Re: You Might be a Traditional Scouter!
Thomas H. Harbold (tharbold@NS1.WMDC.EDU)
Fri, 29 Jan 1999 10:57:16 -0500
At 9:50 PM +0000 1/28/99, Ian N. Ford FRSH wrote:
>A traditionalist is someone who values so much from the past that it limits
>his vision of the future.
I'm not going to comment on the rest of this post, because I see positive
points in both Rick Seymour's and Ian's perspectives, and I have no
knowledge of "Traditional Scouting" or "B-P Scouting." But as a matter of
principle, I have to protest this broad-brush painting of "a
traditionalist." What you're talking about, Ian, is an "antiquarian" (I put
quotes around it to distinguish the word as I'm using it from "the
proprietor of an antique shop"), not a traditionalist.
A traditionalist understands that we can only live effectively in the
present and plan wisely for the future -- avoid the need to "re-invent the
wheel," if you will -- by understanding and learning from the past. A
traditionalist values "roots"... and a wise man (or woman, or youth) knows
that an organization, such as Scouting, is like a tree: if it maintains a
healthy connection with its roots, it will live vibrantly and grow; if it
becomes cut off from its roots, it will become stunted, malformed, and if
too many connections are cut, may even die.
Sorry, but this is a major "hot button" with me.
Yours in Scouting,
Tom
Tradition means giving votes to the most obscure of all classes,
our ancestors... Tradition refuses to submit to the small and
arrogant oligarchy of those who merely happen to be walking about.
-- G.K. Chesterton
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Thomas H. Harbold P.O. Box 1537
tharbold@ns1.wmdc.edu Westminster, MD 21158
www.geocities.com/Athens/Parthenon/5129 ICQ # 26466587
-------------------------------------------------------------------
* Please note new ICQ number, and update your records accordingly *
