Soldiers of Conscience: Torn Between the Demands of Duty and the Call of Conscience

Mark your calendar: PBS's award-winning series P.O.V. will air Soldiers of Conscience on October 16, 2008. (Please check your local listing for show times.) Download a discussion guide for Soldiers of Conscience Download an invitation flyer to promote your own Soldiers of Conscience viewing Download a viewing party checklist to help you organize your viewing party Request free campaign materials for "Who Pays The Price?" Download the UUSC publication "A Path Towards Peace in Iraq"

UUSC and our partner Luna Productions are proud to bring you Soldiers of Conscience, a unique documentary film whose message reaches "beyond the choir" to explore pressing questions of conscience facing U.S. service members and our nation today.

Much has changed since March 20, 2003, when Gallup pollsters found 76 percent of Americans saying they approved of the Bush administration's decision to go to war with Iraq. (Only 8 percent predicted the conflict would last more than a year, and only 11 percent thought more than 1,000 troops would be killed.) Five years later, with no end to this war in sight, a majority of Americans now believe the war was a mistake.

As politicians campaign for elected office and the American people consider their future support of the war in Iraq, U.S. soldiers, sailors, and marines are asking themselves, "Should I follow orders without question?," "Am I doing the right thing?," "Should I become a conscientious objector?," and "Is this war a just war?"

Along with our partner Luna Productions, the Emmy Award-winning and Oscar-nominated filmmakers of Soldiers of Conscience, UUSC stands with people of conscience for human rights and civil liberties. Together, we share a commitment to informing the public and encouraging civic participation in efforts to promote peace and understanding at home and between the people of Iraq and the United States.

We strongly encourage you to see this important documentary, which raises questions for the American people, such as in whose name are soldiers fighting, dying, and killing? We encourage you to use this film as a tool to educate your congregation, community, family, and friends.

UUSC members and supporters have a special opportunity to buy an advance copy of the Soldiers of Conscience DVD. We also encourage you to host house parties with the film or show it in your congregation or social justice committee. To facilitate meaningful dialogue on these difficult issues, UUSC has prepared a Soldiers of Conscience Discussion Guide and other educational materials for you and your group.

Click here for more information on how UUSC is working to bring a responsible end to the Iraq war.