Department of War

By Susan Miller

President Trump has finally made a proclamation that I agree with. By renaming the Department of Defense, he tells the truth about what the department has been all along: a Department of War.

I don’t believe that any of the wars that the United States has engaged in during my lifetime have been defensive. And even if they are construed to be so, such as saying that our nation is “defending our national interests,” I cannot support wars with my money.

I began my war tax resistance when I first got telephone service in my name. The excise tax on phones had been raised to 10 percent to collect money to pay for the Viet Nam war. Since I was already a Conscientious Objector to War because of my religious beliefs, it made sense to stop paying for war while praying for peace. Also, since I am a woman and was not drafted to fight in Viet Nam, refusing the telephone tax seemed like the least I could do.

I was earning a salary during those years and didn’t know how to keep the government from collecting income taxes on my wages other than by itemizing my charitable donations and deductible expenses. Since leaving full-time employment, marrying and having children, I contributed to my family’s below-taxable income status by sometimes having a negative income from my freelance writing for local and church publications. Now in retirement, my social security income is not taxable, so I continue to have a below-taxable income. This status helps my conscience since I do not directly pay for war with my income taxes, but the increased cost of living since moving from Kansas to New York City is challenging. By trying to live with middle-class values while having below-taxable income, I don’t quite “fit in” anywhere. Fortunately, NWTRCC members have been my support group for my mildly radical WTR since the 1990s.

If our country is attacked by another country and fights a defensive war in the near future it will be in response to our nation’s provocative behavior and its financial support of Netanyahu’s annihilation of Gaza and of Palestinians in the other Israeli occupied territories.

The USA is a country of war. We wage war not only on countries in other parts of the world, but also on our own people and those who have come here to escape violence in their birth countries. My small WTR actions need to be multiplied by millions of citizens to change the mindset that the way to peace is by eliminating our enemies

Our country has been greatly blessed with fertile fields, fresh water, fascinating animals, and fantastic scenery. We have a wealth of creative people who have invented new things that our ancestors never even dreamed of. We have transportation and infrastructure that functions smoothly nearly all the time. Most of us don’t even have to think about our instant supply of air-conditioned comfort or the availability of fresh food at the market or delivered to our door. And we have enjoyed years of friendly neighbors right across our borders.

But . . . we have abused our good gifts and squandered our wealth as we worshiped the god of war. We have wasted our money on weapons of mass destruction and on research that can ensure mutual destruction of both our own people and those from “enemy” countries. We have elected politicians who make laws that favor those who donate to their campaign chests instead of representing their constituents.

President Trump has, of course, accelerated the destruction of our country. He makes enemies abroad and instills fear in immigrants who have other-than-white skin. He could use his power to force Netanyahu to stop bombing and starving Gazans and to feed, house, heal, and educate poor people in the United States if only he would.

Let’s not let Trump exercise his maniacal power. Let’s RESIST with our bodies, our minds, and our tax monies that support the Department of War.