The Salvation Army is actually a pretty mainstream protestant denomination with doctrine very similar to the Methodists. It was formed in the late 19th century when military-styled organizations and uniforms were not uncommon. There are also the Boy Scouts and LOTS of marching bands who wear uniforms. They even have salutes, stand at attention, march in step and fly flags.
And the Salvation Army feeds people, rehabilitates drug addicts,and helps the battered and homeless. I may not "fall in step" (heh, couldn't resist) with their religious doctrine anymore, but I have a LOT of respect for they work they do.
In Florida our metro areas are either super-posh ocean view high rises or economically depressed areas with very little in between. These areas are small and the rest of the cities are but sprawling suburbs. Add to that that our public transportation (and, yes, I know, I rode these buses), is unreliable at best and dangerous at worst. We can't not drive here.
In our house we make compromises and choices. We selected an apartment that is less than 5 miles from our offices, even though we looked at dozens of complexes and it took close to 4 months to find it. We have an SUV, but it is our only vehicle, and we've promised ourselves that if we ever did get two vehicles (or our next one vehicle), that they would be hybrids now that they are affordable and more readily available. And I can tell you that our SUV has better mileage than my employer's much smaller Maserati.
We recycle, hand wash our dishes, try to select items packaged in renewable resource packaging, don't use anti-bacterial soaps and try to make responsible decisions about how we treat the environment.
We enjoy the safety (or perceived safety) and comfort of our large vehicle. The road can be a dangerous place, especially in South Florida and I feel comfortable with our decisions. Not everyone who owns large vehicles are blind, irresponsible consumers. We could have two sedans, but chose one Durango instead (without the Hemi upgrade).
It's easy to tell everyone they should ride the buses when you live in NY or San Francisco, but that is only part of America. And you can picture this green fairy utopia from your timely and frequent subway cars, but public transportation and walking urban areas are not a reality or remote possibility for most of the country.
I work in a law office and I end up typing large passages of double-spaced all cap documents. I would end up with VERY tired pinkies if they were taken away! Although, if someone worked it out so two keys pressed together would toggle caps like [ctrl]+[B] for bold, I could work with that.
Slashdot Mirror
...to correct boldly what no man had corrected before ;)
The Salvation Army is actually a pretty mainstream protestant denomination with doctrine very similar to the Methodists. It was formed in the late 19th century when military-styled organizations and uniforms were not uncommon. There are also the Boy Scouts and LOTS of marching bands who wear uniforms. They even have salutes, stand at attention, march in step and fly flags. And the Salvation Army feeds people, rehabilitates drug addicts,and helps the battered and homeless. I may not "fall in step" (heh, couldn't resist) with their religious doctrine anymore, but I have a LOT of respect for they work they do.
In Florida our metro areas are either super-posh ocean view high rises or economically depressed areas with very little in between. These areas are small and the rest of the cities are but sprawling suburbs. Add to that that our public transportation (and, yes, I know, I rode these buses), is unreliable at best and dangerous at worst. We can't not drive here. In our house we make compromises and choices. We selected an apartment that is less than 5 miles from our offices, even though we looked at dozens of complexes and it took close to 4 months to find it. We have an SUV, but it is our only vehicle, and we've promised ourselves that if we ever did get two vehicles (or our next one vehicle), that they would be hybrids now that they are affordable and more readily available. And I can tell you that our SUV has better mileage than my employer's much smaller Maserati. We recycle, hand wash our dishes, try to select items packaged in renewable resource packaging, don't use anti-bacterial soaps and try to make responsible decisions about how we treat the environment. We enjoy the safety (or perceived safety) and comfort of our large vehicle. The road can be a dangerous place, especially in South Florida and I feel comfortable with our decisions. Not everyone who owns large vehicles are blind, irresponsible consumers. We could have two sedans, but chose one Durango instead (without the Hemi upgrade). It's easy to tell everyone they should ride the buses when you live in NY or San Francisco, but that is only part of America. And you can picture this green fairy utopia from your timely and frequent subway cars, but public transportation and walking urban areas are not a reality or remote possibility for most of the country.
I work in a law office and I end up typing large passages of double-spaced all cap documents. I would end up with VERY tired pinkies if they were taken away! Although, if someone worked it out so two keys pressed together would toggle caps like [ctrl]+[B] for bold, I could work with that.
"Its like TV, why raising your kids by yourself if the little friend from Panasonic can do it also" That's why I have a big friend from Panasonic :)
Now I can have legit art for my MySpace background :-/