{The story of Haditha, Iraq--delayed another week, to bring you this short report.}
There were six to eight of us gathered in the green-space
that divides the road between our St. Clair County library and courthouse. It was almost noon on July 3rd the
day before the holiday, as one of our signs declared, We pray for Peace, Why
pay for War? And another: Independence
from War Tax Day—Check your W-4 on July 4th to Convert War Tax to
Peace Tax April 15th.
We prayed the Our Father first, being spontaneously
joined by an acquaintance of Lyn Chabot as we held hands. Then we sang “Amazing Grace” led by my wife
Ande’s guitar, followed by Lyn and I burning IRS 1099 and W-4 forms letting the
ashes drop into a glass bowl of blue water.
This symbolized our efforts to minimize prepayment of
federal income taxes that go to war, and redirecting some of that to community
service, job creation, and peace projects near in the Blue Water area, or
farther away—whatever conscience inspires on April 15th. But not having paid so much through the
year, will leave some tax due to refuse, and redirect.
Much more smart money to flow in this type of direction--with ever greater focus and inspiration
This is a civil disobedience, with the tax payer advising
the IRS openly, of the purpose to not pay all the tax due [amount an individual
decision]—redirecting to peaceful enterprise.
The IRS will send letters, and there’s some cost to this discipleship,
but help is available on the details from the National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee.
The wind complicated the burning of the forms, we could
have used a sound system to make our presence better known. Some people did stop, listen and took our literature;
two did join in for a while. But it will
take perhaps 1040 citizens of our area, resisting and redirecting their tax
money in this way to make significant difference. We want to keep the positive message, of moving
more and more of the {an average over the 40 years I've studied this issue} 50% of federal income tax that goes to war --- > towards
investment in the common good.
either conservatives nor liberals are happy with the
powerful moneyed politics that leads our country. The common citizen is not being listened
to. We must learn to vote with our
money, as the powerful do. April 15th
becomes the new second Tuesday in November.
This tax redirection is one of a number of lifestyle changes that people
can make to better participate in a real community-responsible democracy.
From Afghanistan to Iraq, Libya, Syria, and so many other
wars, our money is being badly used. Gandhi
said, “Non-cooperation with evil is as much a duty, as cooperation with the
good.” For the Christian especially the
question is—when you’ve rendered fully to God what is God’s, what is left for
Caesar’s wars?
Friends Committee for National Legislation includes the separate Medicare insurance fund income taxes in its figures, War Resisters League does not. http://fcnl.org/assets/flyer/FCNL_Taxes12.pdf
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