian values.
There is no place to be a constitutional objector in this election if someone cares about this country and those core elements of what has made America great.
There are far too many problems for people to say that they can't make a choice and therefore they will not vote. Consider just a few of the headlines we see everyday.
Obamacare. The Economy. Our Middle East Policy. ISIS. The Budget Deficit. Race Relations. Immigration. Terrorism. Education. Crime.
We need to add to all these issues the very real possibility that we could be electing a person who will be under criminal investigation by the FBI at the very time we need the undivided attention of a President who can solve these problems. Can the country withstand a constitutional crisis at this critical juncture in our history? The risk is simply too great to take that chance.
It is also not a choice to think that voting for a 3rd party candidate or write-in a preferred candidate is the solution. If someone is going to do that they might as well throw their ballot away. There have been viable third party candidates in my lifetime--Ross Perot, John Anderson to name two---but that is simply not the case this year.
Desmond Doss was opposed to raising a rifle to kill in war but he was dedicated to the idea of protecting his country's freedom and his religious freedom. Therefore, he still served his country and his fellow Americans in a way few ever have despite being opposed to war and violence.
You may loathe Hillary Clinton. You make not like Donald Trump. However, that is the only choice before you. It may not be an easy choice but it should be a clear choice right now. You may not like crude. However, corrupt and criminal is totally unacceptable, especially when it involves the people's trust and our national security.
Desmond Doss was a conscientious objector. However, he also knew that the freedoms of his country, including his freedom to follow his religious freedom, were only possible because others would step up to defend his freedom and his rights. A country full of conscientious objectors will not be a nation for very long.
Don't expect others to defend you and your country because you don't like something someone said or how they said it. Don't walk away because the choice is hard or it makes you uncomfortable.
No one is asking you to donate money, put up a yard sign, go to a rally, go door to door, volunteer at a phone bank, convince your neighbor or stand on a street corner telling everyone who you voted for.
If you want to be a conscientious objector in this election, you can totally refuse to do any of those things just as Doss refused to pick up a rifle.
However, Desmond Doss understood his moral obligation to serve.
Everyone should also understand their moral obligation to vote.
If you are to have any conscience as a conscientious objector in this election, you can't leave it to someone else.
Freedom is not free.
Desmond Doss understood it and did something about it and maintained his conscience.
It should be a lesson for us all.
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| Desmond Doss Medal of Honor Credit:desmonddoss.com |
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