My son has decided that he wants to be a Boy Scout.
My ex-wife and I are in agreement that this is a very bad idea based on these three issues:
A) The BSA has a history of supporting and encouraging segregation, first based on race and now based on gender.
B) The Boy Scouts of America maintains that no member can grow into the best kind of citizen without recognizing an obligation to God.*
C) Boy Scouts of America believes that homosexual conduct is inconsistent with the obligations in the Scout Oath and Scout Law to be morally straight and clean in thought, word, and deed.**
How can I in good faith allow my child to join a group that practices discrimination?
He seems a little upset about this, however, after we explained to him what the Barnum and Bailey Circus did to animals, he understood why supporting the circus was a bad idea.
He is having a harder time with this, and trying to use civil rights based arguments, and arguments based in inclusion, as well as secular humanism, don't seem to be having the intended effect. Well, he is six. Most adults in flyover America have difficulty understanding arguments based on civil rights, inclusion, or secular humanism...(or the majority of Californians for that matter).
Anyway...does this mean that I am robbing my child of something that he may enjoy? I have a number of friends who were scouts, and for the most part, after years, intensive therapy, and/or a great spouse, they learned...
And just to put this out there...to those who say that Scouting provides a good moral framework for life...
Are you kidding me? Not to get all bumperstickery, but hatred and discrimination is not a good moral framework.
* http://www.bsalegal.org/duty-to-god-cases-224.asp
**http://www.bsalegal.org/morally-straight-cases-225.asp
I was in the Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts for over 7 years, and was never once taught to hate, discriminate, or exclude anyone. Heck I don't even remember God ever being mentioned (except for the Pledge of Allegiance).
ReplyDeleteIf I were you I would visit the troop your son wants to join and see how things really run with the troop. Not all troops are equal, and although the top of the organization is ran by Mormons, that doesn't ultimately mean that their views are taught in the troop.
Of course this could also be a grassroots step for your son to change the scouts from the bottom up.
Just some food for thought.