By
Dana Visalli We must know how the first ruler came by his authority.
- Locke One of the more mysterious and problematic elements of human nature
is our tendency to be obedient; to look for external authorities to tell us what
to do with our lives. The Latin root of the word is obediere, "to obey, to be
submissive." When soldiers are told by some purported authority to march off to
war, they almost invariably obey. When taxpayers are told to stuff money into
envelopes to pay for those wars, they almost invariably are submissive and do
what they are told to do, even when they know that their resources will be used
to kill innocent human beings. Ironically, it is often people who have served
in the military and have experienced firsthand the banality and brutality of mindless
obedience who come to question and then reject external authority over their own
internal ethical decisions. One such veteran of military service is Brian Willson.
Brian Willson is known to many people who are concerned about war and peace
because of a number of formidable statements he has made against the institutionalized
violence known as war that the United States regularly visits upon other societies.1
Brian was led to first question and then reject the imposition of external authority
by his experiences in Vietnam as an Air Force captain. While in Vietnam he
was given the job of checking the efficacy of U.S. and South Vietnamese bombing
missions on what were purported to be Viet Cong-dominated villages. He arrived
at the first village fifteen minutes after the raid, and found the area strewn
with dead bodies, not of Viet Cong, but of women and children. "He stumbled onto
the body of a young woman still clutching young children. Their eyes met; it was
several moments before Willson realized that she was indeed dead, her eyelids
burned off by napalm. In that brief period of time Brian was overcome by a powerful
sense that this young woman was a member of his own family, that in fact all humans
are members of the same family. As Brian describes it, this perception was not
a process of thought, but rather a deep, visceral insight. Willson inspected
four other villages, all in the same condition, strewn with the bodies of slaughtered
rice farmers, most of them women and children. Back at the command bunker he saw
a map that had a pin stuck in a number of villages in the province, indicating
that many in the area were scheduled for destruction. He found himself spontaneously
pulling the pins out of the map, saying to the commanding officer, "You cannot
go on destroying innocent human life." He was summarily thrown out of the bunker,
shipped back to the United States, and threatened with court martial. In the
years since the Vietnam war ended, Willson has been astonished at his own capacity
for obedience, for doing what he is told to do by some purported authority without
ever questioning, much less resisting such commands. "Why was I willing," he has
asked himself many times, "to travel 10,000 miles from home to participate in
the murder of innocent people that I knew absolutely nothing about? How could
such a thing be possible?" There is no easy answer to this very critical question
of why humans have this proclivity to be obedient to external authority. After
studying the problem for years, Brian has come to suspect that it is a by-product
of the ancient transition from hunter-gatherer to agricultural societies.2
Agriculture led to large food surpluses, which freed some in the community from
the need to work in the fields. Over time this led to a hierarchy of social roles,
with farmers growing the food, a military force guarding the surpluses, and a
ruling elite to intervene with the mysterious forces that influenced weather and
water. Willson points out that we have now lived in these vertically structured
societies for 250 to 300 generations, long enough to be deeply habituated to responding
to external authority. After his experience in the military, Willson tried
to forget what he had seen in Vietnam, first as a lawyer and then as a dairy farmer.
But he knew that by paying taxes he was complicit in the 3.5 million people killed
in Vietnam, in the massive carpet bombing of Laos and Cambodia between 1968 and
1973, and in the new proxy wars that were developing in the 1980s in Central America.
