Good turns' ought to count

Philly.com ^ | Jul. 28, 2006 | Hans Zeiger

[fgoodwin]

Good turns' ought to count

http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/editorial/15140277.htm
http://tinyurl.com/n2kxw

Posted on Fri, Jul. 28, 2006
Hans Zeiger

In 1928, the City of Philadelphia made a promise to the Boy Scouts "in perpetuity." That was the city's arrangement for its leased land to the Scouts at 22d and Winter Streets, where today sits the headquarters of the Cradle of Liberty Boy Scout Council. In exchange for the city property, the Boy Scouts have contributed countless "good turns" to Philadelphia.

A good turn is an act of kindness, a volunteer project, a daily decision to invest in the lives of others. Scouting teaches boys to look beyond themselves to the community around them, to ask how they can serve. Scouting serves 40,000 children in Philadelphia. It makes sense, then, that the City of Philadelphia should partner with the Boy Scouts.

But City Solicitor Romulo L. Diaz Jr. has written to Cradle of Liberty Council President William T. Dwyer III citing the scouts' "discriminatory policies" as grounds for ejection from the council headquarters unless the scouts can pay a "fair-market rent."

The discriminatory policies to which Diaz refers include the Boy Scouts of America's national policy excluding homosexuals from positions of leadership.

Yet, it makes no more difference to the City of Philadelphia that the Boy Scouts teach that homosexuality is wrong than that the Girl Scouts do not. The city ought to have partnerships with both organizations because both are contributing to the community in ways that the city government itself is incapable.

A private organization's membership regulations are entirely inconsequential to the City of Philadelphia. A private organization's service to the community is highly consequential. And in order for the community to thrive and to succeed, it is necessary to keep open channels of support between public and private associations of every sort.

Philadelphia is a success story for public-private partnerships aimed at remedying social injustices within the city.

Urban champion John DiIulio and former Mayor W. Wilson Goode Jr. founded the Amachi program in Philadelphia to involve people of faith in the Big Brother Big Sister in-school mentoring program. In addition, as many as 40 percent of welfare-to-work programs in Philadelphia are based out of churches or other religious institutions.

Philadelphia's public schools also benefit by public-private partnerships. Several years ago the School Reform Commission contracted the management of 45 of the city's lowest-performing public schools to private for-profit organizations.

In 2004, Philadelphia school superintendent Paul Vallas called on members of churches, synagogues and mosques to help local schools with tutoring, campus safety, and mentoring. Today, 90 percent of Philadelphia public schools have been adopted by at least one faith-based partner, according to James W. Scott, director of Community Relations and Faith-Based Initiatives.

A public-private partnership does not mean that the public sector endorses every position of its private partner. There are some things on which common ground is necessary, of course. A public-private partnership between an anarchist society and city government would make little sense. But Kiwanis Clubs, Rotary Clubs, American Legion posts, VFW lodges, Boys and Girls Clubs, PTAs, Elk Clubs, Presbyterian churches, Baptist churches, Jewish synagogues, scout troops - these private groups and many others have much to contribute, irrespective of their particular membership requirements and codes.

When a private organization supports some aspect of the common good that the public sphere operating alone could not promote as well, a partnership is in order.

So it is with the Boy Scouts, and so it has been since 1928. The Boy Scouts have done thousands of good turns for Philadelphia. Upholding its promise to the scouts is the least the City of Philadelphia can do.

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Hans Zeiger is an Eagle scout, an assistant scoutmaster, and author of "Get Off My Honor: The Assault on the Boy Scouts of America"

Contact Hans Zeiger hanszeiger@yahoo.com