It’s 100 years since the Military Services Act was passed following which single men between the ages of 18 and 41 were called to fight – all apart from the clergy, teachers, and those involved with essential industry. And conscientious objectors.
Unsurprisingly the fact that The Taxes for Peace Bill had its first hearing in Parliamont on 16th July this year did not hit the media headlines any more than its second reading scheduled on 9th December is likely to.
I choose to wear a white poppy rather than a red one and I have, for many years, been a supporter of Conscience, a campaigning organisation which works to create a world where taxes are used to nurture peace, rather than to pay for war. Rather than expound the arguments here in my own words I encourage you to read Giles Fraser’s letter in The Guardian. Unfortunately, he confuses pacifism with passivity but, apart from that, he sets out the arguments better than I ever could.
