Civil Disobedience and positivism -Reply

[Rodney Smith]

I think that Dan raises a very interesting question regarding whether
a claimant for an exemption should succeed only if her claim has
a particular impact on her.  At this stage, I am still reflecting
on that issue, and am unprepared to respond at this stage, although
I think that it makes some sense.  I do, however, want to note that
a person of conscience often pays a substantial price, even if she
seeks and obtains an exemption.  I was granted an exemption from the
draft laws, as a conscientious objector, but I paid a significant
price, in a cultural sense, for my exemption.  It is not pleasant
to act on one's conscience and be called a coward for doing so.  In
many respects, I also knew that my choice might well preclude me
from running for office in the future (with age, this seems like a
very small sacrifice).  At any rate, many sincere acts of conscience
(even if exempted) come at a very high cost for the individual.  Of
course, we can increase the cost all the more by simply refusing
to grant exemptions.  If we do so, however, we should not be surprised
that we have increased the cost of conscience to the point that very
few people act according to conscience in our day.

rod smith
capital university