His awareness of this complicity was literally making him sick. As Brian tells
it, "My right-wing farmer neighbor pointed out that it was the tax issue that
was making me sick. I realized that he was right. My body was getting sick because
I was doing something that I don't believe in." Brian realized that he was
trying to figure out a way to not pay taxes that would not have a personal cost
and that this condition created a paradox that was irresolvable. He finally realized
that the only way he could be free of the destructive nature of externally imposed
authority was to be willing to accept the consequences of acting from his own
inner values. "That perception," he says, "was very liberating. In the process
of tax refusal I went through a divorce, and I lost my farm because of the divorce,
it was very painful. On the other hand it is very painful to know that I am murdering
people. In one week in Vietnam I went into five villages and saw about 900 dead
people. I don't want to be part of this. I want to be part of a movement that
says no to that." We may never fully understand the roots of our obedient
nature, but it is easy to see this force at work in our lives by simply being
observant of the thoughts and emotions that color our day and move us to act in
the world. Once we see the web of fear, obedience, and complicity we are caught
in, we can choose to move beyond it. "The process of making radical choices,"
notes Willson, "is both individual and communal, but I can't wait for the movement,
just as I couldn't wait when I went into the command bunker in Vietnam and saw
the pins on the map that showed they were going to continue to destroy villages
in the province." - In 1986 Brian was one of four
Vietnam veterans who fasted for 47 days on the steps of the U.S. capitol building
in an effort to stop U.S. aggression in Central America. In 1987 Brian sat on
the tracks in front of a U.S. Navy ammunition train taking land mines and other
munitions to the Contras in Nicaragua. The Navy had been informed well in advance
that the nonviolent action would be taking place, but as the train approached
it increased its speed rather than stopping. Brian was struck by the engine and
lost both of his legs at the knee. He was back on those same tracks a month later
in a wheelchair.
- Brian has an essay on this subject, titled
Root and Structural Causes of War, posted at his website, www.brianwillson.com.
For further reading on obedience: De La Boetie,
Etienne. (1997, 1553). The Politics of Obedience: The Discourse of Voluntary
Servitude. Montreal: Black Rose Books. This book was written in 1553. Hedges,
Chris. (2002). War Is A Force That Gives Us Meaning. New York: Public Affairs.
Jensen, Derrick. (2002). The Culture Of Make Believe. New York: Context
Books. The Milgram Experiments and other musings on authority, http://submoon.freeshell.org/fr/valium/aadc.html
Dana Visalli is a botanist living in Twisp, Washington. He doesn't send
money to international war criminals. [Return
to List of Headlines] For
those of us involved in war tax resistance, the issue of working or doing programs
with organizations that have the tax-exempt status 501(c)3 comes up fairly frequently.
Just recently I was talking about a potential WTR workshop with a group for which
I have great respect and who are very supportive of war tax resistance. When I
suggested a certain activity as part of the workshop, the organizer hurriedly
said, "Oh, no, we couldn't sponsor that; we're 501(c)3." Admittedly, my suggestion
may not have been the most brilliant idea, but I was surprised at her quick reaction.
NWTRCC is, of course, an organization that has never considered seeking tax-exempt
status, and there are a few others, like War Resisters League, one of NWTRCC's
founding groups, who decided long ago that applying for 501(c)3 would constrain
their work. But this discussion is bubbling up in other circles too. Last year
I heard about the 2004 INCITE women of color against violence conference called
"The Revolution Will Not Be Funded: Beyond the Non-Profit Industrial Complex."
Left Turn Magazine ran an article about the conference by Eric Tang, "The Non-Profit
& The Autonomous Grassroots," which is still available online at www.leftturn.org.
Tang quoted speaker Suzanne Pharr as saying: "We, the Left, have been described
as being weak, fractured, disorganized. I attribute that to three things-COINTELPRO.*
501(c)3. Capitalism." We've heard many analyses of what's wrong with "the left,"
but the question of tax-exempt status doesn't usually come up. In the December
2005 MTAP we ran a small piece about All Saints Church in Los Angeles, which is
still under investigation by the IRS (see www.allsaints-pas.org).
The following article was sparked by that event. Shelley Douglass's note was solicited
for this issue. -Ruth Benn *FBI program aimed at investigating and disrupting
dissident political organizations within the United States (1956-1971). All
Saints vs. the Stateby Matt Vogel This article is reprinted
from The Catholic Worker, January-February, 2006. On November 7,
2005, the Los Angeles Times reported that All Saints Episcopal Church in
Pasadena, California, had been warned by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) that
its tax-exempt status was in danger because of an antiwar sermon given by Rev.
