By Lincoln Rice “And who is my neighbor?” A scholar of the law asked Jesus this question, and he responded by sharing the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37). The Samaritan (an outsider) aided a victim of a vicious robbery after pillars of the religious community had ignored him. I was taught this story… Continue reading
Profiles
Strength in Community – Peter and Mary Sprunger-Froese
By Ruth Benn from an interview on March 9, 2015 Peter and Mary live in Colorado Springs and are part of the Bijou Community, which is an intentional, faith-based community working for nonviolence and social justice. They met when Peter was in graduate school at a Mennonite Seminary in Indiana, and Mary was working with… Continue reading
More Advantages of Aging
By Redmoonsong Having been a war tax resister most of my life (and doing mostly unwaged work — mother, housekeeper, etc.), the IRS says I only have 27 quarters — not enough for regular Social Security and Medicare. Well, if you wait till you’re 69 like I did, and are poor, disabled or blind, you… Continue reading
War Tax Resistance and Other Paths to a Better World
By Sylvia Metzler In 2014 my taxable income was $11,826 and I got a $41 refund. Too bad! I would like to have withheld some taxes to protest money used for wars and drone killings and budget cuts for education, health care, and environmental protection. I can no longer concentrate my protests only on military… Continue reading
21 Years and Still Hanging In There
I began my journey with war tax resistance in 1989 and now, over twenty years later, I am still hanging in there with every bit as much resolve. My conviction that it is wrong for my tax dollars to fund wars to "keep us secure"
remains strong.
Staying In the Way
By Cathy Deppe My first run-in with the IRS was a direct result of refusing the federal excise tax on telephone service, which was increased by President Lyndon Johnson to help pay for the war in Vietnam. Although LBJ said we could have guns and butter too, we would have to pay for both. My… Continue reading
Passionate for Peace
By Jason Rawn Aanya Adler Friess has been resisting war taxes since the 1960s. At age 86, she no longer attends meetings on a regular basis, though she lives below the taxable income level. She discusses war tax resistance with activists from the organizations that make up Albuquerque’s Peace and Justice Organizations Linking Arms (PAJOLA),… Continue reading
A Part of My Identity
Q & A with Rev. Andrea Ayvazian MTAP: Tell us a little about yourself. Andrea: When asked about who I am, how to introduce myself, I fumble around and use some or all of these words – I am the proud mother of Sasha Klare-Ayvazian (now 24); I am a woman of faith, a long-time… Continue reading
Professional Life, Public Resistance
By Seth Berner My name is Seth Berner. I’m a poverty lawyer and general human rights activist in Portland, Maine. At some point I realized that I could not act for change and help those in need if I blindly supported the status quo and despair by automatically paying all the taxes my government wanted… Continue reading
Committed Radicals
By Carol Dotterer My 88-year-old mom, Ruth Kirk, was visiting me in South Carolina when we were asked to write a profile for this newsletter after we asked for some Zombie war tax resistance forms mentioned in the December 2011 issue. Ruth: I sent every senator and representative a copy of the book Addicted to… Continue reading
A Protest Becomes A Way of Life
By Beth Seberger This is the text of Beth’s presentation at the November 2011 WTR gathering in Kansas City. You can watch it on YouTube. In 1970, two years out of college, as a recent arrival to Kansas City, and in the midst of the Vietnam War, I became a war tax resister. Why? Because when I told… Continue reading
Taking Responsibility
By Lauren Tepper “I believe that we must consciously develop a greater sense of Universal Responsibility. We must learn to work not just for our own individual self, family, or nation, but for the benefit of all humankind.” —H.H. the XIVth Dalai Lama “A people that values its privileges above its principles soon loses both.”… Continue reading