Posted on 10/02/2003 6:24:25 AM PDT by madprof98
"On my honor, I will do my best to do my duty, to God and my country ...."
Even today, many years later, those words from the Boy Scout pledge bring to mind camping trips and corny singalongs, troop meetings in dank church basements, summer camps and late-night whispering sessions in which we swapped dirty jokes that we didn't fully understand.
Much of the magic of boyhood, in other words.
Unfortunately, something's gone awry in the Boy Scout movement I knew and loved. Last weekend, I went to a Scout fund-raiser in Lilburn billed as a patriotic "rally for America." It certainly had all the trappings of such an event, from a row of American flags across the stage to prerecorded patriotic music and polite, fresh-faced Boy Scouts, draped in merit badges.
In reality, though, this was a strident political rally, run by and for the Boy Scouts, in which the beliefs, patriotism and moral decency of roughly half the American people were considered fair game. That wasn't a surprise, though -- not when the evening's star attractions were syndicated columnist Ann Coulter and Fox News star Oliver North.
"The cowards and quislings of the Democratic Party have been exposed as the Neville Chamberlain of their day," Coulter said, setting the tone with her discussion of Iraq. "That will be the historic legacy of the Democratic Party. Apparently they think that's worth a warm handshake by Susan Sarandon."
Such rhetoric is hardly noteworthy in today's culture, but what made it sting was the fact that it came at an official Boy Scout event, with the Boy Scout emblem displayed prominently behind Coulter. Sitting in the audience, surrounded by cheering adults, I couldn't help wonder how the sons of "cowards and quislings" could possibly feel welcomed in the Northeast Georgia Council of the Boy Scouts of America.
This wasn't Scouting as I knew it, and part of the change can no doubt be attributed to the gay-rights issue. The Boy Scouts today bans gays from membership or leadership, even to the point of kicking out gay Eagle Scouts with long records of service. That has made the organization a target of gay-rights groups, and the darling of conservatives.
Personally, I disagree strongly with that ban, but I also understand why it persists. Attitudes toward gays may have changed dramatically, but some institutions simply cannot adapt as quickly as others. Scouting, with its core in small-town America, was always going to be one of the last to make that change.
At the fund-raiser, Coulter addressed the issue with her usual tact, talking of gays as perverts wanting to lure little boys into the woods. North also noted that he found gay Americans "personally offensive." But North and Coulter had something else in common: They were curious choices for an organization that stresses the importance of truth-telling.
North, after all, gained celebrity status back in the '80s when, as a key player in the Iran-Contra conspiracy, he was found guilty of destruction and falsification of evidence, aiding and abetting the obstruction of Congress and accepting an illegal gratuity. Those felony convictions were later overturned only on the sort of legal technicality that conservatives claim to abhor.
To his credit, though, North kept political attacks to a minimum in his remarks. He talked movingly about his experiences covering the war in Iraq, and about the bravery, skill and commitment of U.S. troops in that struggle. He also retold the story of Todd Beamer, one of four passengers who led the attempt to retake Flight 93 from hijackers on Sept. 11.
The story of Flight 93 is indeed a tale of bravery and self-sacrifice, and it ought to be recounted around Scout campfires for generations. But someday, I hope it can be told honestly.
In his version, North did not mention the role played by Mark Bingham, a big, strapping rugby player from California who joined in the assault on the hijackers. Because Bingham, you see, was gay.
He was no less brave for that fact, no less patriotic and no less worthy of being honored and remembered. Someday, I hope, the Scouts will acknowledge that.
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Jay Bookman is the deputy editorial page editor. His column appears Thursdays and Mondays.
Go to www.nega-bsa-events.com . This was organized and run by the Northeast Georgia Council. I contacted the reporter directly and he told me that the Council's professional staff was there in uniform and ran the event. Tickets were $40 in advance, $45 at the door, and $100 bucks if you wanted to hang out afterwards and get to meet and talk to the speakers and entertainers directly. This was a BSA event and having political and partisan speakers was a violation of National policy.Now, if you think that the BSA should change it's policy (and I don't), then fine. That's worthy of debate. But until National does change it's policy, it's Councils are obligated to observe it.