George R Regas, the former rector of the church. The sermon was delivered in 2004,
shortly before the presidential election and imagined something of a conversation
between Jesus, John Kerry and George Bush, harshly criticizing President Bush
for the war in Iraq. It included the suggestion that Jesus would never have supported
the war. In a political climate in which religion is playing an increasingly
important role, especially amongst conservatives, such an investigation smacks
of selectivity. Why, when numerous churches invite politicians and generals to
speak from the pulpit during religious services or when tax-exempt religious organizations
produce voter guides that all but link salvation to a particular slate of candidates,
was All Saints Church singled out? It seems odd that a sermon that did not endorse
any particular candidate and that came from a church and a priest who had attacked
previous wars, wars of both Republican and Democratic administrations, should
raise the ire of the IRS. But, this episode begs a much deeper question: why
do the churches hold so firmly onto their tax-exempt status? After all, as we
see here, tax-exempt status is granted by the government and can be taken away
by the government. It is the government that determines what is or is not political
speech. Additionally, tax-exempt status is effectively a kind of subsidy to churches,
a subsidy that is bought with the churches' silence on political affairs. This
is not to say that Jesus Christ, Scripture, or Christianity itself endorses any
particular program, party, or politician. Nor is it to deny churches' myriad good
works, which themselves contribute greatly to the common good. However, the
Church ought to be more than just another nonprofit agency. Indeed, what lies
at the heart of the Church's mission is the proclamation of the Gospel, the Good
News of Jesus Christ. This is never easy, it requires a certain amount of independence,
an independence difficult to secure when financially dependent on anything. We
have seen, in the harsh persecution of the Church over the centuries and in the
blood of the martyrs, the difficult demands of living a faithful life. Scripture
does not recommend any specific political plan, no, but the message infers the
political. Time and time again Jesus castigated the powerful and turned to the
poor and lowly, eating with tax collectors and sinners, with love. In a country
like the United States, where the gap between the rich and poor is growing steadily
and where preemptive war is seen by many as legitimate, to defend the poor is
to make a political choice. A situation like the one at All Saints Church
affords us the opportunity to focus our reflection on the nature of the church
and its relationship to the State. Are the churches too wary of tax-exempt regulations
to speak out in ways that may be deemed political? Perhaps it would be easier
if churches were to renounce tax-exempt status and sever ties to the State. The
State acts out of its own interest, interests churches often find to be at odds
with God's will and their mission. The Church has always insisted upon its freedom,
upon its independence, and has gone to great lengths to maintain both. Does tax-exempt
status stand in the way? Matt Vogel is part of the Catholic Worker community
in New York City. Your Gifts Are Not Tax-DeductibleBy Shelley Douglass
"All gifts to Catholic Worker go to a common fund which is used to meet the
daily expenses of our work. "Gifts to our work are not tax-deductible. As
a community, we have never sought tax-exempt status, since we are convinced that
justice and the works of mercy should be acts of conscience which come at a personal
sacrifice, without governmental approval, regulation, or reward. We believe it
would be a misuse of our limited resources of time and personnel (as well as a
violation of our understanding of the meaning of community) to create the organizational
structure required and to maintain the paperwork necessary for obtaining tax-deductible
status. Also, since much of what we do might be considered 'political' in the
sense that we strive to question, challenge, and confront our present society
and many of its structures and values, some would deem us technically ineligible
for tax-deductible charitable status." This is the statement that Catholic
Worker in Birmingham, Alabama, prints from time to time; we have experience through
Fellowship of Reconciliation with having the tax deductible status threatened
and how that constrains a group and eats up time and energy that could be better
used. We don't want to have to deal with the IRS or whoever over our trips to
Iraq, for example! Shelley Douglass is based at Birmingham (AL) Catholic
Worker. Tax-Exempt StatusFrom NWTRCC's Practical War Tax Resistance#6,
"Organizational War Tax Resistance" (2000) To date, the war tax resistance
movement is unaware of any nonprofit organization that has lost 501(c)(3) tax-exempt
status due to its position or action relating to conscientious resistance to war
taxes. There is also no indication that the IRS has ever even considered a campaign
