Year end fundraising campaign and our January 2021 Newsletter PDF

We’ve never experienced this before in the history of the U.S. With inauguration day a little over a month away, Donald Trump is still refusing to concede the loss of the election to president-elect Joe Biden. Luckily, the vote tallies weren’t close enough to overcome the ineptitude of Trump’s power grab.

Trump’s foreign and domestic policies have been human rights disasters. He escalated bombing in Afghanistan and Yemen, causing a record number of civilian casualties and endangering U.S. troops. He ordered National Guardsmen to violently attack peaceful Black Lives Matter protesters, put children in cages, and has been responsible for the massive mishandling of COVID-19 leading to nearly 300,000 American deaths. Now, he wants to destroy our democracy also. 

In order to continue defending our democracy, we need to make it clear to members of the military that organizations like Courage to Resist will be standing by to offer support when they refuse illegal orders. Give now to support our efforts to safeguard our democracy by supporting the troops who refuse to fight!

Despite Trump’s team having lost many lawsuits to overturn election results, he continues to lie to his base, telling them he won the election, and to look for other loopholes to exploit. Recently, he went so far as to ask the Supreme Court to block millions of votes from four battleground states that voted for Biden. There have also been reports of Trump’s efforts to convince republican-leaning state legislatures to appoint electors that will defy the will of the voters. 

Public pressure has been key to discouraging other lawmakers, and the military, from backing Trump’s attempted coup and ensuring democracy wins instead. We’ve seen in other countries that convincing military members to side with the public and democracy is critical to stopping attempted authoritarians like Trump. That is why we’ve worked with our partners to collect thousands of signatures calling on the Defense Secretary and Joint Chiefs of Staff to refuse any order by Trump to interfere in the election. And that’s why we’re asking you now to help sustain our efforts to support troops who refuse illegal orders.

Will you give today to ensure we can support troops who refuse illegal orders, including orders by Trump to overturn the will of American voters? 

Yes, I’ll give $25
Yes, I’ll give $50
Yes, I’ll give $100
Yes, I’ll give $250

Yes, I’ll give another amount

Since 2006, Courage to Resist has encouraged the troops to do the right thing and refuse illegal and unjust orders. In that time, we’ve helped secure favorable legal and political outcomes for hundreds of conscientious objectors. This year has been a year full of unprecedented challenges to our democracy and our way of life. But with your help, we can continue to make a historic difference in the movement against illegal wars, occupations, the policies of empire abroad and martial law at home. 

Looking ahead to a Biden administration, we know we have plenty of work to do.  For the past several decades, there has been a dangerous trend of US presidents, Democrats and Republicans alike, starting and escalating unnecessary conflicts.  In the months and years ahead, we ask for your help to ensure that Biden delivers on his promises to end existing conflicts and to avoid new ones.

Thank you for being part of our movement,

Jeff Paterson
On behalf of the Courage to Resist Organizing Collective