How does this have to do with letting gay leaders into the BSA? Because whether or not the BSA allowed gay leaders, this is against National's youth protection policy. You can't have a 22 year old straight leader taking a 15 year old Scout into the woods alone, either. And a good thing, too, for multiple reasons.
Perhaps you should reread the article, reread my posts, and check out the site I referenced. Only this time, try it slowly, for comprehension. The Council organized the event. The Council publicized the event. The Council ran the event. Ann Coulter was invited to the event by the BSA. Her view were presented publicly under the auspices of the BSA. Political views were presented to the public by the BSA. This is a violation of BSA National's policy.
What happen when national policy is violated? do they get arrested???
Volunteers can get their BSA registration revoked and can be blacklisted (actually, it's called the "Red list") so that their registration is rejected every time someone tries to enter it into National's computers again. Professionals can get fired, and can be blacklisted so that they can no longer be hired by any Council again. At the very least, they can have a severe crimp put into their career with regards to promotions, pay raises, etc.
Seems funny that ... the BSA cant have a guest speaker without liberal-socialists getting their panties in a wad. . .
Having a liberal-socialist present political views at a BSA function is equally as objectionable and is equally a violation of BSA policy.
Which would quite neatly justify the Minuteman Council (Boston) deciding to admit gays as leaders. After all, the BSA can do as it darn well pleases, including violating it's own policies.
This article reads like it's OK to attack the BSA with politics, but the BSA better keep it's political opinion to itself - so much for freedom of speech when it's the BSA I guess. . .
O.K. Let me now submit that you miss the point. The BSA doesn't have to keep it's political opinions to itself because it doesn't have any political opinions. The BSA is not a conservative organization. The BSA is not a liberal organization. The BSA is not a political organization and does not have political opinions. It does not lobby. It does not sponsor legislation. It does not support legislation or candidates. It does not issue political statements. That's National policy. And while it's members often do have political opinions, they are to keep those opinions to themselves while representing the BSA (e.g., while in uniform or while at a BSA function).
And the quote I've given above from National's web site quite neatly expresses why this is so.
Let me give you a brief rundown on BSA structure. National Council is a not-for-profit corporation (NFP) that possesses a Charter from the Federal government giving it the rights to operate the BSA program. National then grants two kinds of charters itself. One type is issued to local Councils. A local Council is an NFP made up of local businessmen and community leaders who are charged with operating the BSA programs in their area. In return for the right to hold the charter, which is renewable annually, the NFP signs a contract with National that it will abide by any and all National policies. Northeast Georgia Council has broken this contract.
When the Cradle of Liberty Council threatened to break their contract by admitting avowed homosexuals, National told them that their response would be to refuse to renew their charter and instead find a different NFP (or have the current NFP completely turn over the membership of it's Board of Directors) to grant the charter to. The CoL's response was to back down.
So now the question is, what will National's response be to this? Local Councils have lost some funding in some areas because of National's policies regarding barring avowed homosexuals as leaders. National's response has been that their principles and policies are not for sale. Now that Northeast Georgia Council has violated National policy to make more money at a fund raiser, the question becomes:
Is it just some of National's policies and principles that are not for sale, or all of them?
Who would the speakers be? Eleanor Cift and Howard Dean? Maybe Hillary and Al Gore? Or even Pat Schroeder and Ted Kennedy, all great supporters of Scouting.
Having these people show up at an event like this and give the politically liberal version of the kind of speech that Ann Coulter did would be just as much of a violation of National policy, and just as objectionable.
And what about the funraiser? Can you imagine getting a bunch of Piss Ant, Bedwetters up off of their wallets to raise over $20,000.00 for a good, clean, moral cause like the BSA?
So NEGA is justified in selling out National policy because they got $20,000? Minuteman Council or Chicago Area Council and a bunch of the other urban councils could get a lot more than that for selling out.
What I can imagine is getting a bunch of conservatives to kick in $20,000 to the BSA on the basis of the great work that the BSA does, instead of having to kiss their political asses first.
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