to challenge tax-exempt status on such a basis. However, it is possible the IRS
could argue that support for war tax resistance violates the definition of "charitable"
in the legal sense. Due to varying decisions in court cases in recent years,
it's not clear how the IRS or a court would rule on the question of "charitable"
status if faced with an organization that supported war tax resistance but did
not directly and immediately advocate it. It is clear that a group whose primary
purpose was to advocate civil disobedience of any sort would have trouble qualifying
for tax-exempt status. However, there is some precedent that tax-exempt status
would not be revoked if illegal activities were merely incidental to the purposes
of the organization (U.S. v. Omaha Live Stock Traders Exchange, 366 F.2d
749, 751 (8th Cir.1966)). Editor's note: Since the 2004 elections,
the IRS says that it is investigating more tax-exempt organizations, especially
churches, for involvement in political campaigning. Of the 40 churches that were
investigated, 37 were found to have broken the law. They were given warnings or
in some cases paid a tax, but none had their tax-exempt status taken away. (New
York Times, 9/18/06) [Return to List of
Headlines] Private Tax CollectionThe IRS's
move to privatize some tax collection has been fairly well publicized. We had
heard for some time that this was coming, but in August three companies were hired
and the IRS began turning over taxpayer data to them. The federal government hired
Linebarger Goggan Blair & Sampson, Austin, TX; Pioneer Credit Recovery, Arcade,
NY; and CBE Group, Waterloo, IA. They are tasked to collect from debtors who owe
$25,000 or less in back taxes, and who have not disputed the liability. As was
widely publicized, hiring the private companies costs the government millions
more than hiring more agents and keeping collection within the IRS, but the obscurities
of bureaucracy lead to such decisions, along with the current administration's
practice of "outsourcing" government jobs. Private tax collectors join the private
companies who send thousands of contractors and mercenaries to do military jobs
in Iraq-and we know how well that is working. The collection agencies will keep
a percentage of what they collect, which comes to about 24 cents on the dollar.
What does this mean to WTRs? Since most of our information is anecdotal, we
rely on stories from readers contacted by private collectors to let us know what
happens. The IRS has announced measures that are supposed to protect taxpayer
privacy and keep private collectors accountable including: - Contractors
cannot solicit direct payment of funds from taxpayers; all payments are sent directly
to the U.S. treasury.
- Private firms will not be authorized to take
enforcement actions such as liens, levies or seizures.
- Private firms
will not be authorized to work on technical issues such as offers in compromise,
bankruptcies, hardship issues, or litigation.
- Private firms can only
contact taxpayers by phone or mail, and first the IRS will send a letter naming
the company that will have the case. At that point the taxpayer can send a letter
to the IRS "opting out" of the private collection program and requesting to deal
with the IRS.
Private companies are out to make a profit, so how this
will play out in their collection tactics is yet to be seen. Congressional opposition
continues to the privatization plans. The House approved a ban on the use of fiscal
2007 funding to pay for it, and a Senate bill was introduced recently to stop
the process, but so far the IRS is moving ahead. And Ironically.....The
IRS is cutting the jobs of nearly half the lawyers who audit the returns of wealthy
people subject to gift and estate taxes. The plan has been criticized by the National
Treasury Employees Union that represents many IRS workers. Union President Colleen
Kelley says, "given the size of the tax gap and the amount of money estate and
gift tax attorneys generate for the Treasury, it simply doesn't make sense" for
the IRS to reduce the estate and gift tax corps. An estate tax attorney told the
New York Times, "This is not a game the poor will win, but the rich will."
(July 23, 2006) "Not properly serious or sensible"That is, in part, the
dictionary definition of "frivolous," and ever since the institution of the IRS's
frivolous penalty in the 1980s, war tax resisters have taken offense at this term.
In the last year or so some WTRs around the country have received a letter from
the IRS explaining the determination "that the arguments you raised are frivolous
and have no basis in the law." This letter comes in response to the resister's
own heartfelt letter about why they cannot bring themselves to pay some or all
of their federal taxes to the U.S. government. While legally the use of the term
"frivolous" may not be intended to insult, WTRs as a rule don't see anything "frivolous"
about the act of refusing to pay taxes. The tone of this letter is particularly
grating given the risks involved in resistance. The frustration for many is the
inability to get the seriousness of our case across to the IRS and elected officials.
