Posted on 07/17/2009 3:26:11 PM PDT by Congressman Billybob
Today I read an obscure book which is addequately written. Its subject is not of front-burner importance, all things considered. And yet, it tells a story that entirely too many Americans are unaware of, but should be. The book is “Legacy of Honor, the Values and Influence of America’s Eagle Scouts,” by Alvin Townley.
There are now about two million people in the US who hold the rank of Eagle Scout, of the 110 million Americans who have ever been part of the Boy Scouts of America. The Eagles are a small fraction of Scouts, a tiny fraction of the nation’s population. Yet, they are present far out of their proportion among astronauts, Congressmen (not necessarily a recommendation), business leaders, military officers, and last but best, among the winners of the Congressional Medal of Honor.
Why is this all true?
What are the qualities that Eagle Scouts are taught? They teach love of God, love of country, commitment to help people, communities, and families. They teach a wide variety of skills. But most of all, they teach a dedication to task; they teach the skills that in many circumstances lead to success, and in some circumstances lead to saving lives.
I didn’t learn these things by reading this book. I learned them by spending six years under the guidance of Dr. Karl Zapffe, Scoutmaster of Troop 35 in Baltimore, Maryland. He served in that post for 41 years. He graduated almost 250 Eagle Scouts in that time. I am honored to be the 11th Eagle from that Troop, and one of the first four who received that rank entirely under his guidance.
The larger theme is the permanent impact of early influences. Dr. Zapffe had instilled in me, and many, many others, excellent habits of mind and character before we were halfway through our adolescence. Scholarship is another quality that remains forever if it starts early enough.
My parents were both educated, and were lifetime readers. I became one too, thanks to the efforts of Paul Hyde, the son of my first babysitter, who was at the time a student teacher in the college across the street. He taught me to read and do simple math before I entered elementary school. My parents encouraged that. The first real-world reading I did was the headlines in the Baltimore Sun.
I would spread the paper on the floor of our home in Salisbury, Maryland, and figure out the headlines a syllable at a time. Back then, every issue had a little map above the fold, which showed where the battle lines currently were in Korea.
These experiences explain why I spend much time and energy now fighting the ACLU, which wants to tear down the Scouts. I also spend time fighting the “edukashun” unions, which have been tearing down the quality of American education for five decades, now.
All young men and young women in America deserve the kind of opportunities which I was honored to have. These are opportunities which will help everyone function better as adults. The opportunities can be recreated in later years – not as well, but perhaps well enough.
But where are the swans, I hear you cry. Six months ago, I wrote a story about the death of one swan from a dedicated pair on a lake near here. The title was “One Swan a-Swimming.” Many folks enjoyed that. This is the update.
A local couple have taken on the project of keeping swans on this lake. The surviving swan was taken up in December to avoid the bitter cold. The lake has been drained, the dam repaired, and four swans are now on the lake.
For about three months, the swans were swimming and associating in a group of three, plus an outlier of one. It wasn’t Bob and Carol, Ted and Alice. But we could not tell if the group of three was Bob and Ted and Alice, or Carol and Alice and Ted. But now the swans have settled out as two pairs. Oh, plus a white duck who has attached himself to them. We call him Igor.
Wild creatures in their natural environments seem able to settle out their lives and function fine on their own. It is only humans who insist on messing up their lives at an early age – with the help of adults who ought to know better – which leads to failures further down the road.
I think this is an optimistic column. But I’m not sure of that.
- 30 -
About the Author: John Armor practiced in the US Supreme Court for 33 years. He is semi-retired and now lives in the Blue Ridge. John_Armor@aya.yale.edu
- 30 -
John / Billybob
Ping to read later — when I get home from Ten Mile River Scout camp tomorrow.
Great article! Bookmarked!
My grandson has been working at Camp Thunder near Thomaston, Ga since he got out of school for the summer. He will get his Eagle Rank in the fall. And his little brother is following in his shoes.
Ping
My brother and his wife are the parents of two Eagle Scouts.
My husband is cub scout leader. (We love our little cub scouts. They are soooooo cute!) :-)
Wow John! You’re way better than I remember! Or maybe, I’m just growing up!
My sons are at Camp Grimes this week. They’ll be back tomorrow with their filthy laundry and sunburns. I’ve missed them.
Wonderful!
It’s good to talk about the great benefits of scouting.
If you only listen to liberals and the ACLU, you would think that the scouts are a worthless, dangerous organization because of the stands on homosexuality and religion. To them, all of the good that scouting does is negated because of their beliefs on homosexuality and religious belief.
I’m always amazed too, that these ACLU types always want to tear down institutions and organizations. They never think to start their own boy scout organization, and devote the countless hours that scout leaders and other volunteers do to build character and goodness in our young men. I guess that’s too much hard work for these people. They instead need to tear down effective organizations that do important work.
I wonder how some of these liberal lawyer ACLU types would do on a camp out? Some of them don’t do well if they are too far from a Starbucks.
Scouting is a great experience for boys. It gives them a chance to learn within the context of actually doing something, and acquire lifelong skills in the process. Religious expression in scouting is sincere and most often outdoors in the beauty of God's natural creation. 
Scout camp, of course, was always a great pleasure. My son and I spent time together at Camp Whitsett on the western slope of the Sierras.
We also spent time at Camp Emerald Bay on Catalina Island off the coast of southern California. Tent flaps are no barrier to feral pigs in search of candy.
My son was recruited to stay on a couple extra weeks at Lost Valley Scout Reservation to work as a stable hand. He left home as a fan of heavy metal and returned listening to country music. This was once Cupeño Indian land and is now adjacent to the Los Coyotes Indian Reservation of the Cahuilla tribe in San Diego County. We camped overnight near Bucksnort Mountain.
John / Billybob
It can't be a lot of filthy laundry -- most of the kids at Ten Mile River went home wearing what they went in. Imagine that. (Actually, that makes for NO laundry at all -- at that point, best to just burn them and move on.)
I kid. I kid!
We have been known to throw away their camp clothes. And the laundry seems to be about 2 outfits each, so they may have thrown some away rather than bringing it home.
They do have sunburns, though, and Tom fell down and tore up the palms of his hands. A visually impressive injury - I’m sure he’ll make the most of it at church tomorrow.
Bill earned six merit badges, and Tom swam a mile.
My son picked up two merit badges and a troop award for the Most Improved Camper, which had to do with his attitude about being there as much as his participation and progress.
Kudos to your boy for maintaining a good attitude in the cold rain. Our boys had pretty good weather.
Further analysis of the laundry shows several sets of Bill’s clothes, but only one of Tom’s. Ugh.
Cubmaster and Webelos Den Leader bump.
Boy crossed over in Feb and went on Scout summer camp in New Mexico.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.