War Tax Resistance: Letter for 2020

To: Department of Treasury, Internal Revenue Service

Copies to : Rep. Dwight Evans, Senator Bob Casey, Senator Patrick J. Toomey, President Joseph Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris

To my government representatives,

My tax return says that I owe $ 355.00 in taxes. Following my practice for the past 13 years I am once again writing to explain why I will not pay the amount I owe to the federal government. Currently the majority of every tax dollar goes to pay for past, present, and future wars. I can not pay for war. I am not against taxes, but I first need to follow God’s law, “Thou shalt not kill.”

In addition to paying for foreign wars, our taxes are now funding “war” against USA citizens, mostly people of color. The 1033 Program allows the Department of Defense to get rid of excess equipment by passing it off to local authorities, thereby militarizing our USA police forces and treating civilians in our communities the same as armed combatants in a war zone. The Office of the Inspector General, the USA Department of Defense, the USA Government Accountability Office, the NAACP, and the ACLU are among the many critics of this program. The 1033 program equipment is now used to counter nonviolent demonstrations and policing in communities of color. Instead of police protecting their communities, they are now being trained as occupying forces in our own cities and towns.

The number of civilians killed by police keeps increasing. In 2020 there were 1,021 fatal police shootings, up from 999 fatal shootings in 2019. According to the USA Census Bureau, only 12.3% of the USA population is black and 12.5% is Hispanic, yet from 2015 to March 2021, the rate of fatal police shootings per million of the population reached 35% African-Americans and 26% Hispanics.

Black people are three times more likely to be killed by police than white people, and a higher percentage of unarmed black people are killed compared to unarmed white victims. Black men aged 15–34 are between 9 and 16 times more likely to be killed by police than other people. Unarmed victims of police shootings are more likely to be minorities, according to FBI statistics. 13 of the largest USA city police departments kill black men at higher rates than the USA illegal murder rate.

My government is asking me to not only support war in other countries, but to also pay to kill my neighbors, particularly people whose skin is darker than mine. In the USA it is illegal to pay for someone else to murder, yet our government is asking me to do just that. Our government saying that war and killing is right does not make it so.

It pains me not to pay all of the federal taxes I owe each year. I want to fulfill my financial responsibilities without denying my conscience and faith. Unfortunately we seem committed to destroying some communities rather than meeting human needs. Given a choice of paying to kill or dealing with financial penalties and the threat of prison, I have to choose your penalties. I won’t pay for war.

This year I will donate at least $355.00 to Christian Peacemaker Teams working to prevent future wars by transforming violence and oppression. I am not benefitting financially from my refusal to pay for war. Every cent I owe is being paid to help save lives, not to destroy lives.

I urge you to make it possible for USA citizens to follow our faith and conscience without breaking the law. I also urge you to think deeply about how we can change our country’s direction in order to live out God’s command to love our neighbors.

In peace, Susan Lee Barton

Politics and Fear

1 John 4:18: “Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced God’s perfect love.” (New Living Translation)

Politics and Fear

      My country is living in a culture of fear, and I’m part of it. We are always supposed to be afraid, and we let fear guide our actions and decisions. Many people I know talk about transforming our society, and yet we fear what will happen if we push too hard for change. What will the pushback be? How much worse will we make things by working for real change?

      I believe that “the powers that be” purposefully use fear to keep the status quo. Fear can decrease our hope and limit our victories. If our energy goes into fear and efforts to survive from day to day, we have little energy left for changing our lives for the better. If we only focus on our fear of others – people who carry guns, people with different backgrounds, people with different skin colors, people who might give us a disease (that’s pretty much everyone), people who are stronger than we are, people who pay our wages, people who don’t fit our perceptions of genders, people who don’t use the same religious languages or practices that we do, people struggling with mental illness, people who voted for Donald Trump….. – then fear can keep us from uniting for change. Divide and conquer.

      What does fear do in my life when I give in to it? I cut myself off from others. I give into depression, which leaves me fatigued, without energy to keep up connections, and without energy to work for change in myself and the world. It also cuts me off from God. I fear the changes which might come in my life if I give in to possible leadings, so I stop listening for God’s lead and try to direct my own life. That keeps me from growing. How can I change our society when I can’t change myself? How can I change anything when I’m alone?

