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March 30, 2026 / NNOMY staff / The National Network Opposing the Militarization of Youth (NNOMY) - A mind stops accepting endless war when young people begin to see themselves not as spectators to global violence, but as builders of something better. This shift rarely begins in policy debates or news cycles. It begins in neighborhoods, school hallways, community centers, and the informal networks where youth learn what is possible. For many, the first awakening comes from realizing that the stories they’ve been handed about war—its inevitability, its heroism, its supposed necessity—are not natural laws but narratives designed to shape their choices.
Young people encounter militarized messages earlier and more intensely than most adults realize. Recruiters appear in classrooms, cafeterias, and career fairs. Movies and games frame conflict as adventure. Political rhetoric paints the world as a series of threats. These messages work not because they are persuasive, but because they are constant. They create a sense that war is simply the backdrop of modern life. Youth organizing disrupts that backdrop. It gives young people a place to question the script and to see themselves as protagonists in a different story.
Community spaces play a crucial role in this transformation. A youth council meeting in a library basement, a creative content team filming a short video on a borrowed camera, a peer educator training held after school—these are the places where the idea of endless war begins to lose its grip. In these rooms, young people talk openly about the pressures they face, the futures they want, and the systems that try to shape their decisions. They learn that militarism is not just about armies; it is about the way society teaches them to see danger everywhere, to equate safety with force, and to believe that violence is the only path to respect or opportunity.
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David Swanson is the author of the new book, Daybreak: Undoing the Imperial Presidency and Forming a More Perfect Union, by Seven Stories Press and of the introduction to The 35 Articles of Impeachment and the Case for Prosecuting George W. Bush by Dennis Kucinich. In addition to cofounding AfterDowningStreet.org, he is the Washington director of Democrats.com and sits on the boards of a number of progressive organizations in Washington, DC.
Jorge Mariscal is the grandson of Mexican immigrants and the son of a U.S. Marine who fought in World War II. He served in the U.S. Army in Vietnam and currently teaches at the University of California, San Diego.
Matt Guynn plays the dual role of program director and coordinator for congregational organizing for On Earth Peace, building peace and nonviolence leadership within the 1000+ congregations of the Church of the Brethren across the United States and Puerto Rico. He previously served a co-coordinator of training for Christian Peacemaker Teams, serving as an unarmed accompanier with political refugees in Chiapas, Mexico, and offering or supporting trainings in the US and Mexico.
Rick Jahnkow works for two San Diego-based anti-militarist organizations, the Project on Youth and Non-Military Opportunities and the Committee Opposed to Militarism and the Draft. He can be reached at: 
Pat Elder was a co-founder of the 
John Judge was a co-founder of the Committee for High School Options and Information on Careers, Education and Self-Improvement (CHOICES) in Washington DC, an organization engaged since 1985 in countering military recruitment in DC area high schools and educating young people about their options with regard to the military. Beginning with the war in Viet Nam, Judge was a life-long anti-war activist and tireless supporter of active-duty soldiers and veterans.