From the Vault: Against the Tide: Conscientious Objection in America

In 1991, producer Judy Erlich brought the history of conscientious objection in America to Pacifica listeners in a radio documentary called Against the Tide. The program traced the subject of those who refuse to fight due to their conscience from the Revolutionary War to the 1991 Gulf War. In this week’s episode of From the Vault, we’ll sit with Judy Ehrlich, as she recalls how she initiated the 1991 radio project and the subsequent 2001 film adaptation entitled The Good War and Those Who Refused to Fight It, in which Ehrlich teamed up with filmmaker Rick Tejeda Flores to adapt Against the Tide for film. (The film was released around the time of the 2001 attack on the World Trade Center.) This year, the film’s producers re-released the DVD, including special features that address the current conflict in the Middle East, as well as new interviews with Daniel Ellsberg, Studs Terkel, James Farmer, Ambassador Max Kampleman, and the poetry of William Stafford. Pacifica Radio Archives is proud to feature selections of these important productions that beautifully encapsulate the original mission of Pacifica Radio’s co-founder, Lew Hill.