As an assistant den leader and knowing the entire leadership of our pack (probably 25 leaders and 200 boys), there was no alcohol or electronics allowed. Different people had different specialties, so we had a broad range of knowledgeable people to cover character building, health (fitness, nutrition, emergency response, etc.), morality, survival / outdoor - and a lot more. Scouting provides a graduated, structured, age appropriate curriculum to learning and experiencing core life skills. The boys in each den get to learn and practice as a group, so they can help each other along the way because they experience the same skills and the stronger help the weaker.
"Pocket knives ? Fathers can’t teach pocket knives ?"
Yes, but what I emphasized is the use of them in a supervised GROUP of kids. Our pack met at an elementary school. The boys got to bring their knives to pack meetings of about 300 people at a public school if they demonstrated complete responsibility. That's a lot of liberty within a large group setting. That creates a positive early experience of freedom over nanny statism where all of the underlings are regulated based on the lowest common denominator of human behavior. Isn't that something beneficial and unique these days???
"Fatherless ? Mothers with children and no husband should marry."
Obviously. The grass is green and the sky is blue. Do you think the mother should hook up with the first smiling face after a very traumatic life event? This may take some time. And until the proper circumstance presents itself, according to you, the boys should just sit out a great opportunity to grow and experience wonderful, life-changing events until an all knowing stepfather comes along to shepherd them (hopefully before they start shaving).
"There’s this thing called extended family. Cousins, uncles, aunts, etc. They help get family through the rough spots."
There's a thing called mobility. Many families move to where a career opportunity presents itself. I grew up in a small town and had no extended family within a reasonable distance. My dad was a state trooper and was forced to move on a regular basis. Think of the "military brats" who lost their father. They could be very removed from extended family and the mother is gainfully employed - something rare in this Obama economy.
I was even more remote from family when I graduated college. So again, your and my experiences seem to be very different.
Then, if the limits of extended family are reached, there’s something called Church. Church can help with temporary needs.
Growing in life skills is not a temporary need. Getting remarried is very unpredictable. It can take quite some time and that time of imprinting positive behavior and attitude will be lost when young boys are most impressionable. Our friends / neighbor with triplet boys got divorced and the father moved out of state for employment. My son and the triplets were good friends, they were already in our den, so it was no biggie for me to take them to meetings or field trips. They kept growing at a very important time in their life. What better environment is there to show young boys responsibility directly from strong, principled, successful men?
You obviously formed a negative opinion of the Boy Scouts and I doubt I'll change your mind. I have a very positive one and I think there is a HUGE need for this organization based on current social and demographic realities. Very few boys today grow up on the farm and even if they do, they still learn a lot of life skills besides outdoor activities. In my opinion, your view on Scouting is myopic at best.
Do you remember before perhaps the 1970’s just about every boy carried a knife ?
In the 1800’s.
In the 1700’s.
Young boys shot guns, carried knives, rode horses, used axes.
The Boy Scouts did not exist then.
And America was not a nanny state then.
Interestingly, today’s Scouts are learning that they can bear arms (”the boys got to bring their knives”, i.e., they were “allowed”) if and only if a higher authority allows them to.
I loved some aspects of Scouting, I have many good memories. I loved camping outside in the winter - you haven’t lived until you’ve functioned as a sled dog in a frozen, muddy February.
However, at the time I was ignorant of the Biblical teaching of the role of the family.