BOY SCOUTS: BE NOT AFRAID: STAND UP, SPEAK OUT!

I'm proud to be an American, born in the U.S.A.*

THOUGHT INTOLERANCE We live in a new age, the age of "intolerance." This doesn't concern attitudes of a racial, gender or many of the more common forms of intolerance, but today's repugnant, yet rampant thought intolerance. Before we, as Americans, deign to express an opinion today, especially in writing, each one of us is forced to think long and hard about the potential consequences of such self-expression, and indeed, there may be the most serious consequences to be faced.  This, in spite of the fact that we supposedly enjoy freedom of speech as one of our "rights" as set forth in the 2nd Amendment.  Those who would control our freedom of speech have found a new route, that of political correctness.  It is no different than the thought police imposed upon the Chinese nation by the Red Guards. Freedom of Speech is now in the process of slow strangulation through the effective use and abuse of the Politically Correct crowd. It is especially true if what we say or write goes against the current politically correct stance that emanates in successive waves from our liberal educators and educational institutions, which seems to include most of them acxross the nation today. Students and off-Campus speakers must conform to the educators'codes or they soon find themselves denied the use of halls or other meeting places on college campuses. They have often been met, and intimidated, and forced to flee campuses by mobs of students and off-campus people intent upon enforcing their philosophies upon the student body. In others, vocal thugs have incessantly screamed and shouted and drowned them out. The only "free speech" these ugly male and female thugs will respect is from someone known in advance who will express viewpoints that they're sure they will agree with.It is as if we are going through times and experiences similar to those which the Red Guards imposed upon the Chinese nation not too long ago. Those who disagreed or violated the tenants espoused in Mao's Little Red Book were publicly humiliated at least or lost their freedom, even their lives, at worst. That was political correctness carried to the extreme. What is going on...here, in our country? The very same thing. STAND FORTH, STAND FIRM. SPEAK UP, SPEAK OUT...WHEN YOU HAVE THE CHANCE, OR ONE DAY YOU MAY FIND THAT YOU'VE LOST THE CHANCE FOREVER.

