A Persistent Voice: Marian Franz and Conscientious Objection to Military Taxation

"Marian Franz had the intellectual vision and political courage to seek to change the conventional wisdom. Her gentle daring and humble boldness live on in these powerful essays." --Ronald J. Sider, President, Evangelicals for Social Action. The essays span her 23 years of lobbying Congress to enact the Peace Tax Fund Bill, which would allow conscientious objectors to pay taxes into a fund for nonmilitary purposes only. Originally published in the newsletter of the National Campaign for a Peace Tax Fund, these 47 essays are as relevant today as they were when Franz wrote them. With stories gleaned from lobbying visits, extensive reading, travels and life experience, Franz consistently crafted essays full of hope and inspiration. While these essays are centered on the legislative effort to enact the Peace Tax Fund Bill, their scope is much broader. Among other topics, Franz delved into the definition of conscience, antidotes to apathy, profiles of nonviolent activists, the high cost and many victims of militarism, and the need to forgive. Franz is joined in A Persistent Voice by eight of her colleagues who contribute chapters unique to their perspectives and expertise on topics such as international human rights, the history of conscientious objection in the U. S., the relationship between war tax resistance and the Peace Tax Fund, the biblical basis for war tax resistance, and personal memories of Franz. Though Marian Franz passed away in 2006, this book is a poignant reminder of an amazing woman and her message which will not go away.