more than a paycheck - national war tax resistance
TRANSCRIPT
National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee • P.O. Box 150553, Brooklyn, NY 11215 • (718)768-3420 • (800) 269-7464
April 2006
More than aNews from the War Tax Resistance Movement
paycheck
Continued on page 2
Tax Day 2006
Outrage Needed!don’t wear a lot of political buttons -- the one with peace in English,Arabic, and Hebrew, and the WRL
broken rifle pin are part of my standardattire. I do wear “Don’t Pay War Taxes,”for demonstrations in particular,although Ruth Clark from North Caro-lina called some months back and had ajournalist stop and ask about her “Ask
I
Howard Zinn. Photo by Ed Hedeman
By Susan Van Haitsma andAnsel Herz
oward Zinn was interv iewed onFebruary 17, 2006 by AnselHerz and Susan Van Haitsma
while he was in Austin as keynotespeaker for the inaugural conference ofHistorians Against the War.
SVH: I’m really grateful for theways you’ve supported war tax resis-tance–for example, signing the Appealto Conscience circulated by NWTRCCin 2003. I wondered if you’ve everdone war tax resistance, and if not,why you haven’t.
HZ: No, I never have—except,during the Vietnam War, I think Ididn’t pay my telephone tax—a veryminor act of war tax resistance. But,why not—I don’t know — guess Ididn’t think enough about it. Maybe Ididn’t have people close to me whowere doing it and therefore giving me
H
Historian for Peace
An Interview with Howard Zinn
tax resisters as a movement?HZ: I think the important thing is to
publicize what is being done, not in thehopes that the movement will become amass movement, because WTR is not goingto become a mass movement. It’s the kindof movement that will always involve arelatively small number of people. Mostpeople, even those who are vehementlyagainst the military budget and againstmilitarization are just not inclined to gothat far and disrupt their lives. It takes real
some community to be part of. I was toobusy doing other things. So, I have nogood reason!
SVH: Would you still consider doing itat some point?
HZ: I might consider doing it at somepoint.
SVH: Since the military budget is sohuge, with almost incomprehensiblespending on the war and occupation, Iwould have expected there to be more of asurge in war tax resistance. But, therereally hasn’t been and I wonder if you havethoughts about why.
HZ: I don’t think the actual numbersmake a difference. If it’s $400 billion a yearor $500 billion, I don’t think people decideto be war tax resisters on that basis. It’snot a quantitative thing, it’s a qualitativething. So, I’m not surprised that therehasn’t been a surge.
SVH: Would you have advice for war
Me About War Tax Resistance” button. I’mnot sure if it turned into an article or not,but it led to a serious conversation in thegrocery store and made me feel stupid fornot wearing it myself.
However, I’m thinking maybe the onethat declares “WHERE IS THE OUTRAGE,”might be more in order these days. I doknow that most readers share my outrageat the war, the administration, the ongoingscandalous use of U.S. tax dollars for warand are acting on their outrage. But, itwould appear from the notices of tax dayevents that are trickling in this year thatour groups are not experiencing a real
upswing in activity. Most of the reportsbelow are of leafleting at the post office, aworthy activity not to be denigrated. Still,we usually see a few more actions withstreet theatre or a civil disobedience compo-nent (beyond the usual risk of arrest forleafleting on public property!). On theother hand, it could be that many arefocused on plans for the third anniversaryof the invasion of Iraq, the time of the dead-line for this issue.
In New York we’ve been doing once-a-month solemn walks, carry ing coffin
Continued on page 6
Subscriptions toMore Than a Paycheck
are $15 per year.
NwTRccP.O. Box 150553
Brooklyn, NY 11215(718) 768-3420(800) 269-7464
FAX: (718) 768-4388
email: [email protected]: www.nwtrcc.org
More than apaycheck
EditorRuth Benn
Design & LayoutSusan Quinlan
PrintingLakeside Printing
Cooperative
Printed on Recycled Paper
More Than a Paycheck is abimonthly publication of theNational War Tax ResistanceCoordinating Committee, aclearinghouse and resourcecenter for the conscientious
war tax resistancemovement in the UnitedStates. NWTRCC is a
coalition of local, regionaland national affiliate groups
working on war taxrelated issues.