I CHOOSE TO SPEAK OUT! I choose to say what I feel I must, and if they try to silence me, to speak all the louder and more often. i regard it as a civic duty and I will not be frightened off from fulfilling that duty. I hope that others will join me in a continuous and unrelenting opposition to this form of censorship, against these restrictions on our rights, on our ability to freely express our opinions, and to remain firm and steadfast in our convictions. We should not be on the defensive. Instead we should be on the offensive, constantly on the offensive, aggressively on the offensive. We have nothing to be ashamed of, for have we not brought ALL youngsters into the organization since its' founding, and taught them tolerance towards their fellow man and reverence towards God? I believe, for example, that there are evil people whose political agenda includes the planned destruction of groups, organizations and ideals that the majority of us hold in high esteem and one of those that they are currently targeting is: Scouting. They are intent upon destroying it, and with it...another fine American institution. They are anti-American. They are as un-American and intolerant as they accuse others of being; they are terribly wrong. You and I have the right to hold fast to our own beliefs, and because we differ in our approach to an issue does not make us wrong. Their agenda is to denigate, harm, tear down and destroy; ours must be to maintain things of a positive nature, and to build. We must demand that these attacks on our long-established institutions cease, but even if they do not, we must be outspoken and go on the offensive; to remain forever in a defensive position means we will lose. We must present a united front and stand firm against this evil onslaught, these people who run around with petitions against Scouting, those who would destroy an organization that has benefitted more than 110,000,000 youngsters since its founding here in the U.S., and...benefitted more Gay youths than probably any other organization in America. It has treated all youths, including gay youths, fairly and equally and given them the same opporutnities as every other young man who belongs! If for no other reason than that it helps gay youths to develop self-confidence in the same manner as all other youths, we must stand firm. Scouting should receive our admiration and support, and unqualified support from Gay organizations too. Click here to send this web site to a friend. THE BOY SCOUTS DO NOT, DEFINITELY DO NOT DISCRIMINATE! These are dangerous times. These are days in which the risks of sexual encounters, especially between males or homosexuals, are much greater than ever, when the risk of an HIV infection means either an early death or a lifetime of medication, diminished activies and caution. It is our job as parents, as citizens, and as leaders, scouting or otherwise, to take every precaution possible to protect those young men and women entrusted to our care, and social issues that are contrary to these goals must not be overlooked. The simple and inescapable truth is: that we are obligated to forsee and avoid danger to young boys entrusted to the care of others, that they must be protected from the harm which might be inflicted upon them by those with different moral outlooks, shielded from those temptations which might affect their development and psychological well-being, even though those perceived dangers might offend any certain group who adhere to differing beliefs. There have been too many instances of betrayed trust of minors in recent years, of men who have been damaged because of it, and we cannot afford to ignore the clear lessons presented to us as these cases unfold. To do so would be foolishness in the extreme. Those who ignore them, who criticize and denigate the Boy Scouts because of their rigid stance, would present us with another plague of problems in ten or twenty more years, a plague which could easily be avoided by taking the proper steps to screen the Scout Leaders according to acceptable standards now. Experience cautions us, responsibility demands it of us and the inherent dnngers force us to be alert to every temptation or subterfuge. for one purpose, the protecton of the youth of America. Back in the 30?s young boys, when they were around eleven years old, could hardly wait to reach their twelfth birthday so that they?d be old enough to join the Boy Scouts of America. That magic birthday usually meant a present of inestimable value to a youngster in those days, a gift that many of them carried in their pockets long into their adult years, a Boy Scout knife. It was sort a coming of age rite, but when they joined...it was to an organization whose tenants and principles helped to build and continually strengthen the moral foundation of those young men, as it had in the decades before the 30?s, and as it continues to do to this day. [Life was much simpler in the depression years. A small gift, such as a pocket knife, had a much greater impact on boys then, more than a thousand dollar computer has on the young people in today's world.] That moral foundation continues to serve and guide the lives of millions of former Boy Scouts in countries all around the world, just as strongly as it did while we were trying to advance, between the ages of twelve to sixteen, from Tenderfoot to Third Class, through the ranks on up to Eagle Scout. Just a few made it to the rank of Eagle Scout, but I can remember how enthusiastic the boys were when it was announced at one of our weekly meetings that a member of our troop had advanced to that rank, and how proud that youngster?s parents felt at his accomplishment. While many of us may not have climbed all the way up the ladder, we certainly learned valuable lessons along the way, not the least of which were the important lessons of good citizenship. They taught (and still do) patriotism, the love of country. We saluted the flag and recited the Pledge of Allegiance at every meeting, as we did in school too. (There seems to be too little of that today.) There are people in this country who are strongly against such teachings, who degrade our nation and continually rail on about faults, some real, many imagined, but the Boy Scouts taught us what was good about our country. The life lessons and the emphasis in the Boy Scout movement have always stressed international brotherhood, and they practiced this in every way possible. Discrimination was against Baden Powell's philosophy of what young manhood was all aboout. He stressed equality and brotherhood by all of those who joined the Boy Scout movement. They welcomed every young boy and treated each of them as equals. Boys from every strata of society, of every color, speaking every language, and practicing every known religion from all around the world, joined the Boy Scouts, as they still do to this day. Click here to send this web site to a friend. They were, indeed, from every persuasion, because that was never questioned; each boy entered as a Tenderfoot, and if they had the ambition and the determination, they climbed the ladder to Eagle Scout. The participants in these law suits against the Scouts, in newspaper photos...were shown proudly wearing their Scout uniforms and ribbons filled with the merit badges they had earned ,proving that the Scouting movement did not discriminate against them and indeed, had provided them with the same opportunities as every other of their brother scouts. There were Boy Scout camps in rural settings for each district, used mainly during summer vacation, and they provided daily instructions in various fields of activity for Scouts, and there were also national scout encampments that a few boys from each district managed to attend. Then, there were International Scoutaramas, held in different countries of the world for the past 100 years, where young boys and young men from this country and scores of others, of every ethnicity, have met in fellowship and friendship, and they learned a little lot about each other while doing so. Those lessons, both moral and social, have proven invaluable to them throughout their lives. At no time did these encampments make a distinction between the boys, and again, the Eagle Scouts who are suing most likely attended such functions and were treated the same as every other Scout. They taught a love of God, as well. While not a secular organization, still and all, there were a few requirements, but first and most important was a belief in God. Why not? Is every organization in this country supposed to conform to a single dogma? If so, it is not something that I have ever been taught, nor have I found it in our Bill of Rights nor our Constitution. They taught us to respect our fellow man (or boy), and at they helped us to develop self-confidence in a variety of ways because we were always encouraged to try different things and to develop a number of varying skills, instead of just one sport. It was the overall development that counted, the transition from a boy to a man. Is a single man's welfare more important than that of millions of others who benefit now, and will benefit in the future?

