Re-Introduction and Tolerance

Howdy All,

I am returning to the list after a hiatus that ends with the summer.
I am looking forward to the energetic and exciting discussions that
make this list so unique.
For those that don't know and actually care,
My name is Andy McElhannon and I am a Asst. SM with troop 497 in Waco,
TX. I am involved with several different district committees, one of
which puts on an anual District Adventure Weekend on the campus of
Baylor University. Formerly I was the director of an Eagle Scout group
at Baylor, but I've conned someone else into taking the job:-).
I graduate this December (rejoicing). Thats it for me,

---WARNING---topic switch---long posting.--BEATING A DEAD HORSE:-)--

NOW regarding Tolerance of a religious nature.
I'm mindful of a little story I once read regarding how to treat people
you think have done wrong. This "lady" of questionable vurtue was caught
with a man in a most compromising situation, and as this happened a real
long time ago the neighbors decided she should be put to death, as the
typical cultural/legal law dictated. These fine, upstanding people of the
community, probably with rocks in hand, took her to a teacher nearby, and
declaring that by custom she had to die, and they were willing to be the
executioners. The teacher pointed a statement to these pillars of the
community, that those innocent of any wrongdoing should be the first to
stone her.

Now I'd like to make an extrapolation here from this story to today.
Those fine neighbors were not only being intolerant of her aberrant
behavior, they were also showing her no toleration for her humanity.
For our Scouts this is where the crux of the issue lies.
While following a different faith hardly falls into the same catagory
as adultery for most of us, there are some who's religion would equate
the two as being equally wrong. As a Scouter, who has worked with kids
of varying beliefs, my task, when it arises, isn't to make each scout
believe the other is as right as they are, but rather to show the scouts
that toleration begins with respecting the other person, rather than the
beliefs, by teaching them that respect they may or may not ever grow to
respect those other beliefs, but they hopefully won't be deprived of
valuable friendships within the troop, which I believe to be a vital element
of scouting

Anyway, I've probably said too much, and may have crossed over the line
withsome few on topicality, and probably made some others fall asleep,
so I'll shut up now. Please feel free to contact me personally to save
bandwidth in the future regarding this topic.

YiS,

Andy McElhannon
Troop 497
Andrew_McElhannon@BAYLOR.EDU

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