This ties into something I’ve actually been wrestling with
for a while. I was a scout; I had fun, and took a lot away from it, and believe
in the power of scouting to help shape young people’s lives for the better. But
I have some serious issues with Boy Scouts of America, namely the prohibition of
gay and atheist scouts and leaders from participating. Recently the BSA has
lifted the ban on gay scouts, but not adult leaders and they haven’t even
addressed the Atheist question yet, which technically means I’m not welcome. Now
for me I’ll probably do what I always do, which is not make an issue out of it
if no one else does.
Now though I find myself in a position to participate as a
stepdad, Kiddo is getting to be old enough and I feel like there is a lot there
that would be good for him. But I also don’t want to put him into an organization
that is exclusionary to boys who might be gay or come from a secular house, and
I feel BSA denies parents a great opportunity to get to watch their children
grow and mature simply based on the parents sexual preference.
So what do I do? Do I let him join BSA and do my best to
counter any lesions he learns that we feel are wrong? Or do I not let him join
and have him miss out on making new friends, along with all the good parts of
scouting? Fortunately there is a third option, here in Portland there are independent
scouting groups, set up by parents with the same concerns I have, and overseen
by the World federation of independent scouts. You see the BSA doesn’t own the
idea of scouting, all the parts that make it good, teaching kids leadership,
teamwork, community participation, and everything else is still there. They
merit badges, camping trips, and everything else, except the institutional bigotry
and intolerance.
What I find to be even better here is that it seems to get
closer to the original stated goals of scouting. A look at the Baden-PowellService Association (BPSA) website is actually rather encouraging.
“BPSA teaches traditional scouting,
presenting it as it was practiced prior to the 1960s and following the original
principles and guidelines laid down by Scouting’s founder, Robert Baden-Powell.”
So now thankfully I don’t have to choose between two bad
choices, and if kiddo is interested I think we have our answer.
-ITBrewer
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