Taxes, Revelations ? and the Politics of Jesus: An Interview with Julia Butterfly Hill by Gar Smith / Conscious Choice Magazine

In April 2003, forest activist Julia Butterfly Hill ? who spent more than two years in the high branches of a thousand-year old Redwood tree to bring attention to our endangered ancient forests in the late '90s ? was informed that she owed more than $150,000 in federal taxes (the result of a one-time lawsuit settlement). The news came as the Bush administration was balancing its soaring military costs by cutting $13 billion from Food Stamps, $93 billion from Medicare and $14.6 billion from veterans benefits. Hill decided that she could no longer support "the largest death machine humankind has ever known." She declared her intent to redirect her tax dollars to environmental and social causes. It was the largest individual act of war-tax refusal in U.S. history. The daughter of a traveling preacher, Hill's upbringing was nondenominational Evangelical. The core of her father's message emphasized being a "loving, committed, active spiritual person in the world," and young Julia took it to heart. Hill's personal commitment led her to found the Circle of Life (circleoflife.org), with a mission "to transform the way humans interact with the Earth and with all living beings." She recently shared an hour with Conscious Choice from her home-office in Oakland.

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