Conscientious Objection

A human being, by nature, objects to all types of imposition. She or he is called to object to such exclusive processes as: domination, imposition, authoritarianism, or that which tends to destroy human life. We promote the furthering of our human capacities, especially our capacity to distinguish and discern, and thus, object. Conscientious objection, like dissent, is an attitude of freedom, both individual and collective, an attitude which is to be in disagreement. It is essential to human beings. It becomes both a right and a dynamic element in the reproduction of life. It is an active component in all truly pluralistic societies, a capacity which allows us to break from any conformist intention. It is a conscious position against authoritarianism.

During our lives, we express our objection at different levels:

1. Naive objection – When we object with very little support or reason. 
2. We deny for the sake of denying.
   
3. Defiant objection - When we are confronted with situations of injustice with which we refuse to take part. This form of objection can be individual or collective.
   
4. Critical objection – When an individual or group declares their resistance, having made a conscious decision to do so, but lacks the sufficient organization to bring about action.
5. Conscientious objection – When we object to a political standpoint, having arrived at our position after critically analyzing the situation, and demonstate our beliefs with actions. The action is not passive, but rather active, because it openly decalres its objection towards society, with actions that are based on the principles of active nonviolence.
   

Active Nonviolence

Establishing conscientious objection becomes a transforming force in society, a force which seeks to construct a culture of nonviolence and objection. It seeks to create a society which has internalized the necessity to permanently construct a culture which objects to structual violence.

Active nonviolence constitutes both a form of living and a form of resistance. It asserts that people actively resist, rather than maintain passivity. It tries to awaken us to moral shame.

We recognize the existence of a sprial of institutionalized violence, of reaction and repression. Active nonviolence proposes to break that sprial. As in the words of Helder Cámara, “...The only way to break this infernal spiral is by refusing to continue with the logic of responding to violence with violence, whose natural result is that ´who with iron kills, with iron dies.´”

Love is the element which gives us strengh to endure suffering. The fight for human dignity is an act of love. If we wish to put an end to the forces of evil we must change the mind of the person who causes violence, and we can do this only if give love both to those who suffer as well as to those who cause suffering.

Active nonviolence, through spiritual change, wishes to transform fear into courage. Martin Luther King Jr. said, “...the main victory of the Negroes was not changing a law or ousting a politician, but rather to stop thinking and acting like slaves and live as free men...”

We believe that one of the achievements of the Ecuadorian Indigenous Movement is that through their resistance, they have left their communities, lost their fears, and joined the movement for Ecuadorian social transformation of which they are both actors and subjects. We understand that nonviolence is both a form of life and a strategy of resistance. As such, we have our own teaching and methodology with which to direct our lives and our society. We propose  that change must begin on a personal, internal level, if we wish to change external structures. This implies intrinsic personal change on behalf of all of us, and this is the base of a new society.

Every human being has value. We do not seek to humiliate or defeat an opponent, but rather we seek reformation, in which we gain the understanding and friendship of our opponent, in order that they be an ally of our fight. We wish to break the walls and barriers that separate us, so that we may see one another as human beings. We strive for reconcilition so that together we may construct a community based upon the values of justice.

Active nonviolence is, appropriately, active The intention of active nonviolence is to untie the knots of tension which separate us as human beings. It is not a method for cowards, but rather a method for those who actively resist. We understand that life is not linear, but circular. All violent actions that we commit will affect us sooner or later. We believe that a culture of peace is achieved through more justice and less violence. Peace is achieved when we resolve our conflicts in a nonviolent manner. We propose to create a system of conflict management which permits us to construct values, norms, and attitudes within this nonviolent manner. What we are proposing is a way towards personal and collective growth.

Concientious objection and nonviolence become transforming forces that are able to integrally change human beings and communities, guiding us towards a more humane and unified society, in which the principles of democracy, respect, and tolerance are guaranteed.

Our resistance is born from a cry which stems from deep within the bowels of life, a cry that lulls us with pleasure, happiness, tenderness, passion, and brotherhood; which invites us to our lives and to our dreams; which invites us to simply be human. It is a whisper to our senses, which guides us to shout out our cry for life against the northerly winds that reproduce the meaninglessness of death, individualism, and greed.