      I remember a Colombian friend amazed and troubled by the level of fear she found in the USA, and the constant focus on being “safe.” What I learned from her and from Bolivian friends and Salvadoran friends is that there is no such thing as safety in human terms. We in the USA work hard to develop a false sense of security, and place our faith in the “safety nets” we build for ourselves. Many of us complain about our government’s efforts to build “a wall” along the border, and yet we build our own walls to keep ourselves and families “safe.” Friends I’ve met in other parts of the Americas accept that they don’t know what will happen next and don’t have control over it all, so they trust in God and build communities and strive to fully live each day. They express gratitude for the gift of every day. They have shared joy and laughter w/me. (After two visits to Colombia, it seems to me that a great sense of humor is a national trait.) A Bolivian Friend (who risked losing his job in order to follow a leading to travel in service among Friends) told me that seeking God first was the best thing he had ever done, letting go of fear and finding great joy in his new (unpaid) work. (His employer ended up letting him work part-time with flexible hours around his travel.) They live with uncertainty, and I’ve met many who seem to live much better lives than I do.

      So what does this have to do with politics?

      The USA will elect a president in November. I hear many people so angry and scared with what we’re living through with our current president, that they’re willing to put aside any hopes and political ideals and willing to settle for the person the polsters declare is most likely to get the most electoral votes against Trump. “Anyone but Trump...” is the uniting cry.

      Yes, things are bad. Our country is very sick, and we have a president bringing out the worst in us and the worst of us, and destroying lives and causing much damage. I’ve also heard the same voting refrain over and over and over again. I started paying attention to politics when I was 12 (the Watergate years), and I’m now in my 60th year. So, for at least 48 years, I’ve watched people try to find someone closest to “the middle” (and I’ve seen “the middle” move further to the right). Both major political parties are eager to maintain the status quo. Anyone who wants to transform our society terrifies us – that’s going too far – so we say they’ll never win and we go for person who will keep things as we know them.

      As long as we keep letting the mainstream media and pundits and our own fears decide who we should vote for, rather than consider whose ideas are most in line with the future we would like to see in our country, we will never obtain real change. War doesn’t cause peace, and true transformation does not come from maintaining the status quo.

“But this is different! Things are really serious this time!”
“If we can get rid of Trump, THEN we can work for real change.”
“Anyone other than Trump will make our country better.”

      I’ve heard this argument for years, with different names thrown in. I’ve heard it from Republicans and Democrats and Libertarians and Greens and Independents. The first time I remember hearing my parents arguing about their votes, the first time my parents ever voted for different people, was when Jesse Jackson formed the Rainbow Coalition. One parent voted for Jackson as the person most likely to point our country in the right direction. The other respected Jackson, but felt that any vote other than for Mondale was just giving the election to Reagan. Others thought the same, and while Jackson (originally seen as a “fringe candidate”) did quite well in the primaries, the majority stayed closer to the middle. It didn’t work. Mondale lost to Reagan, and we successfully weakened or silenced voices further to the left.

      In 2016 the Democratic Party selected Hilary Clinton to run against Donald Trump. Some were quite excited about Clinton, and excited about having a woman as the frontrunner. (Those are the folks I think rightly voted for Clinton.) Many more simply thought Clinton was more mainstream and had a better chance of winning. They preferred other candidates but were afraid to vote for them. Bernie Sanders was seen as “too far out there” to win, and of course he associated with that dirty word in politics, “socialism.” Many were shocked when Trump was able to get many voters out to the polls who didn’t usually vote, but were ready for change and wanted anyone who wasn’t mainstream and part of the current establishment. Some of these folks who saw Sanders as a possibility switched to Trump when he seemed to be the only one who didn’t fit the norm.

      People all over our country want change. I don’t know anyone who is 100% happy with our current state of affairs. However, if the left keeps sliding further and further to the right in order to win over more voters, it’s the left who are being won over, and over, and over. The right can use our fear to gain more and more ground, and prevent any real societal change.

      I am not saying that you shouldn’t vote for someone “in the middle” or on the right if that person’s actions and statements line up most closely with your own beliefs and hopes. If that’s the case, go for it. What I am hoping is that the deciding factor will be who you think will help move our country in the direction you want us to go. Please don’t let your deciding factor be fear.

      Should we be afraid right now? Heck, yes! However, do we want fear to rule the day, and our futures? Really?

