of fear or of apathy that this is the thing which we should do or cannot avoid doing. And then we share in the consequences of any such action. Are we doing more than trying to hide our nakedness with a fig leaf when we take the view expressed by a friend who belonged to a fundamental religious sect? At the time he wore the uniform of the United States Marines. 'I'm not helping to murder,' he said. 'I'm carrying out the orders of my government, and the sin is not mine.' I could never tell whether there was a bitter smile playing around his lips or if he was quite earnest. It is a rationalization commonly held and defended. It is a comforting presumption, but it still appears to me that, while the seat of government is in Washington, the seat of conscience is in me. It cannot be voted out of office by one or a million others." See also Tempered reaction: Tax-resister Juanita Nelson skeptical Greenfield [Massachusetts] Recorder 21 January 2009 References Resources Juanita Nelson speaking on Economic Disarmament, or Nonviolent Economics: Juanita Nelson index The Peace Abbey Juanita's oral history Juanita Morrow Nelson and Wallace F. Nelson Papers held by Swarthmore College Peace Collection 1923 births 2015 deaths American tax resisters American anti-war activists Howard University alumni