These days millions of Americans and others who reside in the US are involved in the preparation of their annual tax returns. In my case for the past couple of years I have used an internet service provided by TurboTax which makes the process simple enough that a person with a PhD in chemistry can sit in front of his computer with the information provided by banks, mortgage companies, etc. and in about 30 minutes the appropriate forms have been filled and submitted to the IRS and to the State of Ohio, after which you can get on with your life again. Coincidentally, on the same day as I did my taxes I read this article by the actor Mark Rylance (https://www.theguardian.com/profile/mark-rylance ) in the Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/mar/23/my-tax-should-be-for-peace-mark-rylance?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

The gist of Rylance’s article is that by paying his taxes he is being forced into a collusion with the British government in their warring activities. Moreover, since war today is a highly technological exercise in which weapons of death roll down city streets or rain from the skies, a large fraction of the maimed and dead are non-combatant citizens that just happen to live there and want the war to go away. No longer are battles fought on fields between phalanxes of the willing; Afghanistan and Iraq are not Agincourt or Culloden.

Rylance supports a political movement in Britain that campaigns for the right to allow individuals to redirect the military portions of their taxes towards peaceful forms of conflict resolution, a modern version of conscientious objection; I wish him and his fellows good luck in their quest.

A very simple internet search showed me that the US taxpayer such as me contributes (willingly or not) about 30% of his tax payment to the Department of Defense and I know full well that no amount of contributed money in that direction will protect me from harm in an attack such as the one at Westminster the other day-a bobby on the beat might do so, but a drone pilot in Tampa never will.

Anybody with half a mind that is reading this will recognize that the real issues are being skirted around here; maybe I’ll have a go at them later, meanwhile enjoy life.