      Working for change is hard. Peacemaking is hard work. Transforming centuries of racism, sexism, and oppression in many forms into a more equitable and just society will take a long time, and meanwhile people get killed, lives get stomped on, oil reserves get drained, species get wiped out, and our earth gets hotter. However, if we keep settling for the lesser of evils, the lowest common denominator, and the weakest parts of ourselves (my big challenge for myself), we’ll never see the future we say we long for.

      I’ve been told that “fear not” is used at least 80 times in the Protestant Bible (Old and New Testaments). When adding similar terms, depending on the interpretations, it could be in the hundreds. Some samples are listed below. The message I get is not that fear is bad. Fear is natural and extremely useful as a sign for me to stop, think, and ask God for guidance. The message I get is that I can’t let fear rule. Fear can’t have the final voice. I have to get past the fear if I want to live in love. If I want to grow in love, I need to act in spite of my fears.

      That’s easier said than done! For me, that’s why God provides communities. Leaning on God and leaning on others around me, I’ve followed some leadings I never would have thought possible when I focussed on “what if...” Love can give me strength and courage to stretch beyond my “safety zone.” I’m not alone.

I will end with a song I learned recently by Melanie DeMore. https://www.riseupandsing.org/songs/lead-love?fbclid=IwAR1z_2UVT2J8MF8vgBC0OsFscY6FaZEu8r6NTPlNLYMiK1xc_hB8W8hxzSg

You gotta put one foot in front of the other
And lead with love
Put one foot in front of the other
And lead with love
(repeat all 4 lines)

Verses (call and response):
1) Don’t give up hope
You’re not alone
Don’t you give up
Keep movin on

2) Lift up your eyes
Don’t you despair
Look up ahead
The path is there

3) I know you’re scared
And I’m scared too
But here I am
Right next to you

Words & music (c) Melanie DeMore.

Here are some Bible messages about fear:

Deuteronomy 31:8 “God will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.” (New International Version)

Isaiah 43:1 ““Do not be afraid. I will set you free. I will send for you by name. You belong to me.” (New International Reader’s Version)

Isaiah 41:13: “For I the LORD thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee.” (King James Version)

Joshua 1:9: “Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

Psalm 23:4: “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.” (King James Version)

Psalm 56:3: “When I am afraid, I put my trust in you."

Psalm 94:19: “When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought joy to my soul.”

Proverbs 12:25: “Anxiety in the heart of man causes depression, But a good word makes it glad. (New King James Version)

Proverbs 29:25: “Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe.” (New International Version)

John 14:27: “Peace is what I leave with you; it is my own peace that I give you. I do not give it as the world does. Do not be worried and upset; do not be afraid.”

Luke 12:25: “Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life?” (New International Version)

2 Timothy 1:7: “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.”

1 John 4:18: “There is no room in love for fear. Well-formed love banishes fear. Since fear is crippling, a fearful life—fear of death, fear of judgment—is one not yet fully formed in love.” (The Message)

