A Matter of Conscience

Some people went to war, some went to Canada, and others did alternative service. Coleman went to prison for refusing to fight. His memoir, “Spoke” tells the story of how he decided. 

Bill Ayers was a member of the Weather Underground, which set off a series of bombs around the country in protest against the Vietnam War. Ayers insists he was not a terrorist, since his objective was never to kill people. He believes his own actions showed restraint in comparison with the enormity of the harm he believed the Vietnam War was causing.

Karl Marlantes served in the Marines in Vietnam, so he knows first hand what it means to go to war.  He talks with Jim Fleming about what we get right in training our soldiers, and what we get wrong when they come home.  This is an uncut version of the interview.

Novelist Tim O’Brien talks about the life-long consequences of the decisions the Viet Nam generation made in their twenties, and says it’s harder to effectively protest today.