In “A People’s History of the United States” there is a letter written by Isabella Leitner in response to President Carter’s directive that young men have to register for a military draft back in 1979:
To the editor: Thirty-six years ago I stood in front of the crematorium. The ugliest force in the world had promised itself that I should be removed from the cycle of life – that I should never know the pleasure of giving life. With great guns and great hatred, this force thought itself the equal of the force of life.
I survived the great guns, and with every smile of my son, they grow smaller. It is not for me, sir, to offer my son’s blood as lubricant for the next generation of guns. I remove myself and my own from the cycle of death.
Awesome letter!
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