I posted a Tom Englehardt column a few days ago (see it below). It that, Englehardt decries the way our fearless leaders are bleeding the American taxpayer to pay for the war in Afghanistan. And make no mistake, that war, the whole “war on terrorism” and all the perpetual wars have one thing in common–they are making some rich people richer, and they are bleeding the poor.
So I invite and challenge you, look around this website and see the absolutely compelling reasons for speaking out on war taxes, while we still have at least a shred or pretense of democracy in which to do so. Money is only one of the reasons. End war tax! endwartax
Would you take a moment to consider this question?
Can you think of anything which your government might do which would move you to do an act of civil disobedience as a moral witness and protest?
For some people, myself included, making war is such a thing. That is why my wife and I sent the following letter to the U.S. government and the leaders of our spiritual community explaining why we are refusing to willingly pay the full amount of our federal income tax. Again, can you think of anything…?.
April 5, 2012
Douglas Shulman, Commissioner
Internal Revenue Service
Room 5577
1111 Constitution Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20004
Dear Commissioner,
We pay these income taxes under protest, because of the unconscionable way they are spent. You, the federal government, are spending 47% of every tax dollar on the cost of past and present wars (see http://www.warresisters.org).
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(March 13, 2012). Paying taxes that are used for war has long been a vexing problem for those whose conscience forbids direct participation in war. If it would be wrong to take up arms and kill, then isn’t it equally wrong to provide the means for another to commit the same act? The conventional escape from this dilemma is found in the legal obligation to pay taxes. Payment is compelled, not voluntary, and thus one’s conscience remains clear.
“Conscience and Taxes in a Culture of War,” a March 11th forum in Lancaster, Pennsylvania sponsored by 1040 for Peace and Every Church A Peace Church, asked a different question about the upcoming April 15 tax deadline: how can we use the filing of our annual federal tax return to witness for peace and against the wars that have become a permanent feature of U.S. foreign policy?
(Dec. 9, 2011) The Occupy Wall Street Movement needs concrete actions which ordinary citizens can take. Nonviolence is a basic commitment of OWS and an essential part of the change we want to see. OWS needs to add a clear denunciation of homicidal security to its clear denunciation of capitalistic greed. The embrace of nonviolent power and the abolition of war are next steps in the evolution of democracy which can give the world a sustainable future. This article introduces 1040forpeace.org, a clear and powerful citizen action toward being the change we want to see. Here is how it works:
Our amazing 99 percent movement is clear on what it wants Wall Street to do. But are we just as clear on what we will do? It is good to occupy Zuccotti park, but in the end that is not our bottom line. We want to change the system.
Fear is Not the Answer
Remembering 9/11 and its Legacy
We remember that sunny Tuesday morning when news from New York City interrupted our morning activities. The first crash – into the North Tower – happened at quarter to nine. Fires were burning near the point of impact, but at first it didn’t seem catastrophic.
But moments later, another passenger jet crashed into the South Tower. That’s when we knew these were not accidents; these were acts of violence meant to cause fear, destruction and death.
We remember how events seemed to be spiraling out of control. Around 9:30 the Pentagon was hit by a third passenger jet. A fourth plane was reported down somewhere in western Pennsylvania. Many other hijackings were reported, as well as car bombs and fires at the Capitol.
Just before 10 o’clock, only an hour after being hit, the South Tower exploded and fell. We remember the dust, boiling in every direction like a volcanic eruption, hanging in the air and blocking the sun before covering surrounding buildings and the streets below in pulverized concrete and gypsum.
We remember our horror as we watched the television clips over and over again. People were dying, right before our eyes! From the North Tower, up to 200 people jumped to their deaths. Around 10:30, the North Tower disintegrated, just as the South Tower had.
Continue readingAs a Christian, Easter marks the most stunning act of grace and enemy-love in human history – Jesus’ death and resurrection. As Jesus was being tortured and executed, he cried out for mercy, even for those terrorists who hurt him.
Continue readingImagine what would happen if a massive popular movement of ordinary Americans decided to voice their concern about military spending — by withholding $10.40 from their 1040 tax forms this year? A simple, small, symbolic, but concrete gesture of protest to the $200,000 dollars a minute being spent on militarism while programs that support life go bankrupt. A few months ago I gathered in Lancaster, PA, with hundreds and hundreds of church leaders to ponder such a thing, a little project called 1040 For Peace.
Continue readingIn his second letter to Timothy, the Apostle Paul urges Timothy to be persistent in proclaiming the message of the Messiah Jesus “whether the time is favorable or unfavorable”.
Tax time is not usually considered an opportune moment for the proclamation of the Gospel. But I’m suggesting we rethink that assumption. In another of his letters, Paul wrote to the church in Colosse about how on the cross, the Messiah had “disarmed the rulers and authorities and made a public example of them, triumphing over them.” Aren’t we remiss if in our annual ritual of filing Form 1040 with the rulers and authorities, we fail to bear witness to that triumph?
Continue reading“This is a fun time to be alive!”
That’s how Shane Claiborne began as he addressed an overflow crowd of 1,100 people January 4 at the Lancaster Church of the Brethren.
Claiborne, a Philadelphia neighborhood activist with a national reputation as a speaker and author, referred repeatedly to the core problems: poverty, militarism, violence, bigotry.
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