@Onelifetogive Sorry for the delay. Just got out the studio. Short answer is I understand that sentiment.

I will say that I do believe it's a little more nuanced. Freedom is not anarchy. For me, freedom means the right to believe whatever you want & express that belief so long as that expression does not harm anyone else physically or incite harm on someone else. It means the right to live in peace & security, to chase your dreams & realize your unique potential free from fear of and the forces of oppression & prejudice. Now while you might see taxes as oppression, I see it differently. I make very little money at this point in my career. I hope to someday at least be able to hold my own in this world & have some doe to my name. Today and when that day does arrive, I do and will happily pay my fair share. I am, we are - like it or not - part of something greater than ourselves. We're a part of an American, and now increasingly global society/civilization. I love this land, I love our people, & I feel privileged beyond belief for the hand I was dealt to be a part of this amazing society. I mean I could have been born into a family being senselessly murdered by Syrian forces like this past weekend, or into a family of 8 totally poverty stricken in the slums of a third world country, or better yet in poverty just down the road from my house here in LA, or a kid from one of America's many inner cities that goes to bed to the sounds of gang violence every night which is exactly my point. I'm not and I am very lucky. I recognize we're all not so lucky and on so many levels taxes, while they suck I'll admit, are entirely necessary for any civilization to truly innovate & thrive. So as a grateful member of American society, for the privilege to call this special place my home and to make my life here, I'll gladly pay whatever is required. I'm all in baby! Opposition to taxes is understandable, according to the myth, we didn't want to pay tax to a king far away and it served as a large catalyst for the formation of our country so I got you the feeling is deeply embedded in our roots, but anyway Now the allocation of our hard earned dollars must be better spent, no doubt about that, & there must be transparency that as of present is no good & that's a whole other discussion which I'd love to have, on how to put our dollars to best use that's the real conversation. However, we cannot ignore that we're all in this together. You and I rely on the same water, the same glow from the same sun, and the same American military to protect and defend us. What does it mean to be a part of America today? It's as free as it's ever been. We have an all volunteer military and very little sense of shared sacrifice, asking us to pay taxes is a part of that sacrifice, and it's the least I can do to maintain that which so many have given their lives to serve and advance. Moreover, when one is given the privilege of citizenship, access to our markets, access to the opportunity to be a part of this society, your birthright is the protections granted under our constitution, but anything truly great in life does not come without some cost. You love your car, it costs money to run and maintain it, you love your country, guess what it costs money to run it and advance it - and we all share in that if we're gonna stay a government of the people, for the people, by the people. The folks who don't pay taxes on the low side of the spectrum don't pay tax because they don't make any money, so it's unfair to blame all the people who can't pay taxes for all our woes. They're up against odds that are no joke and the hope is if we had better systems in place instead of stripping

people's bootstraps we could realize the dream of America as the land of opportunity and grow into what I hope will be a place where every human being is a contributing member of society, looked as as an invaluable resource of potential to be tapped rather than a drag and potential drain. Personal responsibility of course but just as importantly is the awareness that we are also again, in this together - we are one. I believe in a society that heals its sick, educates its young, invests long-term in its future, sets high goals and goes after them, supports and contributes arts and architecture to the world and leads the way in innovation and on more basic levels, I enjoy electricity, running water, roads, bridges, street lights, stop lights, a postal service and the ability to ship things to people all these (and many more I omitted) require taxes or you're subject to the mercy of huge firms that have no allegiance to America or it's people but solely it's own self interests which most of the time come at the expense of our people. Furthermore, all those things I listed are not tasks that a first class society shouldn't be able to handle. We land on the moon but we can't manage my aforementioned list I don't buy it! Lastly, you can only hold down people for so long before they come tearing down the gated community wall, the LA riots, the occupy movement, all examples of what happens when you disenfranchise, dehumanize, strip hope and oppress through policy people long enough. We are all safer, and better off I strongly feel, in a country that is educated, healthy, not going to bed homeless or hungry, and in a country where all living beings, regardless of the discrepancies in value associated with how we earn our livings, are regarded equal in the eyes of the law and in our inherent value as people you know that whole "all men are created equal" part of this whole deal. Well we're growing up as a still young country and are making great strides. All men is actually, all people, all beings, regardless of race, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, gender, on and on all people are created equal and deserve the right to the pursuit of happiness and oh yeah (given everything going on right now to curb voting) the right to vote in elections. That is the dream that is America to me and reverence and belief in that dream and the embodiment of that ethos through the way in which we all individually chose to live our lives is what it means to be an American in my opinion. For the record, I'm all about the free market and I am a capitalist but I'm not an unchecked and unbalanced super capitalist. Just as our government was set up to be a system with checks and balances to ensure freedom and protect from tyranny, the free market needs some checks and balances to protect against a different type of tyranny but one with the potential to be equally ruthless. I look forward to more engagement with you on these vital issues through a debate of real and thoughtful consideration and substance. Lots of love peace, adam stern