Life is full of choices. One of ours is to resist war taxes. In our first year of marriage we protested militarism by writing to members of Congress but still making federal tax payments. In the 1960s, while working with Mennonite Central Committee in Indonesia, we lived on a maintenance income that was not taxable. For several years we paid a percentage of the required taxes and then wrote to members of Congress who have the responsibility for tax decisions. Under President Reagan we actually received reimbursements from the IRS, which we cheerfully sent to our service organization. While serving as director of a Department of Housing and Urban Development project, we worked with a board that supported our efforts to redirect our taxable income to peaceful purposes.

We discovered it is possible to live below a federally taxable level if one donates to benevolences while living on a modest income.

Despite the promise of religious freedom in the Bill of Rights, Congress has yet to honor the consciences of its citizens.

Why do we resist war taxes? Our motivation springs from a commitment to love and justice, which reaches beyond national boundaries. Could guilt be a factor? Do we have the freedom to make choices that build up rather than tear down? Are we obligated to pay the price of blood? Let us join our efforts to redirect our wasted tax dollars and destroy the culture of death.

Donald and Eleanor Kaufman
North Newton, Kan.