It’s about time – goodbye “Scouts”

The organization currently known as “Scouting America” (formerly the Boy Scouts of America) is a perverted and corrupt version of what it was created to be and how it existed for decades. It is a classic example of how human institutions decay over time.

The latest episode in the saga of the former BSA is in the news today.

The Pentagon is reportedly preparing to end a century-old partnership with Scouting America, formerly known as the Boy Scouts. Defense (War) Secretary Pete Hegseth has drafted a memo to Congress criticizing the organization as “genderless,” claiming it no longer supports “the future of American boys” and accusing it of abandoning meritocracy in favor of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. The Pentagon’s support for the Scouts, started just a few years after the Boy Scouts came to American shores, was formalized in 1937, has included medical and logistical assistance for the National Jamboree and allowing Scout troops to meet on military bases worldwide. The military forces offered expedited promotions for Scouts who achieved certain ranks, and actively recruited Scouts in all branches. Individual installations and units provided a wide variety of support for the troops, packs, posts, and councils of the BSA, coordinating millions of manhours of volunteer work by serving military and DoD civilians, in-kind donations of equipment and supplies, and use of military facilities.

It could not happen to a more deserving organization. The “Scouting America” little resembles the classical Boy Scouts of America (BSA). Its actions and policies are a clear repudiation of both the Scout Oath and the twelve points of the Scout Law that was supposed to guide both its adult leaders (Scouters) and the boys themselves – even the late-teenage male and female “Explorers” and “Venturers” which were added to the program to encourage continued growth.

(Disclaimer: Several of us here at The Price of Liberty have longstanding ties and fond memories of the BSA and its elements: Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, and Explorers) and learned and experienced much. Two are Eagle Scouts, two have been adult Scouters, and have been members of and associated with auxiliary organizations such as the Order of the Arrow.)

The severing of ties with the FedGov and especially with the US military establishment is long overdue, if it is allowed to happen by Congress. It is not just the idea of the BSA being some sort of paramilitary organization (a generally untrue accusation, especially as contrasted to organizations such as the Civil Air Patrol, Young Marines, and Junior ROTC). Political correctness, infiltration by predatory adults, encouragement of immoral behavior, and other actions and attitudes have steadily driven the organization into open Wokeness and opposition to fundamental principles of liberty, personal freedom, and personal responsibility. This in turn led to massive financial difficulties through a combination of successful lawsuits and penalties for facilitation of predators on children and young people. At the same time, standards were lowered for both adult leaders and junior achievements by Scouts.

Under previous administrations, both Democratic and Republican, the military’s continued relationship with Scouts was tainted by the DoD’s own corruption, including its push of DEI and social justice. At the same time, hundreds if not thousands of religious organizations also have severed ties as the BSA and now Scouting America deemphasized and then removed basic moral values and teaching.

Even as the BSA was attacked and punished for allowing adult predation (especially homosexual predators) on the children and youth placed in their care, its actions further offered the opportunities for still more predation by endorsing and embracing what most of society considered perversions. Like its sister organization, the Girl Scouts USA, it seemed to dedicate itself to both corrupting young people and exposing them more and more to those who prey upon them.

The decline was even more drastic than that of “public” (government-run, tax-funded) schools. But the entire idea that government had any role or responsibility in the upbringing of our youth – regardless of age – has tainted the relationship from the very beginning. Especially as the American governments (federal, state, and local) itself grew more powerful and more corrupt over the last century.

Among other things, honorable skills and knowledge that the BSA was created to teach boys were watered down, twisted, and even abandoned. What was taught about citizenship and history was increasingly addressed in a “progressive” framework promoting trust and demanding unquestioning obedience to authority, especially governmental authority. Much of this process drove out the adult Scouters who had the moral fiber or courage to teach and lead young boys and men how to in turn lead and learn, and overcome the challenges of modern life.

Today various youth organizations, such as Trail Life USA and American Heritage Girls, are replacing the former BSA and the GSUSA, rejecting the Wokeness and implied or outright evil. We hope and work to ensure that these organizations do not fall into the same traps as their predecessors. Especially not trusting governments – and the military – to support wise teaching and training of our young people.

We admit that we have mixed emotions about this, and have for many years been torn regarding the relationship between the American military and the then-BSA. But as with so many other institutions of years past, the rot is impossible to ignore or tolerate.

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