One thing more callers to the NWTRCC office have been suggesting is some kind
of class action lawsuit about the criminal use of public tax dollars in Iraq.
We will collect the names in case this is something that someone out there will
want to pursue. Meanwhile, our various efforts, including resistance or lobbying
for peace tax fund legislation, will carry on the pressure for serious attention
to our concern. Phone Tax Refunds SetThe IRS has set the standard refund
amounts for individuals who have paid the federal excise tax on long distance
service for the past 41 months. One new line on the tax forms for 2006 taxes will
offer: $30 for a person filing a return with one exemption, $40 for two exemptions,
$50 for three exemptions, and $60 for four or more exemptions. Instructions will
be included for individuals and business who want to apply for the actual amount
of tax paid based on the retained records. There is also a special short form
(Form 1040EZ-T) for those who don't need to file a regular return. [Return
to List of Headlines] Many
thanks to the following groups that have given since our last newsletter. Your
support makes a difference!
WTR Life Fund of Lehigh
ValleyIn August NWTRCC received the final payment from a bequest from
the estate of Joni Ross from New York City. In total we received just over $4,200,
with the first half arriving in October 2003. This has been a significant donation
for a group with a budget as small as ours, and we have been able to hold some
of it in reserve for special projects or very tight times. We are very thankful
for this thoughtful gesture and hope that others will remember NWTRCC when making
their wills. [Return to List of Headlines]
After soliciting
changes from the individuals and groups who are NWTRCC counselors, area contacts,
affiliates, and alternative funds, we are in the process of updating the list.
Please contact the office if you would like the printed list for your region or
the complete national list. The list on the website continues to be updated, but
we don't list some contacts who do not have email or do not want their phone numbers
listed on the web. States that still need a contact include: Nebraska,
Hawaii, West Virginia, Montana, Idaho, North Dakota, Arkansas, and Mississippi.
Please let the office know any ideas for groups or individuals active in those
states who might serve as a NWTRCC contact. [Return to List of Headlines] New England Gathering The
annual New England Gathering of War Tax Resisters and Supporters will be held
November 3-5, 2006, at the Voluntown Peace Trust (formerly CNVA) in Southeastern
Connecticut. This year's theme is "Resisting Militarism and Materialism: Our
Lifestyles and the Roots of War." An increasing number of people are realizing
they cannot continue to consume at our current level, a way of life that destroys
the environment and must be maintained by the military. We'll discuss the many
ways war tax resisters face these challenges and how we can promote lifestyle
options and constructive alternatives. The cost for the weekend is $45,
which includes meals and housing. For a brochure, registration information, or
further details, contact Joanne Sheehan, New England War Resisters League, PO
Box 1093, Norwich, CT 06360, wrlne@peoplepc.com,
(860) 887-6869. Grant Applications SoughtThe Nonviolent Action Community
of Cascadia is seeking grant applications from grassroots groups for activist
organizing and education on issues of peace, social justice and community empowerment.
Interested groups may download an application form and guidelines from our web
site, or contact our office. The funding limit is $2,000 per recipient group,
and the application deadline is November 15, 2006. Grants will be awarded January
1, 2007. Contact: NACC, 4554 12th Ave. NE Seattle, WA 98105, (206) 547-0952,
http://seanacc.org, nacc@drizzle.com.
Living the DreamOn November 11, 41 years after the Selma to Montgomery
march of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., veterans of that march and of other civil
rights actions, plus U.S. military veterans, and peace and justice activists will
gather in Selma, Alabama, for an orientation in nonviolence before a November
12 rally and start of a march to Montgomery and on to Columbus, Georgia. Dr.
