By Christa L. Floresca

The answer: Less than you think.

How do you define the modern activist? The radical environmental movement thinks that it knows. Comparing itself to the old Rosa Parks style civil rights activists, the Rainforest Action Network (RAN) claims to be engaging in educational civil disobedience. While they proudly display the names of the most recent arrestees, the rest of us are left to wonder how Rosa's fight for racial equality and RAN's political activism can be seen as remotely similar.

But RAN does not stop at wrapping itself in the civil rights movement, it also wraps itself tightly in the First Amendment. RAN argues that it may use its tax exempt status to do whatever it likes even if it does not meet the definition of education.

For those who understand the law, we must respectfully disagree. When an organization applies to receive tax exempt status and to receive tax-deductible donations, they must engage exclusively in educational activities. Education is strictly defined and intentionally does not include scaling buildings, trespassing, vandalizing, or other unlawful acts. Yet, when told that education does not mean whatever RAN wants it to mean, RAN cries foul and says their First Amendment rights are being violated.

No one is trying to limit free speech. Shout your position from the tops of buildings. But don't break and enter to do it. Better yet, do it with your own money, not tax deductible contributions intended by law for charitable educational programs.

Should America's tax payers be forced to pay for the activities of eco-radicals? Should eco-radicals be given tax-exempt benefits to promote their pressure campaigns and propaganda under the guise of education?

In one breath, the Rainforest Action Network says that protests and demonstrations are educational, and the next breath it states that less than 1 percent of their annual budget goes for any kind of protests.

Is this confusing? Which way is it? Are RAN's pressure campaigns and professional protests charitable educational activity? If so, why isn't 95% of their budget going to protests? If protests and demonstrations are education, then shouldn't more than 1% of their budget be going to performing these "educational" activities? It sounds like they have made it perfectly clear that either they don't know what the law says, or they are terrible about keeping their story straight.

Either way, let the record show...

First, substantially more than 1% of RAN's funding goes to non-educational and sometimes unlawful activities and pressure campaigns. Have you seen their annual report? It takes 8 pages of tiny text before they use the word "education." Moreover, a mere 18% of their expenses were classified as public education and membership. Where did the rest go?

Second, protesting, demonstrating, breaking and entering, trespassing, ethical shoplifting and pressure campaigns are NOT education. Education and activism are not the same thing. It's just that simple. The law is quite clear about what education is for purposes of tax exempt status.

Better still, the Executive Director of RAN has been quoted as saying "The basic argument here is free speech and the right to stand up to a law you think is unjust." Interesting argument, bad use of an excuse. No doubt they have a right to speak up and say whatever they want. However, they do not have a right to collect tax deductible contributions and then flout the law and use the money for non-educational and in many cases, unlawful activities.

They protest and break the law because they are unhappy with a LEGAL industry. That's not education. That's someone who thinks that they can impose fear on a business and force them to comply, or worse, make them pay penance by funding their unlawful activities. Does that sounds a little like extortion? Perhaps next time, they will be quoted as saying that's educational too.

Let's take them at their published word. You can't deny the true agenda in this eloquent quote by a RAN cofounder,

"F**K that crap you read in Wild Earth or in Confessions of an Eco-Warrior. Monkey wrenching is more than just sabotage, and you're g*d*amn right, it's revolutionary! This is jihad, pal. Everything, every assumption, every institution needs to be challenged. Now! Go out and get them suckers, fill them full of steel."

Funny, that doesn't sound very educational to me. And I am pretty sure that Rosa Parks never said anything like that.

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Christa L. Floresca is the Director of Development at Frontiers of Freedom Institute, a non-profit, non-partisan public policy organization dedicated to protecting the constitutional rights of all Americans and restoring constitutional limits on the extent and power of government. You may email the author at cfloresca@ff.org