[Tired of Taxes]

I had a good experience scouting during the 1970s, . . . Our summer camp even featured archery and rifle ranges. In the late 1990s, I put my own sons through the program . . . Boys weren't even allowed to carry a pocketknife and the mothers went everywhere with them.

That must not be true for every troop - unless things changed in the 2000's. In the troop my sons belonged to, up to around 4 years ago, their summer camp had archery and rifle ranges. They were encouraged to have pocketknives. (One of my sons brought home a large folding knife from camp once.) And we mothers (mostly) weren't allowed to be as involved as the fathers.

[DoodleBob]

Many of the most popular Non-Eagle required merit badges involve firearms or knives. Notwithstanding all the hoopla around what's going wrong with BSA, the boys are drawn to the things secular/modern society considers to be "bad."

What more of a vote of confidence does one need?

• 2017 rankings

  Rank	Merit Badge	2017 earned
  1	First Aid	69,563
  2	Swimming	62,057
  3	Citizenship in the World	55,917
  4	Environmental Science	55,703
  5	Citizenship in the Nation	52,949
  6	Cooking	51,004
  7	Camping	50,871
  8	Communication	50,503
  9	Personal Fitness	50,428
  10	Personal Management	49,287
  11	Family Life	48,774
  12	Citizenship in the Community	48,736
  13	Emergency Preparedness	43,351
  14	Fingerprinting	38,989
  15	Rifle Shooting	37,796
  16	Leatherwork	35,490
  17	Archery	35,301
  18	Wood Carving	32,943
  19	Wilderness Survival	30,814
  20	Kayaking	30,466
  21	Chess	26,919
  22	Canoeing	26,052
  23	Fishing	24,343
  24	Art	21,567
  25	Lifesaving	20,748
  26	Shotgun Shooting	19,703
  27	Space Exploration	18,994
  28	Mammal Study	18,715
  29	Geology	18,674
  30	Climbing	18,356
  31	Indian Lore	17,003
  32	Astronomy	15,702
  33	Basketry	15,406
  34	Robotics	15,031
  35	Aviation	14,347
  36	Small Boat Sailing	14,182
  37	Pioneering	13,870
  38	Game Design	13,810
  39	Photography	13,550
  40	Metalwork	12,990
  41	Weather	12,690
  42	Geocaching	12,604
  43	Engineering	11,773
  44	Fire Safety	11,746
  45	Orienteering	11,742
  46	Fish & Wildlife Management	11,615
  47	Nature	11,586
  48	Forestry	11,456
  49	Welding	10,656
  50	Music	10,592
  51	Chemistry	10,248
  52	Automotive Maintenance	10,205
  53	Search and Rescue	10,107
  54	Motor Boating	9,517
  55	Soil and Water Conservation	9,484
  56	Moviemaking	9,262
  57	Electricity	9,245
  58	Digital Technology	8,768
  59	Sculpture	8,715
  60	Horsemanship	8,641
  61	Rowing	8,239
  62	Pottery	7,940
  63	Oceanography	7,763
  64	Electronics	7,524
  65	Signs, Signals and Codes	7,364
  66	Sustainability	7,295
  67	Snow Sports	7,267
  68	Hiking	7,084
  69	Public Speaking	7,035
  70	Pulp and Paper	6,879
  71	Archaeology	6,876
  72	Crime Prevention	6,721
  73	Nuclear Science	6,702
  74	Railroading	6,663
  75	Sports	6,556
  76	Reptile and Amphibian Study	6,053
  77	Scouting Heritage	5,916
  78	Salesmanship	5,908
  79	Radio	5,840
  80	Cycling	5,742
  81	Traffic Safety	5,689
  82	American Heritage	5,496
  83	Animation	5,462
  84	Law	5,402
  85	Disabilities Awareness	5,239
  86	Genealogy	5,213
  87	Woodwork	5,212
  88	Bird Study	4,965
  89	Mining in Society	4,673
  90	Fly Fishing	4,597
  91	Plumbing	4,398
  92	Pets	4,289
  93	Scholarship	4,171
  94	Collections	4,140
  95	Programming	4,138
  96	Coin Collecting	3,930
  97	Animal Science	3,848
  98	Architecture	3,654
  99	Medicine	3,561
  100	Reading	3,524
  101	Backpacking	3,498
  102	Entrepreneurship	3,473
  103	Home Repairs	3,432
  104	Inventing	3,296
  105	Safety	3,280
  106	Golf	3,248
  107	Painting	3,222
  108	Dentistry	3,135
  109	Graphic Arts	3,066
  110	Water Sports	2,966
  111	Whitewater	2,832
  112	Athletics	2,754
  113	Energy	2,749
  114	Dog Care	2,661
  115	Insect Study	2,644
  116	Model Design and Building	2,564
  117	Truck Transportation	2,466
  118	Veterinary Medicine	2,451
  119	Theater	2,332
  120	Farm Mechanics	2,307
  121	American Cultures	2,298
  122	Textile	2,205
  123	Plant Science	2,107
  124	Exploration	2,090
  125	Scuba Diving	1,842
  126	Public Health	1,798
  127	Skating	1,785
  128	Landscape Architecture	1,483
  129	Gardening	1,450
  130	Composite Materials	1,407
  131	Journalism	1,127
  132	Drafting	1,119
  133	Stamp Collecting	954
  134	American Labor	901
  135	Surveying	863
  136	American Business	613
  137	Bugling	454
  138	Cinematography	231
  139	Computers	207