Tax resistance is important because
money is the primary source of power that the governments and oppressors of the
world exercise. By refusing to pay
taxes, I am refusing to submit myself to the whims of the military. I would be more than happy to pay taxes, if
my money only went to roads and parks and schools and libraries, but neither I
nor anyone else gets to earmark their tax money to go to these things. A good way to get around this is to refuse to
pay traditional taxes and instead donate your money directly to those responsible
for the creation and maintenance of roads, parks, schools and libraries. If those in power do not have the resources
to impose their law upon everyone else, it will be easier to circumvent them
and begin the process of change.
By voting to abstain, I am refusing to put someone in
power in the first place. If there is no
legitimate and consensual leader, then society becomes more egalitarian and it
becomes possible to communicate with all others on an even playing field, where
no one holds power over any other. Voting is abstain is not the same as not
voting altogether, instead I’m letting the ‘leaders’ of the country know that I
refuse to elect them, any of them. No
matter whom I vote for, my voice and my opinion will not be heard; instead only
the opinions of the rich donors and the party leaders will matter. Without people in power in the first place,
then they aren’t there to circumvent in the first place and then the process change
can truly begin.
Gandhigiri is a term that originates from the 2007
Bollywood movie Lage Raho Munna Bhai[1], which is about an
underworld don in the Indian city of Mumbai called Munna Bhai who sees the
spirit of the Mahatma Gandhi. The image
of Gandhi teaches Munna Bhai about Satyagraha, truth, and non-violence, part of
the whole philosophy which Munna Bhai calls Gandhigiri. Munna Bhai begins to employ Gandhigiri to
help random everyday people with their problems. Since the movie premiered in 2007 Gandhigiri
protests or spontaneous expressions of individual civil disobedience have begun
to appear both in the United States and India.
In 2006, in the Vidarbha region of India, farmers staged a protest
against food prices utilizing flowers as a form of Gandhigiri protest. Going forward Gandhigiri will be the primary means
of resisting civil government everywhere.
Lots of small scale acts of kindness and non-violent civil disobedience
will add up and actually make a real substantial difference in people’s lives.
No comments:
Post a Comment