Should Young Farmers Be Exempt From a National Draft?
by Jenna Woginrich for Huffington Post
I remember hearing a friend complaining about the Amish once at a dinner party, saying in angry tones how "they don't pay taxes or fight for their country." I raised my eyebrow at this. The Amish do, of course, pay sale and income taxes (save Social Security, and then only for self-employed Amish for religious reasons) and are pacifists. They don't accept Social Security checks or Medicare and are morally against taking human life. Also, it is our own nation's laws that allow them to be exempt, so my friend's true beef should have been with his legislators, not "the plain folk." They are living their life both in accordance to the law and their faith. Their only fault is the lack of outsider approval, which frankly, they could care less about.
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