NWTRCC sees poverty, racism,sexism, homophobia, economic
exploitation, environmentaldestruction and militarization oflaw enforcement as integrally
linked with the militarismwhich we abhor. Through theredirection of our tax dollars,
NWTRCC members contributedirectly to the struggle forpeace and justice for all.
ManyThanks
Maintaining FearAs we know, fear of the IRS is key to their
collection efforts, and IRS press releases andannouncements are full of proclamations abouthow their audits, collections, and enforcementefforts are improving — “so many percentagepoints higher than the previous period.” To makesure that reality is included in the mix, the Trans-actional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC),based at Syracuse University, has provided thepublic with detailed information about the opera-tion of hundreds of federal agencies since 1989,including the IRS. NWTRCC has referred to theirexcellent reports in the past.
TRAC has used the IRS’s own data to produce aregular series of authoritative reports about theactual performance of what is today one of thenation’s largest and most powerful agencies, andthe reports are posted on TRAC’s web site, http://trac.syr.edu. But, in January 2006, TRACannounced it was suing the IRS for withholdingits tax enforcement statistics since mid-2004, inviolation of a 1976 court order that forced them torelease detailed statistics about how the agencyenforces the nation’s tax laws. TRAC has used thedata to show that poor people were being auditedat a higher rate than rich people (2000) and thatcorporate audits were down (2004 and 2005), andother such facts not announced by the IRS. Moreinformation about the lawsuit is on TRAC’swebsite.
Current data of interest to WTR’s produced byTRAC shows a marked increase in levies and liensbetween 2000 and 2004, data that matches experi-ence, at least in terms of calls about bank account
Counseling Notesand salary levies. While neither levies norliens are reaching the levels prior to the 1998Congressional hearings on the IRS, levies inparticular have been on a steep climb back up.Seizures, however, dropped dramatically in1999 and have shown little increase sincethen.
Year Levies Liens Seizures1997 3,659,417 543,613 10,090 1999 504,403 167,867 161 2001 674,080 426,166 234 2003 1,680,844 544,316 399 2004 2,029,613 534,392 440.
See http://trac.syr.edu/tracirs/latest/current, for fullchart and graphs. ▼
page 2 More than a paycheck • April 2006
We are grateful for therecent contributions andaffiliate fees from thesegroups:
Taxes for Peace Not War!Eugene, OR
Oregon Community for WarTax Resistance, Portland
Casa Maria/Milwaukee WarTax Resistance
Quaker City FriendsMeeting (NH)
Central Region: Change Donald Kaufman’s email to:[email protected]
New England Region: Add - New Hampshire, Tom Jackson,Dover, NH, (603) 498-3580, [email protected], Areacontact
New Counselors from the October training: Oregon: Ann Huntwork, Portland, (503) 281-4970; John and
Pat Schwiebert, Portland, (503) 281-3697, Email:[email protected], Email: [email protected]
California: Doug Mackenzie, Los Gatos, (408) 458-6788,[email protected]
Northeast: Carol Wald, Brooklyn, (718) 638-2349, Email:[email protected], and Veronica Fellerath, Bay Shore,(631) 665-7444, Email: [email protected]
Network Updates
replicas to recruiting centers with our “stopthe war” signs, try ing to make visible thecosts of the war. We’ll probably do that kind ofaction on April 15, walking between theManhattan IRS office and the main post office.Portland, Oregon, folks will be holding war taxrelated “Burma shave” signs on bridgesaround the city on tax day. In Fort Collins,Colorado, they’re going to hand out pieces ofpie to “take back the pie chart.” Milwaukeeactivists will carry on their tradition of riskingarrest while taking their message directly totheir Senator’s office and to the IRS office.