War Tax Resistance: Letter for 2018 Tax Return

To the Internal Revenue Service; Copies to : Rep. Dwight Evans, Senator Bob Casey, Senator Patrick J. Toomey, President Donald Trump To my government representatives, My 2018 tax return says that I owe $215 in taxes. I am once again writing to explain why I will not pay the amount I owe to the federal government. Currently the majority of every tax dollar goes to pay for past, present, and future wars. I can not pay for war. As much as I value our country’s laws, I believe that God’s laws must come first, and God tells us, “Thou shalt not kill.” In addition to paying for foreign wars, the 1033 Program transfers excess military equipment to civilian law enforcement agencies. The program legally requires the Department of Defense to make various items of equipment available to local law enforcement, thereby militarizing our police forces and treating civilians in our communities the same as armed combatants in a war zone. The Office of the Inspector General, the USA Department of Defense, the USA Government Accountability Office, the NAACP, and the ACLU are among the many critics of this program. Barack Obama signed an Executive Order prohibiting certain types of equipment and requiring police agencies to justify their need for other military equipment, but Donald Trump rolled back that order so that police departments now have access to military surplus equipment typically used in warfare, including grenade launchers, large-caliber weapons and ammunition, armored vehicles and bayonets. The 1033 program was originally created to assist local law enforcement in drug investigations, yet equipment is now used to counter nonviolent demonstrations and policing in non-white communities. Instead of police protecting their communities, they are now being trained as occupying forces in our cities and towns. In 2014 a sleeping baby was maimed and nearly killed by a grenade used during a police raid of a drug suspect. At least 81 civilians and 13 police officers died in “dynamic entry” house raids from 2010 to 2016. The number of civilians killed by police keeps increasing. In 2018 police killed 1,166 people, up from 1,147 in 2017. Black people were 25% of those killed despite being only 13% of the population. Black people are three times more likely to be killed than white people, and a higher percentage of unarmed black people are killed compared to unarmed white victims. There were only 23 days in 2018 when police did not kill someone in the USA. Only one-fourth of our way through 2019 there have already been 265 people shot and killed by police this year (as of 03/20/2019). The toll on African-American communities is especially serious. Several studies have found that black males are shot by police at disproportionately high rates. Black men aged 15–34 are between 9 and 16 times more likely to be killed by police than other people. In 2017, police killed 19 unarmed black males. Police usually use fatal force against people armed with knives or guns, but unarmed victims of police shootings are also more likely to be minorities, according to FBI statistics. 13 of the largest USA city police departments kill black men at higher rates than the USA illegal murder rate. My government is asking me to not only support war in other countries, but to also pay to kill people in my own country, particularly people whose skin is darker than mine. In the USA it is illegal to pay for someone else to murder, yet our government is asking me to do just that. Whether in other lands or in the USA, our government saying that war and killing is right does not make it so. It pains me not to pay all of the federal taxes I owe each year. I want to fulfill my financial responsibilities to the country I live in without denying my conscience and faith. Unfortunately we seem bent on destroying some communities rather than meeting human needs. Given a choice of paying to kill or dealing with financial penalties and the threat of prison, I have to choose your penalties. I won’t pay for war. This year I will donate at least $215.00 to non-profit groups working to heal the wounds of war and prevent future wars in various parts of the world. I am not benefitting financially from my refusal to pay for war. Every cent I owe is being paid to save lives, not to destroy lives. I urge you to make it possible for U.S.A. citizens to follow our faith and conscience without breaking the law. I also urge you to think deeply about how we can change our country’s direction in order to live out God’s command to love our neighbors. In peace, Susan Lee Barton

War Tax Resistance: Letter for 2016 Tax Return

18 April, 2017 U.S.A. Department of the Treasury Copies to : Rep. Dwight Evans, Senator Bob Casey, Senator Patrick J. Toomey, President Donald Trump To my government representatives, My 2016 tax return says that I owe $608 in taxes. I am writing to explain why I will not pay this amount. Currently the majority of every tax dollar goes to pay for past, present, and future wars. This is entirely contrary to my understanding of God's desires for us, and also contradicts other USA and international laws. I am a member of the Religious Society of Friends. Since the 17th century, we Friends have tried to live out our testimony of God’s desire for peace, both within ourselves and with all of God’s children. I can not pay for war, and I continue to ask you to change our country’s direction along the war path. In our country it is illegal to pay for someone else to murder. It does not matter if I do not pull the trigger. If I pay for someone else to do so, I am still guilty. I grew up with stories of the Nuremberg trials, where officials were found guilty of war crimes for ordering those crimes, and “following orders” was not considered a valid reason for committing such crimes. Human rights atrocities are against international law and, more importantly, against God's law, whether or not our federal government says otherwise. By our president's own admission, our country does not have a clean slate in terms of human rights abuses. A government saying that war is right does not make it so. For most of my life (since junior high school) I have tried to align the way I earn and spend money with my beliefs. For 29 years as I paid my taxes as required by U.S.A. law, the amount of taxes paid for war continued to increase. Meanwhile, a long list of human needs in our own country and abroad are still going unmet for millions of people. This goes directly against my deeply held religious beliefs, and my conscience will no longer allow me to participate in this mass destruction of human lives. My belief in God’s power to transform ALL of us, no exceptions, and my attempts to follow Jesus’ teachings and commandments, have led me to spend much of my life working for peace and justice. I can not say in letters and peace demonstrations that I oppose war while continuing to pay for war. So, in addition to other actions to work for peace, I am once again refusing to send you a money order for war. As much as I value human laws, I believe that God’s laws must come first, and God tells us, “Thou shalt not kill.” This year I will donate at least $608.00 to Friends Peace Teams, a group working to heal the wounds of war and prevent future wars in various parts of the world. Through Friends Peace Teams, entire communities and regions have been transformed from violent conflict to peaceful cooperation. Why is our government leaving it to non-governmental organizations to lay the groundwork for peace? I am not benefitting financially from my refusal to pay for war. Every cent I owe is being paid to save lives, not to destroy lives. I urge you, as my representatives, to think deeply about what changes need to be made to live out God’s command to love our neighbors. I also urge all of you, including the IRS, to make it possible for U.S.A. citizens to follow our faith and conscience without breaking the law. Telling me to either pay for murder or deal with financial penalties and the threat of prison is not a choice our wonderful country should force on people of faith. Given such a choice, I have to choose your penalties. I won’t pay for war. In peace, Susan Lee Barton

