One of the human faculties is altruism, and we act on this, some more than others. Christmas Eve a Salvation Army major was shot dead in front of his three young children by robbers.
The story is largely ignored, because such people are not real soldiers, and although the serve and protect the poorest among us, they are not cops.
William Booth was an entrepreneur who regretted the lack of response by the Church to the depredations of the industrial revolution. In particular he was incensed by the traffic of young girls from Scotland to rich industrialists in England. It was widely held that the cure for syphilis and gonorrea was to have sex with a virgin, hence the widespread trade. The trade was so powerful it would take an army to quash it, but since the powers that be were supporting the trade, it would have to be fought on a spiritual battlefield, so he founded the Salvation Army. There are far too few such religious entrepreneurs.
The Salvation Army is unique since it presents itself with the trapping of a military, what with uniforms and rank. But from the commanding general, to the newest recruit, everyone is paid exactly the same, and the benefits package is the same. The Salvation Army has "majors" and other ranks so people have someone to turn to when a question arises. The various ranks are to effectively better serve the lower ranks, rather reflecting the teachings of Jesus.
Although the Salvation Army does far more good with far less than any other "charity" in existence, it is rather ignored because the government controlled media does not care for its radical orientation. The left wing resents the witness of the Salvation Army that we do not need government programs for the poor. The right wing hates the nonviolence of the Salvation Army.
In the alternative universe of the Salvation Army, the murderers will be forgiven, are forgiven. and the entire Salvation Army is praying that the murder of the major results in the murderers coming to Jesus. Again this reflects the death of Jesus himself.
WE are obliged to pay for uniformed services provided by the state, although no one in uniform is obliged to respond to any specific request for help but those the state claims to serve and protect, according to the US Supreme Court. On the other hand, Salvation Army personnel daily walk into the Valley of Death, volunteering to live that felicitous life that comes from helping others. in the name of God.
Although the killing of a police officer is sad, it becomes the occasion of a massive public state funeral. The Salvation Army will host something quiet and dignified, with prayers for the murderers as well. The real celebration, as all in the Salvation Army know, will be in Heaven.
As we work through the destruction the changes in the USA system, currently falling apart, it would be good to look at priorities, and keep in mind the good done by such free market entities as the Salvation Army.
Monday, December 28, 2009
Free Market Charity
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1 comments:
Great post. I found out about your book from a good friend and subscribed to this blog. While our views are not always in alignment, this post is spot on. I am an entrepreneur and about as pro-business as they come. However, while I do not think that the government is the answer to many problems, free market capitalism just has not done a very good job of helping our fellow man. For a country with very deep rooted Christian ideals, when money comes into play, we manage to do some very cruel things to people. I wonder if many business folks would make the same decisions if they replaced the words "counterparty","consumer", and "customer" with "neighbor","grandma" and "daughter". Free market proponents forget that our values and beliefs shape the market. We are the market. Nothing has intrisisc value. The market is merely a reflection of what we value as human beings. The sad fact is that with decrepid schools, millions of people around the world who go to sleep hungry and that the only way to convice others that our ideas are better is with the use of force, our actions reveal what our words conceal. Thank you for your post. I wish everyone a wonderful 2010. We all choose everyday whether we will solve problems or create them. True capitalists solve real problems. Charlatans create fake problems to solve.
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