Re: 'unapproved book'

Maybe we the youth are learning is we made a mistake, a very minor mistake
and the cost of correcting the mistake far out weights the cost of not
correcting the mistake. Something the federal government could learn.

Maybe the youth are learning hard work and achieving goals in life are
better than conforming. Something most teenagers learn the wrong way.

I did not read anything in the post where the boys were told the reason why
the patch was allowed, so I think the statement about being superior is
hopefully off.

Maybe the boys have learned there is no rule for everything in life and if
you want to explore new territory, you sometimes have to make rules as you
go along.

Maybe the boys are learning to respect an adult leader who looks at the
program and the goals rather than the immediate decorations on the cake.

Do you really think that allowing a unit to wear a patch in the wrong place
leads to smoking grass?


Yours in Scouting
Jim Moss
12340 W. Alameda Pkwy., Lakewood, CO 80228-2841
Eagle Class of 69, Vigil, Denver Area Council



So, Stephen, let me see if I have this straight. What I hear you saying
(and, by example, teaching the boys to think), is something along the lines
of:

"I/we know (blank no. 1) is against the rules; but I am/we are superior, so
the rules don't apply to me/us. I/we (blank no. 2), so that releases me/us
from any obligation to obey policies I/we don't like. If I/we don't agree
with the rules, it's okay for me/us to just ignore them; and if someone
doesn't like it, that's just too bad."

Is that about the size of it?

There are any number of things one could conceivably fill in the blanks
with. Some possibilities:

Blank no. 1 - blank no. 2
wearing this patch where we do - are a superior group with a superior
program
cheating on an exam - had better things to do than study
pirating a copy of a buddy's computer game - am only doing what everybody
else does
driving 50 mph in a 40 mph zone - am a much better driver than most bozos
out there
smoking marijuana - only use it recreationally, and I can handle it
falsifying income tax returns - don't agree with where the money is being
spent

Maybe I'm dense, but I fail to see where teaching this kind of thinking is
beneficial to the boy, nor how this attitude can be reconciled with the
seventh point of the Scout Law.

Yours in Scouting,

Russ Jones <csrtj@ttuhsc.edu>
Scoutmaster, Troop 575
Advancement Chairman, Chaparral District
South Plains Council, Lubbock, Texas
Eagle Scout, class of 1965
"I used to be a fox..." SC-295
"I used to be a staffer..." SC-430, SR-110, SR-206

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