CLIP REEL: THE ULTIMATE CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTOR

by Ted Bauer

It's Conscientious Objectors' Day! No better time to honor Muhammad Ali, perhaps the greatest conscientious objector of them all. Regarding Vietnam: "War is against the teachings of the Holy Qur'an. I'm not trying to dodge the draft. We are not supposed to take part in no wars unless declared by Allah or The Messenger. We don't take part in Christian wars or wars of any unbelievers." Since it might take us all day to link up all Ali's fight highlights (he was pretty much universally voted "Sportsman of the Century" by media outlets back in 1999), we'll keep this war-related. Kind of still resonates today, really.

A roundtable discussion with sportswriters on the topic.
A long clip featuring soundbites from Ali about the war, and James Earl Jones about Ali.
Ali speaks again about the war.
Ali and Martin Luther King speak out against the Vietnam War.
A clip from a TV special on Vietnam features some good in-depth Ali footage and discussion. (There is some war footage, so be advised)
Good article on the topic.
We like this article because the first sentence is, "Muhammed Ali has attained a mythical status." 'Tis true.
Someone wrote an essay entitled "My Hero" on Ali and focused it mostly on the Vietnam angle. Pretty awesome essay.
Good look at what Ali meant to the Vietnam protest movement overall.
Another good look at it, with an exclusive video clip of Ali being interviewed years later.
Because we couldn't resist: a clip from "Ali Rap" about the situation.
This is essentially the most awesome Ali compilation clip we've ever seen. It's got fights, protests, speeches, everything. A must watch.

You must be signed in to post a comment

Need an account?

Forgot your username/password?

Already have an account?

Member Name:

Password:

Sign In with Facebook

You are fully responsible for the content you post. Content that includes profanity, personal attacks or antisocial behavior (such as "spamming" or "trolling"), or other inappropriate content or material will be removed. We reserve the right to block any user who violates our terms of use, including removing all content posted by that user.

Print Article . Email Article. Subscribe to The Magazine