tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7217199.post115164895681155620..comments2024-03-24T11:30:08.199-07:00Comments on Can you believe?: On being a calm alarmistJohan Maurerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13771067774042071617noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7217199.post-1151721836871610822006-06-30T19:43:00.000-07:002006-06-30T19:43:00.000-07:00Johan, as always, a thought-provoking mix of topic...Johan, as always, a thought-provoking mix of topics. Two responses:<BR/><BR/>I'm a little skeptical of "token" tax resistance, if you mean (though perhaps this isn't what you meant) tax resistance that doesn't carry much real risk of consequences, e.g. refusing to pay the federal telephone tax. It seems too much like a feel-good practice for people who don't have the courage to fully rebel against the empire but can't admit this fact. I say this as someone who is just now entering the working world, forgot to pay his taxes this April, and is very conflicted over whether to pay late or take the risk of not paying at all. <BR/><BR/>On flag burning, I think you make a valid point that I hadn't thought of. But I still think (and I realize that you weren't necessarily giving full support to the ban in you comments) that there's a big difference between, say, anti-Muslim hate speech and the anti-American hate speech that a flag burning implies. For one thing, America isn't one of the place, as far as I know, where we ban hate speech against religions; the fact that it's banned in the UK (e.g.) isn't really grounds for banning flag burning here. <BR/><BR/>More importantly though, Muslims don't rule the country, deny college loans to people who don't register for its armies, extort money (taxes) under the ultimate threat of violence, etc. etc. as the thugs represented by the U.S. flag do. If all that were the case, descecrating a crescent flag might be an appropriate political statement in the right context.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com