The Boy Scout Oath

The Boy Scout Oath

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.

Honor, Duty, Helping Others and Yourself: those are the keys to the Scout Oath. The Boy Scouts was established in 1910 to use the outdoors as a way to teach these principles. As an organization it has struggled with the changes of America. As a Scout myself in the 1960’s, the contrast between those ideals and the activism of the “sixties” was striking and confusing. I remember an indoor event at Hara Arena in Dayton, Ohio, where my troop was building a signal tower from logs and rope. As we worked, we listened to another troop’s project, a rock band, play “American Band” by Grand Funk Railroad (“…we’re coming to your town, we’re going to party it down, we’re an American Band…”.) We were enjoying the show, but the adult leaders literally ran to the stage to stop the music: it wasn’t considered the “Scouting Way.”

The Scouting organization has tried to catch up ever since. It took Robert Gates, Secretary of Defense under both George W. Bush and Barack Obama, to move the Scouts to recognize LGBTQ rights for Scouts and leaders. As President of the Boy Scouts from 2014 to 2016, Gates, an Eagle Scout (the highest rank a boy can achieve in the organization) understood that either the Scouts needed to move forward with our society, or be isolated and wither away.

Scouting is still struggling, as inner city kids find it irrelevant, and suburban kids are organized into travel sports. Today over 2.7 million youth and 950,000 adults are involved, down from 1970’s high of 6.4 million. It still provides kids opportunities to camp, learn life skills and learn to work together, as well as strong set of moral ideals.

One of the great experiences of Scouting is the opportunity to travel to a National Jamboree, where Scouts from all over the country come together for a week of camping together, doing activities, and getting the opportunity to know each other. It is a time of fellowship and renewal of Scouting ideals. It is a great honor to be asked to speak to the 40,000 assembled Scouts at the Jamboree. Certainly a President of the United States should at least recognize the Scouting ideals when speaking to the kids. It is his opportunity to emphasize both to the Scouts and to the nation the good that still comes from Scouting, and the importance of Duty, Honor, God and Country.

Unfortunately, this President doesn’t get it. He took the honor the Boys Scout’s gave him and used it to further his own political agenda. His address to the Scouts included promoting his health care plan, talking about his electoral win, slamming “fake news,” and demanding loyalty from his own subordinates. He even decided that it was appropriate to use profanity, and imply off color jokes. He also made the gross mistake of assuming that all Boy Scouts supported him for President and wanted him to “Make America Great Again.”

There were plenty of people around Trump to tell him how to behave (since he obviously didn’t know.) Cabinet Secretaries Zinke, Perry, Sessions and Tillerson are all Eagle Scouts. As Eagles they well know the traditions and ideals of Scouting, and they know exactly what role the President of the United States should take. Clearly he either never asked, or didn’t care.

The fact that the Boys Scouts of America asked the President of the United States to address their Jamboree shouldn’t reflect badly on the Scouts. Unfortunately, Donald Trump showed exactly what kind of man he is. He didn’t bother to do what was appropriate for the setting: instead, wrapped up in his own narcissism, he ignored the traditions of Scouting and insulted the organization and the Scouts by his political rant. Some say this is the Scouts’ fault, but the fault is that of America: we elected him.

 

Full Disclosure: Marty Dahlman, Eagle Scout, 1970