FOR ENDING AMERICAN INTERVENTION IN VIETNAM

WHEREAS the Ethical Movement is dedicated to a faith in the irreplaceable value of every human being; and

WHEREAS Ethical Culture was originally established upon the pledge "to assert the supreme importance of the ethical factor in all relations of life -- personal, social, national, and international"; and

WHEREAS the extension of international peace has been an historic concern of the Ethical, Movement; and

WHEREAS we recognize and reaffirm our kinship with all who suffer from the present war in Vietnam, including:

1. The people of Vietnam, South and North, whose lives, health, homes, industry, land, crops, and moral integrity are being ravaged;

2. The young servicemen of American and all other parties to the war who are required to face death or injury while inflicting these outrages on others;

3. The socially and economically oppressed Americans whose genuine needs go unmet while vast effort and wealth are devoted to destructive purposes; and

4. The majority of the American people who have been committed by their government to a large-scale war despite their opposition to such a commitment expressed in the 1964 election;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that we, the 1968 Assembly of the American Ethical, call upon our government to:

1. Permanently cease bombing North and South Vietnam;

2. Cease all offensive land and naval actions in Vietnam;

3. Refrain from extending hostilities to other parts of Southeast Asia;

4. Announce its willingness to negotiate the conditions of a general ceasefire and immediate withdrawal of United States armed forces with representatives of both its opponents, the Hanoi government and the NLF of South Vietnam;

5. Honor the Geneva Agreements of 1954 and allow the people of Vietnam to conduct their own free election under the supervision of an international body;

AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that we shall exert every effort to bring about a speedy end to the American armed intervention in Vietnam and that we call upon all Americans of good will to do likewise;

AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that we authorize and direct the AEU Assembly to communicate the views expressed in this resolution to appropriate officials of the United States government, to all American Ethical Union members, to the IHEU, to the United Nations and to the American people through news media, participation in public assemblies, or other peaceful means.

Source: Where We Stand ... 1969

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