The Old Sally is catching hell: The latest controversy has to do with gay and lesbian issues. The lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community is calling for a boycott of donations to the Salvation Army kettles. What was once a few voices here and there is now a chorus in the LGBT community to boycott. Because the Salvation Army is really a hybrid Christian church/community outreach/disaster relief organization, it won't hire people for its staff unless they are practicing Christians, and that excludes sexually active gays and lesbians. And despite the position on hiring, Salvation Army does not dole out relief on the basis of faith or sexual orientation. December 21, 2011 Salvation Army Troop Withdrawal By Tom Thurlow http://www.americanthinker.com/articles/../2011/12/salvation_army_troop_withdrawal.html And this: After WND reported that the Salvation Army's International Social Justice Commission published a position paper accepting abortion in the cases of rape, incest or fatal deformity of the child, many members of the group scrambled to re-examine their denomination's position. The re-examination, in turn, revealed the American branch of the Salvation Army in sharp disagreement with their international brethren. "That statement is not the Salvation Army USA's position on abortion," said Jeff Stanger, development director of the Salvation Army, Indiana Division. Salvation Army at war with itself Official: 'When I saw position, there was smoke coming out both my ears' Posted: December 20, 2011 5:21 pm Eastern By Drew Zahn http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=379581 Let me say that I always had a soft spot in my heart for the Salvation Army. The SAs charities were all funded by voluntary contributions. Its important to remind everyone that where the money came from was a thorn in the sides of the earliest Socialists. Moral indignation was laid to rest by none other than the old Socialist scoundrel George Bernard Shaw. Major Barbaras conversion shows that GBS did not object to where the money came from. Indeed, he said as much: Major Barbara is a three act play by George Bernard Shaw, written and premiered in 1905 and first published in 1907. Synopsis An Officer of The Salvation Army, Major Barbara Undershaft, becomes disillusioned when her Christian denomination accepts money from an armaments manufacturer (her father) and a whisky distiller. She eventually decides that bringing a message of salvation to people who have plenty will be more fulfilling and genuine than converting the starving in return for bread. Although Barbara initially regards the Salvation Army's acceptance of Undershaft's money as hypocrisy, Shaw did not intend that it should be thought so by the audience. Shaw wrote a preface for the play's publication, in which he derided the idea that charities should only take money from "morally pure" sources. He points out that donations can always be used for good, whatever their provenance, and he quotes a Salvation Army officer, "they would take money from the devil himself and be only too glad to get it out of his hands and into God's". Plot Lady Britomart, the daughter of a British earl, and her son Stephen discuss a source of income for her grown daughters Sarah, who is engaged to Charles Lomax, and Barbara, who is engaged to Adolphus Cusins (a scholar of Greek literature). Lady Britomart leads Stephen to accept her decision that they must ask her estranged husband, Andrew Undershaft, for financial help. Mr. Undershaft is a successful and wealthy businessman who has made millions of pounds from his munitions factory, which manufactures the world famous Undershaft guns, cannons, torpedoes, submarines and aerial battleships. When their children were still small, the Undershafts separated; now grown up, the children have not seen their father since, and Lady Britomart has raised them by herself. During their reunion, Undershaft learns that Barbara is a Major in The Salvation Army who works at their shelter in West Ham, east London. Barbara and Mr. Undershaft agree that he will visit Barbara's Army shelter, if she will then visit his munitions factory. When he visits the shelter, Mr. Undershaft is impressed with Barbara's handling of the various people who seek social services from the Salvation Army: she treats them with patience, firmness, and sincerity. Undershaft and Cusins discuss the question of Barbara's commitment to The Salvation Army, and Undershaft decides he must overcome Barbara's moral horror of his occupation. He declares that he will therefore "buy" the Salvation Army. He makes a sizeable donation, matching another donation from a whisky distiller. Barbara wants the Salvation Army to refuse the money because it comes from the armaments and alcohol industries, but her supervising officer eagerly accepts it. Barbara sadly leaves the shelter in disillusionment. According to tradition, the heir to the Undershaft fortune must be an orphan who can be groomed to run the factory. Lady Britomart tries to convince Undershaft to bequeath the business to his son Stephen, but he will not. He says that the best way to keep the factory in the family is to find a foundling and marry him to Barbara. Later, Barbara and the rest of her family accompany her father to his munitions factory. They are all impressed by its size and organisation. Cusins declares that he is a foundling, and is thus eligible to inherit the business. Undershaft eventually overcomes Cusins' moral scruples about the nature of the business. Cusins' acceptance makes Barbara more content to marry him, not less, because bringing a message of salvation to the factory workers, rather than to London slum-dwellers, will bring her more fulfilment. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Major_Barbara Following Shaws guidance contemporary Socialists took money from everyone to fund their forced charities. GBS would be appalled to learn that todays Socialists want to tax the evil rich even more than they tax everybody else. Presumably some of the under-taxed rich are beneficiaries of the Lefts hated military-industrial-complex although I cannot swear liberals want to take the money out of the Devils hands and give it to God. So what does it all mean? Socialists are attacking the SAs charitable efforts by calling for a boycott, but they are really after Old Sallys morality.
