The essence of war tax resistance is the realization that paying for war is essentially no different than doing the deed itself. We are just as culpable if we give a gun to an individual to commit what we feel to be a crime, as if we did the deed ourselves. When we realize that nearly half of the federal budget, supported through our income taxes, is war related in some way or another, we experience this culpability directly. The government has no interest to draft my body, but they do wish to conscript my money for purposes often immoral according to my religious convictions. I hold that my beliefs against paying for war should be given the same first amendment recognition that applies to conscientious objectors to war in the case of a draft. Considering that I would apply (and be eligible) for alternative service if our government still had an interest in drafting my body, I am working toward the passage of a law that would likewise recognize my constititutional right to have my money perform alternative life-affirming service. I have no desire to be civil disobedient. But until a peace tax provision becomes law, my conscience does not allow me to be otherwise. I must live my life in harmony with the belief that there is no such thing as a good war. Thus I work to avoid complicity with war, acting openly and publicly.
There is no WAY to peace. Peace IS the way.