John Alford, Sr., civil rights veteran and co-chair of the steering committee,
says, "Organizers hope to have multitudes at that rally, demonstrating strong
support for civil rights, building a world of peace through justice, co-creating
the Beloved Community of Humankind." Marchers will arrive in Columbus, Georgia,
November 18 to join the 17th annual demonstration to close the School of Americas
(see below). Along the route, mass meetings are planned with speakers including
Dr. James E. Orange, civil rights leader and organizer; Kathy Kelly, recently
returned from Lebanon; Fr. Roy Bourgeois, founder of School of Americas Watch;
and Carlos Mauricio, Salvadoran torture survivor now active with SOAW.
NWTRCC activists Clare Hanrahan and Judy Cumbee are helping to organize this walk.
For more information see www.livingthedream2006.org
or telephone (334) 499-2380. SOAW Tabling and ActionJoin the convergence
of thousands at the gates of Fort Benning Georgia, November 17- 19, 2006, to demand
that the School of the Americas be closed and that U.S. foreign policy change.
Officially named the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation, the
school's graduates are being unmasked in Chile, Argentina, Colombia, Paraguay,
Honduras, and Peru for their crimes against humanity. SOA/WHINSEC is funded by
U.S. tax dollars, and once again war tax resisters will be a visible part of the
protest. NWTRCC will have a literature table at the vigil, so please contact the
NWTRCC office if you can help staff the table for a few hours. Prisoners of
ConsciencePlease write letters of support to these members of Restored Israel
of Yahweh in New Jersey, serving 27- and 24- month sentences on charges related
to their refusal to pay for war. Joseph Donato
#40884-050
FCI Fairton-Satellite
camp
PO Box 420
Fairton, NJ 08320 Kevin McKee
#40886-050
FCI
Schuylkill Satellite camp
PO Box 670
Minersville, PA 17954 [Return
to List of Headlines] Aging
Issues and War Tax ResistancePractical War Tax Resistance #7, "Healthy,Wealthy,
and Wise" includes information on health care, Medicare, Social Security,
inheritances (giving and getting), trusts, and saving for retirement. Printed
versions can be ordered from the NWTRCC office or downloaded from the Publications
page of the NWTRCC website, www.nwtrcc.org/practical7.pdf.
By mail: single copies $1.65 (includes postage); affiliates' bulk copies are .50
each plus postage. W-4 FlyerA two-sided flyer on W-4 resistance created
especially for young people starting their first job and interested in war tax
resistance is available on the NWTRCC website. It can be read online or downloaded
as a PDF at www.nwtrcc.org/w4.pdf. Phone
Tax Brochure UpdateIf you have a stack of telephone tax brochures, NWTRCC
has produced an insert that fits in the brochure and explains the recent changes.
It's on the Publications page of the NWTRCC website with the brochure itself,
or call the office and we'll send you a sheet of four that can be copied. Local
Budgets and the Iraq WarFind out how much the Iraq War is costing taxpayers
in your district and what that money could buy if spent on local services. Check
out the National Priorities Project Database Trade-Offs page and the Local Cost
of the Iraq War page at www.nationalprioirities.org.
[Return to List of Headlines] Hurry and Register!The Eleventh International Conference
on War Tax Resistance and Peace Tax Campaigns will take place October, 26-29,
2006, in Woltersdorf, Germany (near Berlin), hosted by Netzwerk Friedenssteuer.
The costs for accommodation and food are about 95 EUR. Conference information
and the registration form are online at www.peacetax-2006.com,
or contact Friedrich Heilmann, +49-3362-503071, infos@peacetax-2006.com.
