| Subject: |
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Re: "the same tax into the same pot" issue continued |
| Name: |
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Robin |
| Date Posted: |
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Sep 5, 07 - 4:47 AM |
| Email: |
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info@peacetaxseven |
| Message: |
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Thank you Tim, I think our five reasons for a peace tax on our front page answers your question, but let's expand that.
Starting with, 'Governments should respect the consciences of their citizens' We are seeking here their acknowledgement that some of us are deeply disturbed by the way our government tackles conflict and believe that killing people is grossly wrong. In our experience this extends to facilitating the killing of other people. This is explained excellently in the expert statements which are in our submission to the ECHR. You can find these on our website.
We are not expecting to physically stop the war machine by starving it of money (much as we would like to). As you say, the government can cynically move money around so they get what they want. However, they would do so in the public gaze. I wonder how long they could go on mis-directing the peace fund, knowing they are being watched and doubtless being critised for their cynicism. We are back to conscience again - the still small voice. A peace fund would be like a 'still small voice' in government.
'Society develops morally when governments take heed of public conscience'. Sooner or later, in order to ingratiate themselves to the electorate, they are going to use the fund more constructively and I think it will be hard for them to go backwards. That in turn will promote more understanding of the alternative route to violence.
'It would instal a measuring scale which government ought to find useful'. When government decides it wants to progress towards Non-Military Security - and there are signs already it does - they will find support and justification in the numbers of COs diverting to the peace fund.
'Such a fund would put pressure on government to find other ways of resolving conflict'. Once the ball is rolling it will be hard to roll back.
I know this looks like a slow remedy, but I believe it is a cornerstone by which we start to change attitudes to managing conflict. When governments recognise CO to Military Taxation, they are admitting that state killing is wrong and that better ways should be sought. All this has to be seen in context with 'conflict transformation'.
Our national campaign, Conscience, is instrumental in promoting alternatives to violence in dealing with interstate conflict. See their dedicated website: www.peacepays.org. They have also founded the Peace and Security Liason Group which is a collective of peace movements in conversation with government ministers - it is a new consultative body which is starting to be listened to.
Final plug! - if you cannot join in the tax protest, joining Conscience is a very good way to help make this a reality because: 'Now more than ever it is time to bring this moral issue into wider debate'.
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