1911 Peace Witness

I have heard many references to the 100th anniversary of the beginning of World War I. Supposedly that war was going to end all wars. We still don't seem to have learned that war does not cause peace. We can not seek peace through war. I find it very challenging to integrate God's love into every part of my life, not just when it's convenient, and to try to see everyone through God's eyes. Fortunately God is willing to help me along this path, even when I slowly drag along. Working for peace involves what I do with my time, what I wear, how I use my money, how I interact with others, where I live... I have only started on this path toward peace. I find it reassuring to know that many before me have chosen this path. Below is a statement from Alfred Neave Brayshaw, 1911, Young Adult Friends Conference in Swanwick, England : "Our testimony concerning war is not something that we can put in or leave out just as we like. It is a necessary outcome of our root belief. "Our testimony is not, in the first instance, against the outward act of war, but is a witness to that spirit which makes war impossible. Our testimony against war is worth nothing if we ourselves, in our own private relations with others are cherishing the same spirit which, on a large scale, leads to war between nations. "The Quaker testimony concerning war is based ultimately on the conception of 'that of God in every [one]' to which the Christian, in the presence of evil, is called on to make appeal, following out a line of thought and conduct which, involving suffering as it may do, is in the long run the most likely to reach to the inward witness and change the evil mind into the right mind. This result is not achieved by war. "May not we go away from this place strong for the work that lies before us to put away all things that keep back the work, and together build the Holy City. [May we follow] the way of perfect peace. The highest happiness is not known apart from the fellowship in the sufferings of Christ."

April, 2013 Letter

14 April, 2013

Operations Mgr., Exam SC Support
Internal Revenue Service
1973 N. Rulon White Blvd. M/S 4210
Ogden, UT 84404-0040

Dear ____________,

I received your letter dated Mar. 21, 2013 on the 26th of March. I am sorry that you consider life and death decisions and the Ten Commandments “frivolous.” Your determination that I am being frivolous does not change my deepest beliefs, nor my leading to support life instead of death.

I read your letter and the accompanying brochure thoroughly. Most of the information provided in your letter does not apply to me. I am well aware of my legal obligations, and am not arguing against the payment of taxes. I am simply stating that my conscience does not allow me to disobey God’s law in favor of U.S.A. law. When human laws are made contrary to my understanding of God’s commandments, I do my best to change those laws by legal means, but ultimately I can not keep paying for what I see as murder. I am aware of the possible consequences and if necessary, I will accept my country’s punishments rather than kill people or pay for others to kill people.

I understand that many people see war as a necessity and a legitimate way to protect the people we love. I have come to understand “defense” spending and support of war -- paying for the deaths of thousands of people, most of them civilians – as contrary to God’s commandments to put faith in God first, to love our neighbors as ourselves, and not to kill. I ask you to try to see my point of view. I understand that your job is to collect taxes, not to question their use. However, I see it as a citizen’s duty in a democracy to question our country’s expenditures and the values they reflect, and to hold our country to high standards of behavior.

Regarding some specific points in your letter, here is why I do not see how they apply to this situation :

1) You talk about legal requirements for filing tax returns, and penalties for fraud. I file an accurate, honest tax return every year. I do not lie on my tax returns, and keep receipts and W2s and all other data necessary to prove the accuracy of my annual tax returns.

2) You stated in several ways that you have the right to examine all of my papers and records, and say that you can issue a summons “for ascertaining the correctness of any return filed…” Any IRS official is welcome to view my records. I have nothing to hide.