Hundreds of others around the country,whether two-by-two or in large groups, willbe out handing out thousands of the WRL pie
Outrage NeededContinued from page 1
Continued on page 3
More than a paycheck • April 2006 page 3
LEGISLATIVE news
n February 21, Joe Donatoreported to the Federal Correc-tional Institution in Fairton, New
Jersey, to begin a 27-month prisonsentence for following his religiousbeliefs against paying taxes for militarypurposes. Likewise, Kevin McKee beganhis 24-month sentence on February 13at FPC Schuylkill in Minersville, Penn-sylvania. Joe and Kevin, along with Joe’swife Inge, were convicted by a jury infederal court in Camden, New Jersey, inDecember 2004 on charges of“conspiring to defraud the United States”and “willful evasion” of federal taxes. IngeDonato completed her 6-month prisonterm on February 6.
The Donatos and McKee are membersof the Restored Israel of Yahweh, a smallBible study-based religious societylocated in Mays Landing, New Jersey.Their founder, Leo J. Volpe, was a WorldWar II draft refuser who left theJehovah’s Witnesses to teach a gospel ofpacifism that included refusal to partici-
pate financially in the military.We would always have gladly paid our full
share of taxes if only the government couldassure us that the amount we paid would notgo to fund war making,” said Joe Donato.“The lack of any provision like that forced usto either violate our religion or risk beingbranded as criminals. At that point, we sawno choice but to honor our beliefs.”
“I am deeply saddened that these gentlefolks wound up being the first pacifist taxresisters to be prosecuted and jailed—possibly ever—for felony conspiracy todefraud the U.S. and attempted tax evasion,the most serious criminal charges in theInternal Revenue Code,” said Peter Gold-berger, Inge Donato’s attorney. “The IRShas plenty of power to collect taxes withoutresorting to criminal prosecution. I look toour government to show more respect forsincere expressions of religious beliefs.”
—National Campaign for a Peace TaxFund. For the full release and more informationon what you can do see www.peacetaxfund.org.▼
Imprisoned for War Tax RefusalO
Bolivia The Inter-American Commission on
Human Rights heard the case of AlfredoDias Bustos, a Jehovah’s Witness requestingconscientious objector (CO) status inBolivia. He also requested as a CO that heshould not be required to pay the militarytax which Bolivia, along with many otherstates, levies on men who do not performtheir military serv ice. The State and theCommission came to a friendly agreementon October 27, 2005, that granted Bustosrelief on both counts. (The full agreement isat www.cidh.org/annualrep/2005eng/bolivia14.04eng.htm.) This may be the firsttime that such direct substitution of finan-
cial conscription for bodily conscriptionhas been accepted in an internationalcourt!
CanadaConscience Canada has developed their
own version of the Peace Tax Return, avail-able on their website, http://www.consciencecanada.ca, in English andFrench. “Hopefully, our right-wing newlyelected government will get the message inlarge numbers!” says Marilyn Hébert ofConscience Canada and Nos Impôts Pour laPaix.
From Conscience and Military TaxCampaign (CPTI) ▼
Inge and Joe Donato
Please write to Joeand Kevin:
Joseph Donato, # 40884-050, FCIFairton- Satellite camp, PO Box 420,Fairton NJ, 08320
Kevin McKee, # 40886-050, FPCSchuylkill, PO Box 700, Minersville,PA, 17954-0670
International NotesWar Tax—Responsibility—
Peace Tax
Eleventh International Conferenceon War Tax Resistance and Peace Tax
CampaignsOctober, 26 - 29, 2006
Woltersdorf (near Berlin)
Organized by Netzwerk FriedenssteuerThe costs for accommodation and food are
about 95 EUR.
Information: www.peacetax-2006.comor contact Friedrich Heilmann,Seestr. 21 D -15537, Erkner,Germany, Phone: +49-3362-503071,e-mail: [email protected]
Outrage NeededContinued from page 2
chart or similar flyers. Will getting this
information into the hands of taxpayersbuild the outrage? We hope so!
