always donating to charity.....what the...?!?

[leandar]

There were quite a few instances of the Dukes getting some fair-sized rewards for some of the people that they helped apprehend in some of the episodes and much more often than not, they ended up donating it all to charity.

Just makes me wonder, why wouldn't they have used the majority of that money to pay off the mortage to Boss Hogg so he couldn't be trying to evict them all the time? Or getting back up on their feet a bit more cause it was said several times that the Dukes were dirt poor. Or something else along those lines? I'm not saying they shouldn't have donated at all, but I'm just wondering why they did so much and didn't get themselves out of their own holes?

Any thoughts?

[DixieRose_00]

I think maybe Uncle Jesse raised them to be like that and give to Charity....there was a number of episodes where they would take part of the reward money they got and use it for repairs for any of the vehicles that were damaged at all while they were trying to catch the crooks!!!

[Canadian_Country_Cousin]

That's right, they often did use some of the money. But I think they gave it away because they knew that whoever they gave it to needed it more than they did. And for being dirt poor the Dukes got on pretty darn well, they didn't need money, and I know this sounds cheesy but the had each other. That's all they really cared about, each other, and other people! Money! phfff Dukes dont need no money!

[lost_sheep3]

I agree with Canadian_Country_Cousin, I think that they gave it away as a sort of statement that family was more important than money. Also as a reminder that no matter how bad off you think you are, there's always someone out there that needs that money more than you do.

LS3

[Brian Coltrane]

The consistent generosity of the Dukes balanced out the never-ending greed of ol' Boss Hogg. Between the two philosophies, Hazzard County broke even.

That aside, the Dukes often had problems that money alone wouldn't solve. Things like, ex-cons taking the entire family hostage, aliens dropping in, amnesia and/or hypnosis affecting behavior of a loved one, ect. Overcoming this kinda stuff makes ya less reliant on ready cash.

Also, the Dukes didn't have much, but they shared what they had - demonstrating an overall belief that they were blessed "as is" and shared their monetary blessings with others at every opportunity. Recycling good, as it were.

Ya know, the best way to get to the bottom of this debate is to try the behavior for yerself! Most of us would probably find that if you gave away money to a worthy cause every week - be it the coin drop at restaurants and ice cream shops, church donations, charity drives, whatever - you would probably have just as much money when everything all balanced out, if not more.

Good stuff does tend to come back to ya. Not only that, but when regular donating becomes part of yer psyche, you spend less on useless stuff and junk, because The Big Picture starts taking over. You get smarter with your money.

Also, you never know when you yerself could suddenly be on the receivin' end of somebody else's goodwill. I think the Dukes, living close to the edge and having outrageous problems for average country folk, were keenly aware of this.

Brian

[just_me]

Sure thing there Brian!

Besides the Duke no their Bible and that clearly states you should not gather your welt on this earth.

(Sorry didn't wanna go all theological on ya'll and ruin the mood but had to say it LOL)

True thing though people should share a little more instead of only thinking of money all the time.

Lov,

JM