March 20, 2008
The Costs of Freedom
By: Monica Benderman of Benderman Defense and Benderman's Bridge. Their book "Letters From Ft. Lewis Brig" is now available at bookstores and through Lyons Press. Five years of this war, and no end in sight. I received an email from...
January 20, 2008
The High Price of Talk
By: Monica Benderman of Benderman Defense and Benderman's Bridge "There was a consensus that last year was not productive...Our expectations were dashed," so John Isaacs was quoted as saying at a meeting of anti-war groups last week. One group alone...
November 26, 2007
What Do You Know of War?
By: Monica Benderman of Benderman Defense and Benderman's Bridge The doors have opened on another holiday season. Utility workers have spent hours hoisting holiday decorations to the tops of buildings and attaching lights to all the telephone poles in town....
November 21, 2007
Needing Peace
By: Monica Benderman of Benderman Defense and Benderman's Bridge I received an email last week. Almost two pages long and with only enough sentence breaks to count on one hand, it was coming from a place I knew all too...
May 9, 2007
Land of Opportunity
By: Monica Benderman of Benderman Defense and Benderman's Bridge Juan was sixteen or he could have been twelve. Neither one of us spoke the other's language but we communicated with hand signals, drawing pictures in the air and pointing to...
March 28, 2007
On Ending War
By Monica Benderman The Veterans For Peace caravan came through Hinesville, Georgia last week. It was the first time since the start of the war that a group from the Peace movement had held any actions in this military town,...
March 5, 2007
Another Brick in the Wall
By Monica Benderman I remember the first time I visited the Viet Nam memorial in Washington, DC. I wasn't very old and neither was the wall. I was not sure I understood why there had been a war; even to...
February 19, 2007
AMERICA - Where are you now?
By Monica Benderman He was old school. Wearing nothing but a simple button-down shirt and blue jeans he walked to the back of the café and sat at a chair in the corner. He ordered a home-style meal and ate...
September 13, 2006
Civilian Responsibility
BY: Monica Benderman of Benderman Defense and the Benderman Defense Trust This weekend, we had the opportunity to participate in a forum at the Congressional Black Caucus Legislative Conference. The centerpiece of this forum was GI Resistance, as documented by...
August 31, 2006
Kevin Benderman Released
BY: Monica Benderman of Benderman Defense and the Benderman Defense Trust On July 27, 2005, in a military court martial held at Ft. Stewart, Georgia, Sgt. Kevin Benderman was convicted of Missing Movement for allegedly refusing to board a plane...
July 24, 2006
A Child Cries
By: Monica Benderman One year ago my husband was sentenced to 15 months in prison for his refusal to participate in war. He is a combat veteran. He is no coward. He saw the cost of war - the experiences...
May 19, 2006
Congressional Briefing for Conscientious Objection
BY: Monica Benderman 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....
April 18, 2006
On Whose Authority?
BY: Monica Benderman Driving on a community road not far from here, I passed a new construction site. The structure will be imposing upon completion, but even without seeing the finished product, its representation is enough to inspire questions. The...
March 29, 2006
A Man's Word
BY: Monica Benderman When a soldier no longer wants to fight, when his conscience tells him that he can no longer believe in the mission and commanders order that soldier back to combat against his will, there is something wrong....
March 24, 2006
Freedom
BY: Monica Benderman Back in 1620, Pilgrims came to this country to get away from the repression they felt by those in England who would not allow them to practice their religion freely. No one from another country went to...
March 18, 2006
What In God's Name Is Happening?
BY: Monica Benderman Late last August, barely a month after my husband was sent to prison for filing a Conscientious Objector application, we all watched as history was made. Hurricane Katrina roared into view, and America sat watching its story...
January 28, 2006
Apathy of Biblical Proportions
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...
January 24, 2006
You Say This is Your Country
BY: MONICA BENDERMAN To those ex-patriots of America who profess solidarity with the actions of Americans who are speaking out against the corruption and abuse of our Constitution and the rights it affords the American people: To those who speak...
