HumanThought

If you have nothing for them to take then they will take you, because they realize they've lost control of you. That is my assumption at least, and that is why the ascetics (think Jesus, Ghandi, Siddhartha Gautama) are the leaders of the biggest revolutions. Ascetics are the biggest threat to the state, because the state keeps you obedient by threatening to take away your things. What if you have no things? What if you work for food and shelter directly, effectively bypassing currency? Live this way and you will find what true power and confidence is. You will find fullfillment. And most of all, you won't have to actively push your ideas on others, people pick up on your newfound confidence of action and come to you interested. That's when they are ready to listen. Fuck the players. Fuck the game.Be the change. Create the game. Render the old one obsolete.

It is difficult and scary, but simple. You cannot live a life consistant with your ethics if you are funding the system that you hate. The punishment you will receive appeals to your emotions. When fear arrises, let logic be your guide. You cannot sincerely speak against an institution that you continue to fund every month.

In order for a withholding of taxes to be successful I think it would require more widespread societal awareness than we currently have. I don't think the goal would be achieved by actually denting the amount of revenue, the goal would be achieved by friends and families watching their loved ones being hauled off to jail because they refused to fund violence. My moral code does not allow me to engage in violence, that means I also cannot fund violence. The end result being that I cannot write checks to an institution that forces me to fund military operations. Even if I wanted to pay for certiain things like roads or some social programs, the fact that I am not given that choice forces me to withhold my money until I am given that choice. This leads to me being caged simply because I am a radically non-violent. I have the clear moral highground, and if I have been loving and compassionate enough to the people around me, then they will pick me and my torch up when I fall, and slowly it spreads. Once it spreads, then we can talk about making a dent in revenue. But the dent in compliance is huge, because that causes the state to get nervous and react, and their reaction causes more people no not comply and the movement grows exponentially from there.The idea of non-violence is something everyone can get behind. We can't get everyone to become anarchists because a lot of people just aren't ready for that. They probably still believe in paying for programs like social welfair and all that crap, but that's okay for now, because we have to focus on what we agree on, which is non-violence, and the fact that we don't get a choice in the matter. Those who still believe in the state will refuse taxes until they get a tax system that allows them to choose the programs that they agree with (this is probably the mass majority of people in this country) and in this light, archarchists can join forces with people who simply don't want their money going to the pentagon. If we ever achieved a 'pick and choose tax system' the military, CIA, NSA, etc would cease to be. We have more in common than we realize, and we have to use what we have in common to drive this tangable movement. Everyone can rally behind non-violence. We'd probably even get a bunch of greedy rich fucks who don't care about philosophy to join the movement because let's be honest, no one wants to pay taxes either. We just need to make tax refusal ethical to the clear minded, and fashionable to the lesser enlightened.The degree to which this society is enlightened will determine how quickly this movement spreads. My assessment is that we are no there yet, but we will never get there until those first few are willing to take it in the teeth. That is how all massive movements begin- with the few first brave souls taking it for the team, laying their body down, and never getting the gratification. It is a long road filled with dissappointment after dissapointment, but the change can happen and sometimes does. The question is, are you willing to lay yourself down? Are you willing to lose everything for results that you are likely to never see? This is why asceticism is so dangerous to power structures. Ascetics are able to let go of their worldly possessions and lay their lives down for an idea, they have no fear, nothing can be taken from them and thus they cannot be controlled. Can you let go of it all? Society will become enlightened once we are willing to let go and become wrungs on a ladder that our children may climb.(EDIT: Basically added a paragraph so re-read it if you didn't see this edit line when you orignially read this post)

Stop funding violence. Stop paying taxes. Simple. How many people here are against statism and still fund it?