—Ruth Benn, NWTRCC CoordinatorThis list will be updated right up to April 17
on the NWTRCC website (www.nwtrcc.org/
taxday2006.htm), so if your event is not belowor if all the information isn’t there, be sure to getit to the NWTRCC office as soon as possible, 1-800-269-7464 or [email protected]. ▼Tax Day events are Monday, April 17,
Continued on page 5
page 4 More than a paycheck • April 2006
District of ColumbiaWashington – DC Area War Tax Resis-
tance. [email protected]. Vigil and redistribu-tion of resisted tax money at IRSHeadquarters, 1111 Constitution NW.Noon.
FloridaSt. Petersburg – Leafleting at one or
more neighborhood post offices, 11 am-3pm. Contact: Ruth Paine, (727) 895-3090,[email protected].
IowaDubuque – Citizens’ Tax Moratorium.
(563) 583-2586. Tax day vigil and leafletingat U.S. Courthouse, 6th and Locust, 5-7pm. Anti-war vigil every Friday morning8-8:30 am, U.S. Highway 20 and SouthLocust near bridge to Illinois.
Maine (April 17 is a holiday; actions April 18)Bangor, Belfast, Portland (probably
other towns too) – Maine War Tax Resis-tance Resource Center. (207) 525-7776 [email protected]. Bangor: Post office andFederal Building, Harlow St., Noon-6 pm,leafleting and penny poll, followed by ashowing at 6 pm of “An Act of Conscience”at location tba. Belfast: 11:30 am-1 pm andother times, Post Office. Portland: Leafletingat main Post Office, 125 Forest Avenue, timeTBA.
Brunswick — Global Network AgainstWeapons & Nuclear Power in Space. (207)729-0517 or [email protected] and leafleting. 11 am–1 pm.
MichiganJackson —War tax resistance history
exhibit will be displayed at JacksonCommunity College leading up to tax day.Penny poll. April 15 - Leafleting at JacksonPost Office. Contact: Alan Gamble, (517)740-8363 or [email protected].
MinnesotaInternational Falls –Penny poll at Post
Office, library, and Court House during thedays leading up to tax day. Details to beannounced. Contact: Ruth Anderson, (218)286-5819.
New Hampshire
Updated BrochureThe NWTRCC office has in stock
a new version of the popularbrochure, “Why Isn’t Everyone Who’sfor Peace a War Tax Resister,” whichgives brief answers to 18 commonquestions dealing with fear, financial,philosophical and political, and tech-nical issues. Single copies are free or12¢ each plus postage for more. Asimple flyer version is also download-able as a PDF from the NWTRCCwebsite publications page, http://www.nwtrcc.org/publications.htm#books.
Buttons!$1 each (or call about bulk rates)1” button: Thoreau image with text:“Don’t Pay War Taxes” 2” buttons (black text on variousbackground colors):
“Ask Me About Resisting WarTaxes,” “Let them march all they wantas long as they pay their taxes–Alexander Haig,” “Consider . . . WarTax Resistance,” “Don’t Pay WarTaxes” and others. If you have afavorite WTR slogan that you wouldlike to see on a button, let NWTRCCknow and we’ll pass it on to ourfriendly button makers.
Brochures and buttons available fromNWTRCC, 1-800-269-7464 [email protected].
Ask Phone Tax QuestionsOnline
A forum has been added to theHang Up On War website. Suggestedat the Strategy Conference inOctober, the forum is now “open tothe public” at www.hanguponwar.org/forum or linked for the HUOWhomepage. It is open for questionsabout phone tax, to post informationabout dealing with a particularcompany, or to have discussion aboutthe ins and outs of phone tax resis-tance. Logon today!
Resources
2006 Tax Day Plansunless otherwise noted.
ArizonaTucson – Women’s International League
for Peace and Freedom, Local Chapter. (520)312-9988 or [email protected] orwww.wilpftucson.org. Leafleting at the SunStation Post Office, 9 am-5 pm, and, at themain Post Office, Cherry Bell Station, 5 pm-Midnight.
CaliforniaChico – Chico Peace and Justice Center.
