Letter from dear friend and colleague supporting my conscientious objector status when registering with the United States Government so that I might receive financial aid as a student in college; Today I am still an artist and a peaceful citizen.

July 21, 1980

Dear Sirs:

Donald Grube is a man of peace and a man of exceptional talents in musical composition, and other creative areas as well. The criterion for producing in these areas is a high degree of sensitivity to the world around us. Laying one's feelings open in this manner is risky, for one becomes more vulnerable to feeling too deeply the suffering of others that one generally is helpless to alleviate. But such is a necessary component in the production of beauty.

Thus, to educate him in the fields of barbarism, and force him to commit the immoral act of murder, abhorrent to his nature, could well make a casualty of his talent and sensitivity in the process. Talent cannot be distributed by mandate, and thus should be preserved and nourished wherever it is found. For the contributions of such people enhance the quality of life we claim to be defending.

President Carter has not spoken kindly of conscientious objector status, indicating that everyone should fight for the government if called. But, as we don't live in a dictatorship, a citizen's personal convictions should not be violated by not respecting his constitutional right to object. Military might has never sustained a nation better than a nation that supports the right of its people to object. For this is part of the application of "Government of, by and for the people."

Sincerely,

Ross Eric Gibson
Santa Cruz, California