Let's Make A Video! There's still time to register for NWTRCC's next
Gathering and Coordinating Committee meeting, hosted by Las Vegas Catholic Worker,
November 3-5. NWTRCC weekends are a combination of informal sharing, large
group discussions, and workshops on Friday evening and during the day Saturday,
followed by a business meeting-all welcome-on Sunday morning. The gathering begins
with dinner on Friday and ends with lunch on Sunday. The meeting and housing will
be in Catholic Worker buildings in the old section of Las Vegas. As part of
the Saturday program we will attempt to create some video shorts to post on the
internet. Bring your script for a 30- or 60-second "advertisement" about war tax
resistance, and we'll try to turn it into one of those online videos that catches
the eye of millions of people around the world! If nothing else, it will add to
the fun, and you could find yourself in the director's chair. We'll also discuss
the impact of the end of the long distance telephone tax on our work, offer an
introductory workshop to newcomers, and hear from local peace activists about
their activities and priorities. The brochure and registration form are
on the web at www.nwtrcc.org/meetings.htm,
or call (800) 269-7464, and we'll mail you a copy. Our gatherings and meeting
are open to all WTRs and interested persons. Hope to see you there! Seeking
Stories for Financial Aid FlyerAnother resource that will be coming along
soon is a flyer on war tax resistance and student financial aid - for parents
who are war tax resisters and have college-bound kids, and for war tax resisters
of all ages who are pondering applying for financial aid to start or further their
education. If you have had experience applying for financial aid as a war tax
resister, please share your story on this topic (anonymity respected if desired).
Contact Ruth Benn, NWTRCC coordinator, at nwtrcc@nwtrcc.org
or (800) 269-7464. [Return to List of Headlines]
Confronting
the Tax CollectorBy Dave Gross Russell Kanning, editor of the
Keene FreePress, and a war tax resister well-known in "Free State Project"
circles (a project that is encouraging libertarian-minded people to move to New
Hampshire in the hopes of forming a political critical mass), was arrested July
27 for visiting the IRS office in Keene, New Hampshire, with the intent of handing
leaflets to its employees. The leaflets quote the Tokyo War Crimes Tribunal:
"Anyone with knowledge of illegal activity and an opportunity to do something
about it is a potential criminal under international law unless the person takes
affirmative measures to prevent the commission of the Crimes." The reverse side
is a sample letter that IRS employees could send President Bush to announce that
they are resigning their jobs. "Gandhi called his noncooperation with evil
a campaign of civil disobedience," said Kanning. "I am calling it 'Tilting at
Windmills.' An individual seems powerless against the lone global superpower,
but it is the individual consent of everyone that empowers them. So the power
is in our hands to bring down this rotten government." He was arrested by
agents from the Department of Homeland Security and charged with distributing
materials in a federal building and failure to obey a lawful order. After he was
booked and released, he immediately returned to the IRS office to try again (without
the leaflets, which had been confiscated). He was arrested again, this time charged
with disorderly conduct. "I never got to talk with the IRS workers," he says,
"but I did get to ask some Homeland Security guys to quit." While Russell
Kanning never said so explicitly the form of his protest comes straight from Thoreau's
"On the Duty of Civil Disobedience": My civil neighbor, the tax-gatherer,
is the very man I have to deal with, - for it is, after all, with men and not
with parchment that I quarrel, -and he has voluntarily chosen to be an agent of
the government. How shall he ever know well what he is and does as an officer
of the government, or as a man, until he is obliged to consider whether he shall
treat me, his neighbor, for whom he has respect, as a neighbor and well-disposed
man, or as a maniac and disturber of the peace.... If the tax-gatherer,
or any other public officer, asks me, as one has done, "But what shall I do?"
my answer is, "If you really wish to do anything, resign your office." When the
subject has refused allegiance, and the officer has resigned his office, then
the revolution is accomplished. Kanning was arrested at his home on July
31, 2006, for failure to appear in court the previous Friday to face the earlier
charges. He was held 17 days in a maximum security cell since he refused to cooperate
with the booking procedures. In court he was convicted of failure to obey lawful
orders, one charge of failure to obey posted regulations, and one charge of disorderly
conduct and given time served by the judge. The group continues to vigil and turn
up at the IRS on a regular basis. Dave Gross posted this story on his blog
and war tax resistance website, http://www.sniggle.net/Experiment/index.php?entry=28Jul06,
and 31Jul06 and 02Aug06. See also Kanning's writings at http://www.keenefreepress.com
and more pictures at http://www.soulawakenings.com/underground/tikiwiki/tiki-index.php,
click on the "Tilting at Windmills" link. [Return
to List of Headlines] [Return
to NWTRCC home ]
[Previous Newsletter]
|
