Civil Disobedience and the War Tax

It has recently come to my attention that the U.S. Government spends approximately 49% of our annual budget on military purposes.

Over the holidays, I, for some reason, found myself thinking about Henry David Thoreau's famous essay on civil disobedience. When I arrived at my old home and began to unpack, I started looking through my old books and saw my copy of Thoreau's essay. I hadn't read it in a while, and figured that, since I'd been thinking about it, it would be worth reading again.

As I read, I grew more and more anxious. The parallels between the Iraq War and the Mexican War are unsettling, to say the least, but on top of that, I started to feel that not only was he right to refuse to pay taxes to support our government's unjust activities, but that he had a DUTY, as dictated by a law much higher than any law laid down by a man-made institution: the law of God, which is to say, the law of love. For what is God if not Love?

"He said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbour as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets." Matthew 22:37-40

and

‘You have heard that it was said, “You shall love your neighbour and hate your enemy.” But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax-collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. Matthew 5:43-48


It saddens me that the Christian Right is in full support of this so-called "War on Terror," that they actually advocate the hunting down and killing of "terrorists" to say nothing of the tens of thousands of innocent Iraqi civilians who have died as a result of the war. They call this collateral damage, the price we pay for war, despite the fact that the founder of Christianity (the religion that the president himself claims to follow) specifically taught taught us to love God, to love our neighbors AND enemies, and to turn the other cheek.

I think it's juvenile to believe that God plays favorites. We are all Her children. And simply because these conflicts are taking place outside of America does not mean that they aren't my concerns. My being an "American" does not absolve me of my kinship with people all around the world, in every state, in every tribe. I am a son of humanity, and I no more wish other human beings to come to harm anymore than I do members of my immediate family.

What's even more saddening is that we are pouring billions upon billions of dollars into the engines of war; meanwhile, universal health care is still a distant dream. People are still starving because of "lack of food", (when really, there is no lack. There is plenty of it--it just isn't being shared), and people still lack adequate shelter and access to decent educational facilities.

The media paints a sad portrait of these facts, but, as stated rather poignantly in the film WAKING LIFE, the function of the media has never been to eradicate the problems of the world, but rather to convince us to ACCEPT these problems, and get used to living with them. Terror, fear, aggression...it all serves the system's dedication to mass control. "There are bad guys out there, people who wish to harm you, who wish to take away your life and your liberty." Luckily, the State is here to provide you with all the protection you need...as long as you submit to everything It decrees.

The truth is, over the course of a day, we could end starvation, homelessness, the problems surrounding education, a wide range of illnesses, ALL of it. The means are here. The resources are here. What the nation-states of the world lack is desire. Nobody WANTS to. We're afraid that it would cost us too much, when in reality, we have everything to gain.

This, in my view, is the true soul of Caesar, and I find it wanting. I find it almost completely devoid of all the values that I hold; first and foremost, that we should love one another as our Heavenly Mother loves us. I no longer wish to be an obedient subject of this Empire, catching whatever crumbs are thrown down to me and trying not to rock the boat, only so that I can hold on to a few paltry titles and possessions that do nothing to satisfy the inner yearnings of my soul. Furthermore, I do not wish to be complicit in the U.S.-sanctioned murder of any of my brothers and sisters anywhere--if I have no desire to pull the triggers, I certainly have no desire to pay a war tax that provides the guns on which those triggers rest.

For these reasons, I have resolved to withhold my federal taxes from the government. If you are interested in doing the same, please check out the War Resisters League for more information.

Peace and light be upon you all.