BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA – EQUALITY?

GOOD MORNING WORLD

I am the wife of a Scouter.  My husband has been involved in Boy Scouts all of his life.  He rose through the ranks and earned the Eagle Award plus a bronze palm.  Shortly after we got married he called the local scout office where we were and asked if they needed help.  After these people, who are used to begging for men to help, picked themselves off the floor he was off and running as a Scoutmaster.   Everywhere we’ve moved he has called the local councils as well!

In the town where we lived the longest, I can proudly say that he helped 11 boys, including our son, through the ranks to earn their Eagle Badge.  He went to further training earning his Wood Badge beads.  He spent many years assisting local Councils and was awarded the Silver Beaver.

In 2010, since we were living close by, my husband attended the last National Jamboree that was held at Fort A P Hill to honor the 100th year of Scouts.  He went with his brother an Eagle Scout, his nephew an Eagle Scout and his son a Life Scout, and took our grandson a Tenderfoot Scout with him.  Kind of a big deal!  He is still helping as an assistant.

This program is challenging and fun for boys.  ‘Our boys’ went camping every month, including the winter in the snow, summer camp, went on high adventure weeks, to a National Jamboree, learned to lead their patrols and became wonderful men.  The tenets of scouting include the oath and law.

Scout Oath (or Promise)

On my honor I will do my best
To do my duty to God and my country
and to obey the Scout Law;
To help other people at all times;
To keep myself physically strong,
mentally awake, and morally straight.

Scout Law

A Scout is trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly,
courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty,
brave, clean, and reverent.

This program has been around in this country seemingly unchanged since 1910.  It is from the website scouting.org:

…is to provide an educational program for boys and young adults to build character, to train in the responsibilities of participating citizenship, and to develop personal fitness.

Girls cannot join the Boy Scout Organization.  In the early years Baden Powell, the founder, of England helped start the Girl Guides.  Juliette Low in America started the Girl Scouts.  To my knowledge the ACLU has not ever brought a case against The Boy Scouts of America for discrimination against girls.

My largest question in the light of this latest threat to this organization by the Gay community is why cannot an organization be what it wants to be?  The Boy Scouts choose not to include Gay or Lesbian people.  Why is that wrong?

Okay I understand if they are getting public funding then everyone believes they have the right to tell organizations how they must be run.  When did our world become so politically correct or off kilter that we all have to be ‘equal’?

What is equality?

e·qual·i·ty  – noun, plural e·qual·i·ties.

1.the state or quality of being equal; correspondence in quantity, degree, value, rank, or ability.

2.uniform character, as of motion or surface.

3.Mathematics . a statement that two quantities are equal; equation

Our government in its infamous wisdom has just said that women can go into combat as a sign of equality.  Two women who tried Marine Corps’ Infantry Officer Course failed to complete it.  Neither might I add did 26 of the 107 of the men.  If women want equality then they have to meet the same standards of the men.  In that case I see no problem with Leon Panetta’s decision.  I still do not agree with it.  Men and women are different.  By the way that is okay!

If Boys want an organization that is theirs and run by their rules good.  If Girls want one run their way then good.  AGAIN, would someone tell me why this is wrong?   For goodness sake even one of our highest leaders Sonya  Sotomayor belongs to the Belizean Grove, a highly selective club for women only. I found the description of the club from the Washington Times.

“The Belizean Grove, founded in 1999, is modeled on the Bohemian Grove, a secretive, elite club for men only. The 125 members of the Belizean Grove include Army generals, Wall Street executives and former ambassadors.”

Other Justices belong to exclusive clubs as well.  Again what is wrong with this?  Thirteen years ago the Supreme Court upheld the right of private groups to choose their membership as they wanted.

I do not want to live in a homogenized world.  VIVA La Difference! I want differences.  I do not want to live in a plain generic white house.  I want color and eclectic furnishings.  I want different music and colorful paintings full of landscapes and people and abstractions,  I want fabric, wood, metal, and water to appeal to all the senses.  In all this non-homogenization there will be a grouping of wonderful individual items.  The books in one place.  The candles in another.  The fish swimming in the water.  I see no problem with individual groupings.

