The Red Cross has done a lot of good in the world over the years – or so we hear. But I believe it has also gone the route of many other mega-charities and has gotten a bit too big headed since it was founded. During WWII they were in charge of giving the okay when it came to emergency leave for service men and women. My father had grown up very close to his maternal grandmother who died while he was in serving in the navy. He was still state side at the time and when he applied for a short leave to attend her funeral the navy had no problem. However, the final decision for this leave was pending permission of the Red Cross. He applied and was promptly turned down for no apparent reason. I have also heard stories, from reliable sources, that they do not always give aid (hot soup, beverages, etc.) but often times actually have the gall to charge people for it. Combine all that with a certain amount of corrupt leadership and well, let’s just say it wasn’t hard for me to look around and find charities more deserving of my hard earned money.