3) You talk about “people who encourage others to violate our nation’s tax laws by arguing that there is no legal requirement for them to file income tax returns or pay income taxes.” I have never argued this, I have never told others that they aren’t legally required to pay taxes, and no one has told me this. I am perfectly aware of the need to file income tax returns (this is the reason that I do so every year), and I am perfectly aware of legal obligations to pay income taxes. My employer deducts taxes from every paycheck. As stated in previous letters, I approve of the idea of taxes and I want very much to fulfill my legal obligations. Unfortunately, paying all of my taxes involves paying for war, and I can not do this. I have much respect for the law and it pains me deeply to have to take this stand. As I stated above, I will deal with the consequences rather than pay the full amount of war taxes.

4) You state that people who violate the tax laws also may be subject to federal criminal prosecution and imprisonment. So be it. That is better for me than murdering others. I am concerned that your keyword for information on the criminal enforcement program is “fraud.” Fraud is lying. I am not a liar.

5) You talk about the IRS and Department of Justice work against “people who promote or join in abusive and fraudulent tax schemes.” Please explain to me how I am being abusive. I am not paying war taxes because I abhor abuse and violence. Who am I abusing, and how? Regarding fraudulent tax schemes, again, feel free to examine my records. My tax returns are simple and straightforward. I am not scheming against the IRS. The only scheme I am guilty of is an open and honest attempt to change USA law and change USA war-making, but that has not changed my annual submission of honest tax returns.

6) The brochure you enclosed refers to myths. One of these myths is that filing violates First Amendment rights based on religious beliefs. Again, I am fully aware of the current law implication that my religious beliefs have nothing to do with my legal obligation to pay for war. I believe this is wrong, but I am aware that it is the law, and I have not said otherwise. However, everyone does have the choice to disobey the law and accept the consequences. When given the awful choice of supporting torture and thousands of deaths through war or going to jail, I’ll take jail. It is certainly not what I want, but it is the lesser of evils, and I have more chance of affecting change in prison than I do paying for war.

This year, once again, the Federal tax amount I owe ($656.00) will be paid to Friends Peace Teams, a remarkable organization bringing together warring peoples and working in violent areas to defuse tensions and prevent future wars. From families to communities and entire countries (DR of Congo, Rwanda, Burundi, Colombia, Guatemala, El Salvador, Indonesia, the Phillippines, Kenya…), Friends Peace Teams is demonstrating real change toward building a more peaceful world. As usual, I will send a receipt to show that I am not trying to get out of paying the amount I owe. I just can’t pay it toward continued war-making.

Please tell me : How is giving up claim to all property, risking loss of my job and livelihood, dealing with the higher costs and inconveniences of living without credit or a credit card, and risking Federal imprisonment, “frivolous?”

In peace,
Susan Lee Barton

October, 2012 Letter

26 October, 2012

The Internal Revenue Service
P.O. Box 9052
Andover, Massachusetts 01810-9052

Dear Friends,

On the 15th of April I mailed you a letter with my 2011 tax return, explaining why my conscience will not allow me to pay what my tax return says that I owe. My conscience and faith have not altered in the past 6 months. Paying for war goes against the core of my understanding of God’s will.

War involves murder. Murder is illegal. If I were to hire someone to murder someone else, our government would put me in jail, and yet you are asking me to pay for the murder of hundreds of people in various parts of the world. The fact that my country’s government is asking me to do this does not change the fact that it is wrong. I try to live the ten commandments, including the command not to kill. For me, that commandment includes refusing to pay for killing. Exodus 20:3 (NIV) tells us, “You shall have no other gods before me.” My interpretation of this is that God’s guidance has to come first, even if contrary to human laws.

I wish that I could pay taxes. I like the standard that those of us who can should contribute financially to meet human needs in our own country and beyond. I take my responsibilities as a U.S.A. citizen very seriously, and it grieves me to have to choose between U.S.A. law and my faith. I sincerely hope that a time will come when our government will not force its citizens to make this choice. I also hope that we will stop glorifying war and violence and start using our money to save lives instead of destroying life.

To show that I take my debt seriously, I saved up money for months to get the amount I owed with my tax return, and recently gave a gift to Friends Peace Teams. This organization is doing remarkable work to in violence prevention and trauma healing in several “hot spots” around the world. A copy of my receipt is enclosed.

I look forward to discussing taxes with the IRS and other government representatives.

In peace,
Susan Lee Barton