January 18, 2006
A Call to America: Dare to Make a Principled Stand
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...
January 12, 2006
Have You Forgotten?
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...
December 25, 2005
What Have We Learned?
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,...
December 15, 2005
A VietNam Veteran: His Name Was Earl
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...
December 13, 2005
What Peace Needs
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...
December 8, 2005
An Open Letter To the Congress of the United States
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?...
November 30, 2005
Who Made America Right?
BY: Monica Benderman War - Guns, tanks, chemical weapons, killing, devastation, inhumanity. Why do we go to war? Why does anyone pursue another to the point of war? Forget who instigated it. At war - both sides kill. Soldiers are...
November 29, 2005
How Do You Save a Country?
By Monica Benderman How do you trust a country that cannot keep its word? How do you trust a country that allows decisions to be made by leaders not elected for their integrity, but because their beliefs were accepted by...
November 11, 2005
Wake Up America
By: Monica Benderman Wake up, America... stop believing in the illusion Americans blindly move through the fog, running from themselves, believing in saviors who will pull them above the fray just before they go over the edge. We don't face...
October 29, 2005
In the Name of Justice
By: Monica Benderman Kevin Benderman sits in jail. An injustice. He did not want to go. He did not take his stand, break a law and dare the courts to put him in jail with a stiff sentence. Kevin Benderman...
October 28, 2005
The Incompetent Conspiracy
By; Monica Benderman As we watch the events of our lives unfold millions of people breathe the word “conspiracy” as if everyone is out to get them. Why? The only conspiracy is the conspiracy of incompetence. It begins by being...
October 26, 2005
The Game Is Not Life
By Monica Benderman It's been two and a half years. There are almost 2000 soldiers deaths officially accounted for. How many family members does that come to? Is there a number? The war has cost billions. Where did it all...
October 14, 2005
From Chaos to Conscience to Peace
By: Monica Benderman Please visit Sgt. Benderman's website, www.BendermanTimeline.com for a chronology of events, complete with documentation, leading to his court martial, along with a continuous discussion about Conscientious Objection and veterans' issues....
August 31, 2005
The Roller Coaster Ride
By: Monica Benderman Benderman Defense In an amusement park that I used to take our kids to, there was a roller coaster ride called the "Corkscrew." It turned, and twisted and even reversed itself and went backwards after the first...
August 26, 2005
Where Is Peace?
By: Monica Benderman War is promoted. Anti-war responds. Anti-war protests. War counters. Somewhere in the middle is the truth. Peace. Freedom to make a choice....
August 17, 2005
There is no Glory in Dying
By Monica Benderman UTJ Note: There are actions happening across the U.S. today. You may find one near you at Moveon.org. There are a number of them in Portland, Oregon and the surrounding area which you can find here For...
August 8, 2005
Sgt. Kevin Benderman
By: Monica Benderman MEMORANDUM TO: George W. Bush - President, United States of America Donald Rumsfeld - Secretary of Defense, United States of America RE: Sgt. Kevin Benderman Dear Sirs: As I am certain you are all aware, my husband,...
February 22, 2005
The Solution Will Show Itself In The Form of Peace
By: Monica Benderman "... and a child shall lead them." In Japan, on August 6, 1945, an atomic bomb created in America was dropped over the Japanese city of Hiroshima. A small child of 2, Sadako Sasaki, and her family...
February 13, 2005
Benderman Update
By: Monica Benderman We have received tremendous support from readers who have learned of our situation through your website. Thank you for all the support you have given by providing a valuable forum in which my husband Kevin Benderman can...
February 6, 2005
I Do Not Understand (?)
By: Monica Benderman "Actually, it's quite fun to fight them ... it's a hell of a hoot." "It's fun to shoot some people." As the wife of a soldier who has sworn to "defend his country and its constitution against...
