The lessons of “Old Order Youth Told Nonresistance Is More Than Avoiding Military Service” (August) are much needed. My father nearly lost his life by hanging during World War l because of his stand as a conscientious objector. He continued to live that example after the war, teaching his family to express kindness rather than hatred. In the 1950s, rather than serving in the military, I spent three years at the National Institutes of Health as a control patient in medical studies. Then I enrolled in medical school and practiced primary care for 40 years. Thanks to my father’s example and my own experience, I have learned what it means to care for those created by God.

Jim Conrad, Telford, Pa.