(530) 345-7590 or [email protected] poll and leaflet at downtown PostOffice, Broadway and 5th Streets.
Sonoma County – Sonoma CountyTaxes for Peace. (707) 823-9203. Leafletingat three post offices in the county.
ColoradoFort Collins – Center for Justice, Peace
& Environment. (970) 484-8039 [email protected]. Pennypoll and leafleting while handing out piecesof pie to “take back the pie chart.”
Carol Moore, Tax Day 2004, Washington, DC.
War Tax ResistancWar Tax Resistanc
More than a paycheck • April 2006 page 5
Portsmouth — Info: Maine War TaxResistance Resource Center. (207) 525-7776 or [email protected]. Leafleting atmain Post Office, 80 Daniel St., time tba.
New MexicoAlbuquerque — Albu-
querque War Tax Alterna-tive Fund. (505) 247-2788.Leafleting with the pie chartand telephone tax resistanceforms at the Post Office.
New YorkNew York City – NYC
War Resisters League([email protected], 718-768-7306) and NYC War TaxResistance, www.nycplf.org.April 15 – Solemn proces-sion mourning the use oftax dollars for war betweenIRS and post office (8th Aveand 34th St.). April 17: Leaf-leting and vigil atManhattan IRS office (110W. 44th Street, just west ofSixth Ave.) from noon-2 pm.
NorthCarolina
Asheville – Fools of [email protected]. Leafleting at theDowntown Post Office, Saturday April 15.Time tba.
OregonPortland – Oregon Community for War
Tax Resistance/WRL. (503) 238-0605 [email protected]. April 14:Holding “Burma Shave” signs on the localbridges during morning and evening rushhours. April 17: Redirection ceremony andpenny poll at downtown post office. Timetba.
TexasAustin – Austin Conscientious Objec-
tors to Military Taxation. (512) 467-2946or [email protected]. Leafleting atCentral Post Office with “Where YourIncome Taxes Really Go” flyer. Late after-noon.
San Antonio – Leafleting with pie chart
at weekly peace vigil, Thursdays 4-5 pm,downtown at the main plaza (officially Plazade Las Islas) on the Northeast corner (MainPlaza and Commerce Sts.) Contact: [email protected].
WashingtonSeattle – Nonviolent Action Commu-
nity of Cascadia (NACC) and other groups.(206) 547-0952 or [email protected] orhttp://seanacc.org. Leafleting with “WhereYour Income Taxes Really Go” flyers atSeattle post offices. Call for locations andtimes.
Tacoma – Leafleting of the WRL piechart at the Main Post Office in Tacoma, 8pm - ?. Contact: George Rodkey, (253) 961-5822 or [email protected].
WisconsinMadison – Madison Area War Tax Resis-
tance. 608-255-1800 [email protected]. Public distribu-tion of resisted tax dollars with location andtime tba.
Madison – Madison Branch of WILPFand Health Writers, (608) 238-5740 [email protected]. Leaflet at the Post Office onTax Day to educate filers on where their taxmoney goes.
What Belongs to Caesar? A new edition of this book subti-
tled A Discussion on the Christian’sResponse to Payment of War Taxesby Donald D. Kaufman, first publishedin 1970, is now available in a qualityreprint edition from Wipf and StockPublishers, Inc., 199 West 8th Ave.,Suite 3, Eugene, OR 97401, for $17.Donald Kaufman is active with theMennonite Central Committee andthe Heartland Peace Tax Fund inKansas. For more information on thebook, see www.wipfandstock.com, ororder by telephone (541) 344-1528 orvia email: [email protected].
Cost of War National Priorities Project is an
excellent source for budget informa-tion, and their newest publication isCost of Iraq War Rises, with local andstate taxpayer costs of the Iraq War.
To find information for your city,county, or state, or obtain additional anal-ysis of the administration request, go towww.nationalpriorities.org/iraqwarcost, orcontact: NPP, 17 New South St., North-ampton, MA 01060, (413) 584-9556.
