Moral Dilemma

 

Once upon a time in a land far, far away, I made a bunch of these kettle stands for the Salvation Army. Just a few years back I had a young man in one of my classes that was an officer in the Salvation Army, as was his wife. After having a few short discussions with him I came away with a better understanding of the Salvation Army, what they stood for and the work that they did. 

Now, however, I've heard and read about The Salvation Army going "woke". They published a guide for donors and apparently I'm once again being urged to apologize for my white privilege. Regardless of the merits of any of the Critical Race Theory or whatever else is being promoted these days, I'm fine with being who I am. Likewise I wish that everyone else, regardless of color, feels the same about themselves. But now, I'm offended by someone telling me I owe the world an apology due to the accident of my birth. Of course, I've taken offense to a lot of what I've been told to do over the years, mostly by some dumb-ass I worked for or with who came up with some edict just to justify his position. So maybe I'm over-reacting here due to past history, but it seems I'm not the only one and The Salvation Army has back pedaled on this.

Normally, whenever I walk past a bell ringer I drop a couple of bucks in the bucket, however, when I came out of the grocery store Saturday I just walked on by. I didn't say anything to the bell ringer, she probably wasn't even aware of this issue, just trying to do a good Christian deed. I know in my heart The Salvation Army does good deeds in spite of having some "woke" morons coming up with this idea and others up the line approving it. Normally, the money I give every year isn't much. It's enough to buy a few hot meals or some warm socks so maybe if I don't give anything it won't be noticed. But if they've offended lots of small donors, that's going to put a bite on the organization and the people who need the help the most will be the people who suffer. Like it always seems to be, you know, The American Way.

After thinking it over and putting it down in writing, next time by the bell ringer I'll double up. After all, isn't that what the spirit of Christmas is all about? You decide what you need to do. Far be it from me to tell you what to do.