Posted on 03/19/2019 2:13:50 PM PDT by davidwendell
Is Trail Life USA Immune from the Fate of BSA?
No - but mostly yes...
Since Trail Life USA is a human organization, there is always a possibility that the left will infiltrate, destroy, and they wear it's corpse - like it did with the Scouts, BSA (much to consternation of the blindly loyal former scouts - I remind them there is no Boy Scouts).
Where are just a few reasons I believe Trail Life USA will not fall under a similar fate.
1. The Core Values of Trail life are in part largely in place to ensure this doesn't happen. I would emphasize: CHRIST-CENTERED CHURCH-OWNED AND OPERATED MALE-CENTERED ADULT LEADERSHIP VOLUNTEER-DRIVEN, and DECENTRALIZED DECISION-MAKING
2. Everyone who wants Scouts BSA has Scouts BSA. People who seek Trail Life want Trail Life. There are now two scouting options for young men.
3. The churches who sponsor Troops control the organization/by-laws, etc., with an 80% approval rate required. Not a corporate board.
4. Each Troop is run by their Church, not merely renting space there. If the Church decides they don't want to sponsor Trail Life anymore, the Troop ceases to exist!
5. The Trail Life USA statement of Values begins with,"Purity // God calls us to lives of holiness, being pure of heart, mind, word and deed. We are to reserve sexual activity for the sanctity of marriage, a lifelong commitment before God between a man and a woman."
6. Membership Standards: "....The basis for the program's ethical and moral standards is found in the Bible. In terms of sexual identification and behavior, we affirm that any sexual activity outside the context of the covenant of marriage between one man and one woman is sinful before God and therefore inconsistent with the values and principles of the program. Within these limits, we grant membership to adults and youth who do not engage in or promote sexual immorality of any kind, or engage in behavior that would become a distraction to the mission of the program. We welcome boys whose parents are seeking a faith-based outdoor adventure program that places an emphasis on character development, leadership, and moral purity, and who aspire to live in accordance with the values expressed in the program's Oath and Creed."
7. We are not respectable enough in the world's eyes to merit a target. they may want our scalp, but they are not interested in wearing our carcass.
Just my thoughts....
No organization is safe from bad people or a degraded culture. However, Trail Life USA has the benefit of learning from the experiences of older organizations. I wish them the best.
The Boy Scouts set themselves up for a fall when they started taking corporate money, which apparently supported very nice salaries for corporate officers, plushy HQ, and special projects.
Once you are financially tied to corporate America or government, the leftists will have you by the short and curlies.
Leftists and statists need centralization for control. They can’t conduct their social-engineering schemes in anything without it. Its why they always insist on more state power.
Keep the organization lean and de-centralized, and Trail Life will do very well.
It all depends on who is allowed to infiltrate the organization. No one is immune without some inoculation which is repeated frequently.
The problem I have with Trail Life is that they dance around the homosexual issue, seeming to be willing to accept “gay” scouts as long as they don’t make an issue of it. That’s a recipe for disaster.
Exactly
Evil targets good. The enemies of God, of freedom, and of the United States targeted the Boy Scouts of America because we were everything they wanted obliterated and still want to destroy. Trail Life is no more or less vulnerable. It’s a question of constant vigilance.
It’s no different from the antisemitism of the 1930s and 1940s, for which the vows of “never again” were so convincing . . . right up until antisemitism became cool again in Europe and in the United States. Those who target BSA and Jews today are even the same enemy as our parents/grandparents faced 80 years ago. They will come after Trail Life too the moment that their organization drops its guard.
“The problem I have with Trail Life is that they dance around the homosexual issue, seeming to be willing to accept “gay” scouts as long as they don’t make an issue of it. That’s a recipe for disaster.”
I think they have to do that to avoid violating anti-discrimination laws. They are not discriminating, just requiring that no one promote, or engage in, certain activities.
We can HOPE that Trail Life is immune from the societal moral rot.........................
but there’s no guarantee....morally depraved people can ‘infiltrate’ and take over almost any organization or association in today’s America...
some other church-sponsored scouting organizations have apparently gone bad... bigtime....
this one is in a church which traditionally tended to be quite morally strict (please! let’s please leave aside all the criticisms of doctrinal distinctives today, please, that’s NOT the point right now, thanks thanks)..
this is from the 7th Day Adventist “Pathfinders” scouting website....
“Resources:
RESOURCES:
1. Pathfinder Handbook – BPSA-developed handbook for the Pathfinder section. Click here to order a coil-bound version.
2. Scouting for Boys – The definitive manual for scouts. This is the book that started scouting, complete with illustrations by B-P. Originally published in installments every other Wednesday from January 15, 1908. The book consists of introductions for Scouters, 28 “Campfire Yarns” for Scouts, and a summary. Also available in paperback. It should be noted that this text was written in 1908 and is in every way a reflection of the time. BPSA-US aims to move beyond the vestiges of colonialism, racism, sexism, homophobia, et al contained within this text and we are working every day to build a program that embodies 21st Century inclusivity. We look to the history as a framework for our educational method and theory, but we denounce the bigotry and discrimination presented in these texts. “
Another traditionally moral church (leaving aside their historical plural marriage doctrine)... has checked their kids OUT of BSA....... and is trying to set up a good, morally-righteous church-sponsored scouting group for their kids....we will see how well they can achieve this noble aim......
When they grow large enough to be a target, they’ll be a target. Right now, they do not have the membership or bank account to be worth destroying.
The enemy of “good” is “Better”. The more they grow, the more of an opportunity for social justice warriors and attorneys they’ll become.
Cub Scouts is got way too many womenInvolved
>Cub Scouts is got way too many womenInvolved<
Very true. When I was a BSA scout back in the 1940’s, women whether mothers or other females, dared not mess with the scouts. Fathers, uncles, and male pastors were fixtures in that era’s Man Cave.
My troop took their .22 rifles on long day hikes and overnight camping trips. And we were better men for being in a strictly boys and male fellowhip of young adventurers.
As a mom of eagles please consider my criticism of female involvement-
It largely happens when the men abdicate. In scouts, in church, in the home...wherever.
Not always. Sometimes you might get some wave of pushy women but usually they are filling perceived needs and gaps.
Goes back to the dudes. Men, you are needed. Fill the breaches or women will.
Anti-discrimination laws are irrelevant in the case of private associations, per Dale v. Boy Scouts of America, where the Scouts won their case to determine membership requirements as the deemed appropriate.
An activist "gay" mole can spread an infection throughout the organization in no time.
It’s a bit more clear than that. All leadership need to be living a Christian Life, explicitly including no homosexual activity. Leaders need to be approved by the Church as well, and churchs have an agreed upon statement of faith, which includes support for traditional marriage. Prolife too. They really have done all they could structurally to remain sound.
Conservative Boy Scout Alternatives
https://wehavekids.com/youth-programs/Conservative-Boy-Scout-Alternatives
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