New WTR Poster SeriesThe SF Print Collective has
produced a series of hand printed silkscreen color posters highlighting avariety of creative WTR messages andimages. Check the NWTRCC webpage for more information aboutpurchasing one or a comlete set. ▼
ResourcesCont.
Continued on page 7
Felice Cohen-Joppa staffs the penny poll at the Tucson Peace Fair. Photo by Jack Cohen-Joppa.
nce Ideas & Actionsnce Ideas & Actions
page 6 More than a paycheck • April 2006
nwtrcc business
War Tax TablersOut and About
WTRCC shared a table with thePeace Tax Fund at the NationalConference on Organized Resistance
in Washington, DC, at the beginning ofFebruary. This annual conference at Amer-ican University draws hundreds ofstudents and young activists and is a goodplace for WTRs to present workshops also.Put it on your calendar for next winter! ▼
N
commitment to do that. So, withoutexpecting other people to do the same, theimportant thing is to let people know whois doing it. Even if persons don’t want to doWTR themselves, I think it is inspirationalfor them to see other people doing it.
I have faced the same issue with myCatholic anti-war friends—the Berrigansand Elizabeth McAllister and those people,and they do very daring things that will getthem prison sentences, and most peoplewill not do that. And I will not do that,although I’ve been jailed 10 times in thecourse of demonstrations and so on. But, Iwould not deliberately put myself in a posi-tion of going to jail for several years, andit’s the same sort of situation where thepeople who do it are an inspiration to otherpeople. And it’s important for the peoplewho do it not to make other people feelguilty, not to make them feel that somehowthere’s something lacking in them if theydon’t go that far. The practicality is thatmost people will not go that far, but theymay go in another direction or they may doother things.And theymay do otherthingsbecause, atleast partly,they’ve beenadmiring ofthose peoplewho do gothat far.
AH: Thethird anni-versary ofthe February15 worldwideprotest justpassed. Iwonderedwhat youthought waseffective andwhat was ineffective about that protest.
HZ: Well, it was a historic act …it gavesome indication how people all over theworld were opposed to the impending inva-sion of Iraq… there’s never been anythinglike it … simultaneous demonstrations of10-15 million people.
And, I think we probably expectedtoo much from it. We’re dealing with apresidency, an administration which hasbuilt a steel wall around itself againstworld public opinion and Americanpublic opinion, and so far, the demon-strations have not affected public policy.I think, at some point, they will.
But, I think the administration, if it’smoved away from present policy, will bemoved by something much closer tohome, and that is the inability to carryon the war because of resistance here athome—people angry at the uses of ourwealth, angry at the diminution of healthcare and education and student loans—and, more important even, as a factor incausing the administration ultimately todecide to get out of Iraq, the inability tomaintain an army that has the morale tostick it out. I think if there is a weakpoint in this steel-clad armored adminis-tration in carry ing on the war, it is that.
SVH: I also see a lot of hope in thecounter-recruitment movement, withstudents saying “no,” and I wondered ifyou also feel hopefulness about this.
HZ: Oh, yes, I think that the move-ment against military recruiting in thehigh schools is a very important part ofthe movement because the governmenthas been desperate about recruitingyoung people.
Howard ZinnContinued from page 1
Youth activists of Austin demonstrate in front of school district headquarters
Continued on page 7
NWTRCCSpring Gathering
Ways We ResistA weekend gathering
to strengthen our resistance
May 5 - 7, 2006University Friends Meeting,
4001 9th Ave. NE, near the University of Washington.