If I am to make this place totally ‘equal and homogenized’ does that mean that I should put the candles in the fish tank?  The books in the plant pots?  Ridiculous of course.  Some things can be left alone.   Some things are common sense.

I am really sad to hear that the Boy Scouts may be caving in to the pressure from Gay and Lesbian people.  Seven months ago the BSA reasserted their stance with respect to Gay leaders.  At the last census our country had 4% documented Gay people.  Of these how many really want to be Boy Scout leaders or members?  We are speaking, I believe , about an extremely small number of boys or men.  We are talking a minor minority that wants to change 100 years of tradition.

Before you scream at me for being anti-gay or lesbian please note I am not.  I believe we all can live together.  I simply get very angry when someone tells me how to live.  Even angrier when they try to tear down what is really good for the many to pacify the few.  Long ago I accepted that I could not be a Boy Scout as did our daughter.  We did other things!

Sadly the Boy Scouts of America will be changed forever if they give in to this pressure.  They may even one day no longer exist.

I am not anti-gay!  I am pro BSA!

…..ONWARD TO MORE MISADVENTURE…

DECLARATION

GOOD MORNING WORLD

Disclaimer:  I have taken a turn in my post this morning.  It was not what I intended at all.  The post on soap will wait for another day.  Read the following 1608 words if you want or delete if you want.

On facebook occasionally there are notices from friends that they are cleaning out their facebook friends and to hit like if you want to stay.   I am giving you this choice today.  I am not cleaning out.  I am inviting you to do that.

Yesterday I was involved in a thread on another wall.  The wall owner posted a clip saying that Canada had banned Fox News for lying.  I have been cautioned over and over again (thank you Dale) to check out things on Snopes or Fact Check before forwarding them.  This habit has made me aware that there is a lot of misinformation out there and did not want this person to be perceived as passing such along.  I commented on the owners wall with a post suggesting that the facts be checked.  I shared that Fox News was involved in a licensing issue and distributed in Canada over private channels just like the cable channels in the USA.   

The response was from the wall owner was that the Canadians were afraid the Prime Minister was ‘trying to push American style hate-media onto our airwaves and make us all pay for it’.  This had a credit of another website.  I commented something about our President not liking Fox News as well and as I reread it think I missed that point.

The response from the wall owner to another poster participating in this thread was that ‘…Tea Party aren’t fiscal conservatives but rather simple-minded, fearful, bigots…’.  I shared then that I believed in the Tea Party so that would in fact be me.  In the same post I said I prefer to see and hear things from people in their own words, referring to the other poster and quoting Obama’s own words in his book about his drug use and being at a madrassa as it had come up in another post.  I was then told I was narrow-minded. 

Let me add here that I know this wall owner very well.  We have chatted occasioanlly about politics this wall owner freely shared that they were a bleeding heart liberal who wanted everyone to have everything.  The clincher was the following post.

The wall owner said, “I’ve never wanted to talk to you about politics and as to my real feelings about the Tea Party, I was holding back. Discussing family, books, and hobbies with you is lovely, but your politics fly in the face of nearly everything I believe in and I am happy that you will no longer be spewing it on my wall.” 

I was then invited not to ever post on this page again which I found questionably open-minded.  I will of course desist as it is not my wall. I would never enter where I was not welcomed. Got it! 

This brings me to the point of this post.  It is my understanding that in order to further a blog and get advertisers a blogger needs to be widespread.  I am not sure how my facebook people got on my blog.   I believe there was a thing in publish that automatically added when I was looking for further publication.

