Hitchhikers and Pete Seeger vs. The Salvation Army

I spent a good portion of today driving home.  I'd been in St. Louis for a couple of days, but it was time to go home, so I drove. And as I drove I scanned the radio stations for stories and reports about the death of folk singer, and social justice activist, Pete Seeger.  I listened to an interview in which he described hopping rides on freight trains with Woody Guthrie. I listened to him sing about the working man, the struggling woman, the desperate people.

And when I saw a hitchhiker walking along the edge of the road, I knew there was no way I could just drive on past him without stopping to offer a ride.  Not today.

He'd already walked 15 miles in the cold winds in order to put in a job application in with a nearby factory.  Of course, "nearby" is a relative term when you're walking.  He said he'd had his license temporarily suspended, and that he'd be driving again soon, but until then, "you do what you gotta' do to work."

Here's Pete singing about the Salvation Army.  Since I work for the Salvation Army, I find this song and it's critique of the SA (and Christianity in general...) very interesting.