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Statement by Alfred F. Andersen
The
purpose of the following statement is to urge socially concerned adults
to give serious consideration to not only the conscription faced by
young men, but a wider and deeper conscription, that which takes place
all over the world today; namely, the conscription of everyone born
within the territory claimed by this or that nation state, and claiming
"sovereignty" over every individual person born within such
borders. This is the most fundamental conscription around the world
today, including in the USA.
Consider the following
from "Obligation and the Body Politic" by Joseph Tussman,
former Chair of the Philosophy Department at UC Berkeley during the
1964 Free Speech Movement:
"When we reflect
upon what we mean when we describe ourselves as members of a body politic
I think we come to accept that it means we have agreed to something,
that we are parties to a social compact. But we must accept it as plain
fact that many native 'citizens' have in no meaningful sense agreed
to anything. They have never been asked and have never thought about
it. They are political child brides who have a status they do not understand
and which they have not acquired by their own consent." Pages 36-37
That's just to
lure you into reading more in this remarkable book.
Each of us must
ask oneself is s/he is going to accept such basic conscription. I decided
over fifty years ago that I would not accept it. So, after coming out
of prison for refusing that more common conscription I told the US State
Department that I should only be considered a limited citizen; that
I should not be counted on to obey any law I could not in good conscience
obey. One law I could not in good conscience obey involved by helping
to finance the US Government. So, I haven't filed Federal Income Taxes
for over fifty years. Yes, they seized our house in Berkeley about thirty
years ago. But I can record from my own experience with the many IRS
agents and government officials I spoke to, and which I have on about
eight of audio tape) that when one meets these people face to face as
fellow persons they will enter into intelligent and responsible conversation.
I told each one that if he could persuade me that filing was the morally
responsible thing to do that I would do it. But they wouldn't speak
to that question. And I had a feeling that they knew they were evading
the basic question in not speaking to that issue.
I invite you to
our Web Site, given below, but I most seriously urge you to check out
Tussman's book!
Also, check out
two books of mine:
Liberating the
Early American Dream
Challenging
Newt Gingrich, Chapter by Chapter
Either of mine
can be had for $5 postpaid by writing to
Tom Paine Institute,
2308 Willamette St., Eugene, Oregon 97405
http://csf.colorado.edu/sustainable-justice
Alfred
F. Andersen <[email protected]>
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