Henry Thoreau

[Number Six]

Most U.S. students read Thoreau's Walden in high school, some are impressed by its idealism. His essay "Civil Disobedience" has arguments that even Mahatma Gandhi and Tolstoi endorsed. http://thoreau.eserver.org/civil.html

Dan Evans has this to say in his Tax Protestor FAQ:

What is a “tax protester”?
The phrase “tax protester” is commonly applied to two different types of people:

People who refuse to pay taxes in order to protest policies of the federal government that are supported by those taxes, or who refuse to support those policies, such as people who refused to pay taxes that pay for wars (see, for example, United States v. Malinowski, 347 F. Supp. 347, 73-1 U.S. Tax Cas. (CCH) ¶9355 (E.D. Pa. 1972), aff'd, 472 F.2d 850, 73-1 U.S. Tax Cas. (CCH) ¶9199 (3d Cir. 1973), cert. denied, 411 U.S. 970 (1973)); and

People who refuse to pay taxes or file tax returns out of a mistaken belief that the federal income tax is unconstitutional, invalid, voluntary, or otherwise does not apply to them under one of a number of bizarre arguments, most of which are described in this FAQ.

This FAQ uses the phrase “tax protester” in the second sense, referring to people who refuse to file returns or pay taxes because of ridiculous and far-fetched arguments against the validity or application of the tax laws. (See the above explanation of the purpose of this FAQ.)

What would Thoreau do had he gotten a pile of money? What would he have done with money or the current tax code--lived like the Amish and refused "the number"? He seems to have been "enabled" by family and influential friends like R.W. Emerson. Some of the Harvard teachers saw what he was teaching and doing to foster rebellion and opposed him. That part of the story we never hear about in school...

[fortinbras]

A lot of these tax dodgers try to paint themselves as latter-day Thoreaus or Gandhis or even ML Kings, but .... Thoreau, and Gandhi, and King were all willing to admit their violations of the law and willing to go to jail to demonstrate publicly the evils of the law. These tax dodgers are unwilling to do the hard time, which is, after all, the crucial part of civil disobedience.

[Number Six]

Thanks for the response, fortibras. So is the problem one of method, lifestyle, support system, honesty or lack thereof, or belief system? Hayden Carruth had an essay printed in "Food and Water Journal" in 1999, "The Man in the Box", where he went after Thoreau as a nut, anti-social, etc.. I responded with a letter defending Thoreau. I doubt many of our contemporaries are up to the task of understanding and applying Thoreau's works (his journals are phenomenol). There are many individuals trying to grapple with his accomplishments, some have tried to emulate him and have suffered. The modern war tax resister movement has adherants who look to Garrison, Thoreau and Gandhi as bright lights in the firmament of like-minded WTRs. For those new to the "movement" there should be full disclosure of case histories and consequences.

[grixit]

People who adopt the anti war position are generally eager to contribute to the reform and support of societies. Tax defiers just want to leech. I wonder how many of those who quote Thoreau would be willing to actually go into the woods and build a house.

[Mr. Mephistopheles]

... Tax defiers just want to leech. I wonder how many of those who quote Thoreau would be willing to actually go into the woods and build a house.

Good question, but I'll bet the number is fewer than the number who will work their tails off to get Section 8 housing.

[Number Six]

A former philosophy teacher provided this link from his site--http://www.philosopedia.org/index.php/H ... id_Thoreau. But he won't be joining because uncivil language is prohibited. Contrary to the philosopedia entry, Thoreau was not "gay"--there is plenty of evidence to the contrary. There is a passage in this book--http://openlibrary.org/b/OL5427541M/Tho ... ist--which addresses this.

The WTR's have a website: http://www.nwtrcc.org/. If Howard Zinn, say, was available to debate the "pro" side of the WTR issues, I don't know who would be a strong enough debater to take the "con" side--Christopher Hitchens? He did a good job against the strongly anti-war George Galloway. Rest in peace, Howard Zinn.