THE GREATEST GENERATION; MANY WERE FORMER BOY SCOUTS When the radios and newspapers blared forth the news that the Japanese had bombed Pearl Harbor, tens of thousands of the young men who volunteered for duty were ex-Boy Scouts and they were often the first to volunteer. Many had leadership skills learned in Scouting, and they often became officers. They fought and fell in every battle during the war. The tenants of scouting went with them...to war, and they served in all sectors with honor. When they returned home, lessons learned in Scouting helped them adjust, and become community leaders. Those same tenants learned in scouting were in the hearts and minds of many of the world?s great Statesmen from the turn of the century onward. And those tenants most Scouts can recite to this day. A Scout is Honest, Loyal, Kind, Obedient, Cheerful, Thrifty, Brave, Clean and Reverent. Scouting is an important part of American life. Scouting is an important part of many a youngster's life. And, Scouting, whether you recognize it or not has been an important part in your life, because former Scouts have treated you with the same kind of civility that they learned as part of their training. Click here to send this web site to a friend. EXPOSING THE BOY SCOUTS But now, after a century of serving with honor in every state in the Union, it seems that the Boy Scouts of America have suddenly been ?outed? and they now suffer a stigma and damage to their once clean reputation by mean-spirited and destructive opponents. As a result of that stigma, they are now roundly criticized, disenfranchised, disclaimed, and dishonored, by a pack of social hyenas snapping at their heels at every opportunity. Generations of Boy Scouts, millions of them, have now been cast into a light that seemingly blinds their former supporters to their virtues, and instead subjects them to nasty attacks and riducule. Yes, they have been declared "anti-gay" or "homophobic." They have been castigated unfairly in news articles, on TV, in City Councils, in churches, and by Gay and Lesbian organizations nationally. In other words, this great organization, one which has contributed a great deal to communities the country over for decades, is supposedly fatally flawed! This is absolute bull, a calumny all out of proportion to the supposed problem. They've been denied access to schools and city properties where they used to hold their meetings. They have been denied the cooperation of other organizations because of the vociferous attacks made upon them at public meetings, by critics who have little real knowledge of the function of Scouting. These attacks are never rational, and their vituperativness tends to scare off supporters, and even those who have always had a high regard for Scouting. Yes, now there are those whose sole agenda, it seems, is to discredit this fine organization, and who make serious and damaging accusations, that falsely make them out to be a biased and discriminatory group comparable to the Klu Klux Klan. As G.I. Joe's used to say, "What a crock. Whan an absolute crock!" The simple truth of the matter is that the Boy Scouts are paying the penalty for their sins, not for the sin of being biased or prejudiced against any group or sect, but for the sin of acting in a prudent manner, [i.e.] for the protection of all the youngsters in their charge, committed by the national Board of Directors of that fine orgnization. It was a decision that they legally had to make, one which fulfills their obligation to protect the youngsters in their charge from the wrongful acts of others, and the group from lawsuits and judgments which could virtually, if not completely, wipe out the funding that supports them. What kind of a society are we living in today that this is judged wrong, that one person can infringe upon the rights and duties of many others to such a degree?

Chap. II (click here)