I discovered this when a friend was visiting and we were chatting about my blogging.  She is a liberal union gal and she told me that she gets my blog.  I said I did not know she was a subscriber.  I was afraid I had offended her since it seemed my posts were automatically added to her wall.  I still am not sure what pops up on peoples walls from my blog as I get nothing on my wall.  She put it ever so nicely.  She said if it looked interesting she would read it if not she deleted me.  I was so glad to hear this.  We ended up having an interesting political discussion.  I have other very dear liberal friends, as she,  and I discuss politics with them.  We remain close despite our differing views and opinions.

THE POINT!  I cannot figure out how I got to facebook and when I have time will try to fix it.  Until then if what I say offends you then please delete me.  If you do not want to hear anything of a differing opinion then please delete me from your wall.  I will miss your posts as I like my facebook friends.  I will understand your desire not to have my ramblings show up on your wall.  It is going to be a year of this as I want to complete my challenge.

FULL DISCLOSURE.  I am not sure it needs to be said and as sure that I want to be clear.  So here it is – I am a conservative.  Maybe even a Libertarian and definitely a work in progress.  I think the Tea Party people believe in limited government and small business.  I rarely call anyone names on my wall and invite comments from right or left.  I ask that there be no foul language, swear on your own walls (thank you David!).

I work daily at my Christian faith and am thankful that God does not leave me when I fail.  I respect all faiths.  I may not agree with their rules, such as jihad, and I would do nothing to harm another except speak out.  My faith calls me not to harm and the Constitution gives me the right to speak openly.

I do not believe in abortion.  It seems odd to me that we can be charged $250,000 for destroying an eagles egg and babies are freely killed.  I accept that abortion is the law of the land and pray daily that one day we will realize that we are the only country in the free world regularly legally killing our own.  I would not ever do anything to a woman who has had an abortion except love her and pray for her wiser decision one day.  I would not go to a Doctor if I knew they did abortions.

I believe in marriage as a union between a husband and wife.  I love all my gay friends and respect their choices in life.  I am preparing a post on this for later.   I believe we need understanding here not legislation.   

I believe in loving my neighbor.  I help my fellow man when and where I can freely with gifts of money or time or goods if that is what is needed.  I do not like the welfare system we have in this country.  I believe it can create people that do not and ultimately will not as they do not know how to provide for themselves.  Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day.  Teach a man to fish and he will be sustained for life. Not exact yet the point is there.  I believe many need help and the system we have can be fixed to help not encourage staying there as a way of life.  Let us freely give to our neighbors not be taxed to help.  Perhaps the answer here is that all legislators be required to tithe 10% of their money as well as 10% of their time to others before they can legislate or tax?

I believe we need to stop name calling and divisivness and talk together.  Our founders argued vehemently over the Declaration and the Constitution all with a “Good Sir” or “the Gentleman from” in their conversations as formality was required.  Perhaps we need to bring that and the powdered wigs back to get our country working again.

I do not believe that global warming is man made.  A volcano – nature made – spews out more pollution than factories.  I believe we need to be very conscious about our planet and not destroy it.  I have been driving a car since 1982 that is good on gas.  We recycle and give away our ‘stuff’.

I am a feminist in that I believe all women can have a choice in all things.  If they do not want a baby choose to use birth control first to nip this argument in the bud.  If a woman wants a creer she should have it.  If a woman wants to saty home as her career she should have it.  If a woman wants all of it – go for it.  Feminism was about equal rights not about my female rights being better and more important than yours.  Again I do not believe in legislating it.  I think there was a study done years ago that said if test legal cases had been brought about and won in each state that the ERA amendment would never have been necessary.  Equal rights would be in existence.  NOTE here is that since my ‘career’ was at home the feminist do not consider me one of them.

I hate guns and would not ever deny anyone’s right to have them.  In fact I may yet learn how to use them as a new challenge.

I love to discuss issues and share information and opinions.  I may not agree with yours as you may not agree with mine.  I am interested in what you have to say and sharing points of view.

So there you have it!  As Walter Mitty said – this is my world and welcome to it!  OR Not if you hit the delete button.

…..ONWARD TO MORE MISADVENTURE…