Seattle, Washington
Hosted by the Nonviolent ActionCommunity of Cascadia, the gathering willbegin with dinner on Friday. Fridayevening features “A Conversation withFather Roy Bourgeois” of School of theAmericas Watch. Saturday’s panels andworkshops will include hearing from peoplewho resist in different ways, such ascounter-recruitment activists, living inintentional communities, and putting one’sbody on the line to protest nuclearweapons. We’ll talk about the sharedconcerns of war tax resisters in terms ofoutreach, consequences, fears, etc.NWTRCC’s Coordinating Committee busi-ness meeting will be Sunday morning. Allwelcome! The registration form is on theNWTRCC website, www.nwtrcc.org, clickon “Programs and Gatherings,” or contactthe office if you would like a brochuremailed to you, 1-800-269-7464. ▼
More than a paycheck • April 2006 page 7
LOCAL GROUP REPORTS
Dear Computer:
Yes, you’re just a computerJust like the ones that direct nuclear
warheadsYou have no heart or hands or eyes or
feelingsYou don’t see destruction or civilian
casualtiesYou don’t feel the agony of death and
sufferingNo, you’re just programmed to get
more dollarsDollars to build bigger bombs and feed
the military maniaDollars to build more nuclear weapons
every dayDollars to bring destruction to the
whole worldDollars to bring hell on earthDon’t expect me to pay for thatI sent my [money] to Mennonite
Central CommitteeI want to help build a better peaceful
worldI want to be a faithful follower of JesusJesus even said, “Love your enemies”Unfortunately, computer, you’re not
aloneThe whole U.S. Government buys
your inhuman logicLegislators, Administrators, Judges all
say I must pay for warBut I’m a Christian conscientious
objector to warSo I wonder, are they all computers,
too?
For humanity,James KlassenAustin, Texas
November 1979-IRSTax Day ActionsContinued from page 5
SVH: I wanted to share with youthis photo of a recent demonstrationorganized by Youth Activists of Austinheld in front of our school district head-quarters as part of our joint campaigncalling for a district policy limitingrecruiter access in the schools…
HZ: “Better Well-Read Than Dead.”Yes, that’s good! I may refer to it in mytalk tonight…. [and he did!—toapplause].
AH: I know that you’re interested inanarchism and you wrote a play aboutEmma Goldman. I’m sort of an anarchistand I was wondering if you see a greaterrole for anarchism in the U.S. in thefuture.
HZ: I think that’s the only directionin which we can go if we are going tocreate a better society – without callingit anarchism. The great thing aboutanarchism is that the idea of anarchismpervades so many people’s minds and somany things people do who don’tconsider themselves anarchists. Anar-chism gives the fundamental idea of
being suspicious of authority and wantingpeople to have direct control over theirlives—that is something that is a verystrong impulse in people, and people havebeen struggling to make that impulse real.Of course, the government and corpora-tions have been struggling against thatimpulse, but I think it will always be therebecause it speaks most closely to people’snatural desires and natural needs.
SVH: Do you think there will be atime when this country will stop usingour youngest adults in war?
HZ: Do I think there will be a timewhen we will renounce war as a way ofsolving problems? I think that time mustcome – I don’t know how soon. I thinkthere will be a point reached where warwill be seen not just as immoral but asimpractical, and the morality and practi-cality will join – the two motives will joinand create a situation where governmentswon’t be able to carry on a war because –Iraq is an example of it – it becomes moreand more clear that war doesn’t evenachieve the objectives of the people whoinitiate it. And so, I’m hopeful about that.
Howard Zinn is an historian, speaker,writer, and author of many books, among them
A Peoples History of the United States andYou Can’t Be Neutral On A Moving Train,which is also the title of a 2005 film about him.
Ansel Herz is a journalism student at theUniversity of Texas at Austin and is active withYouth Activists of Austin.
Susan Van Haitsma is active with AustinConscientious Objectors to Military Taxationand Nonmilitary Options for Youth. ▼
Howard ZinnContinued from page 6
Milwaukee – MilwaukeeWar Tax Resistance andCasa Maria CatholicWorker. (414) 344-5745.IRS offices, Federal Plaza,3rd and Wisconsin Ave.Vigiling outside for an hourwith signs and flyers,deliver letter to SenatorHerb Kohl in his office, civildisobedience at tax office.Noon.
Contact the NWTRCCoffice, (800) 269-7464 [email protected], if youneed further contact informa-tion for a local group. ▼
Alan Clemence leafleting outside the post office in Bangor, ME,April 15, 2005. Photo by Larry Dansinger.
Dear Irs...
NWTRccP.O. Box 150553Brooklyn, NY 11215(800)269-7464(718) 768-3420
Please Note:If there is a red circlearound your addresslabel, this is the lastissue of More Than a
Paycheck on yoursubscription. Send in
a renewal ASAP!
April 2005Dear Fellow Human Being,
Enclosed you will find my tax returnsfor the 2004 tax year, and my paymentvoucher. You will notice that I have notincluded payment…. It was a really harddecision for me, and now I am going onfaith that there is actually a person at theother end of this letter, someone who feelsthings, maybe felt the sun today, or noticedthe grass getting steadily greener as thespring deepens.
… in my heart, I cannot honor thedemands of the Internal Revenue Serv ice ofthe United States of America. Because, yousee, at some point, I do actually believe thatit IS up to me. It is up to all of us who havea conscience, who feel the tug of someDeeper Meaning for Being Here -- to listento the tender dreams and dare to questionwhat is impersonal and impenetrable. So,rather than honor the demands of an insti-tution whose authority I can no longerrecognize, I will honor the call of my heart.I will honor the cry of the poor, the pleasof those we have bombed, the tears of chil-dren and mothers, the moans of the slaugh-tered men in Fallujah, the fear of thesoldiers who return under cover of night tothe U.S. because they are wounded and themedia doesn’t report those stories. I willhonor the future generations of the land wecall Iraq, whose blood and bones and soiland water will be contaminated withDepleted Uranium from our weapons formore time than we can fathom….
I recently spent one month in Australiawith an amazing group of people from allover the world who are dedicating theirlives to serv ing Life, ministering to themagical unfolding of Creation, its miracleand mystery….
When I came back to the United States,the first newspaper I picked up in my townspoke of Congress approving billions ofdollars for more funding for the war effortin Iraq. On the same front page, there was apicture of children from my town, with aheadline declaring that childcare serv iceswould have to be cut at a federally fundedchildcare site. There just wasn’t enoughmoney.
I know you know as well as I do: thereis SO MUCH money. There just isn’tenough to pay for endless, illegitimate,illegal, unjust wars AND care for our chil-dren, not to mention pay for education and
Letter to the Internal Revenue Servicehealthcare. If our government can’t makewhat seems like the obvious choice here,then the IRS has lost its mandate todemand any money from me.
I will henceforth be solely responsiblefor where my money goes. I will volun-tarily tithe myself, because I long to live ina society that cares for each other and Ibelieve that starts with me. I will send halfof what I tithe to the Social SecurityAdministration, because I believe whole-heartedly in a culture that cares for thosewho cannot care for themselves, and socialinsurance is an evolutionary triumph forordinary people here in the United States.The same people who lied about weaponsof mass destruction in Iraq (while devel-oping new nuclear weapons here) are lyingto us about Social Security. So I will gladlyand joyfully stand in opposition to such acold-hearted attempt to steal security fromthose who need it. Next, I will send annualdonations to a Veterans hospital of mychoosing, since the U.S. government doesnot seem to care very much for its soldiersonce they can no longer fight. Third, I willsend money to both the Post Office and thePublic Library in my town, because Ibelieve the free exchange of informationand ideas is of crucial importance. Fourth,I will continue to support the Ithaca
HealthFund,which is acommunity fund ofmoneyfor healthcare,since theU.S. government does not consider thehealth of its (non rich) citizens to be atop priority. Finally, I will strive everyday of my life to live lightly and lovinglyon this beautiful, bountiful Earth. I willshare what I have been given, care forelders, and teach children to respect themysterious unseen things that make ourlives possible, like the ozone layer, oceanplankton, whatever it is inside seeds thatmakes them sprout and grow, and themicrobes in good, clean soil. I will ridemy bike, rather than own a car. I willsupport what is small and local. I willvote every minute with my body, myheart, my spirit, my money, my work,my play, my food, my smile, my tears, mylife—for a country that has the courageto tell the truth.
May you be blessed, and may you gethome soon,
Rebecca Nellenback, Ithaca, NY ▼