Trevorum

Rooster, I can only conclude that you either do not understand the BSA policy statement about belief in God or you choose to ignore it. "BSA does not define what constitutes belief in God or the practice of religion" Bluntly, this means that BSA does NOT define God as you do - as a specific supernatural being with special powers who created the universe and who is concerned with what humans do and will punish or reward us. Rather, members are free to define belief in God according to their own faith. If this makes you uncomfortable with BSA membership, you are free to lobby National for a tightening of membership policies.

Semper, now be nice with your bad puns. After all, you have nothing Toulouse ... Hugs, don't worry about your language skills. Believe me, you'll fit right in. (PPS. I live near Austin - World Armadillo Headquarters! Where in France are y'all from?)

Hugs, (you'd better get used to nicknames, here...) I meant our virtual campfire of course! Some of us like to think of this e-community as a campfire, with folks sitting around on logs, getting up to avoid the smoke from time to time, sipping their favorite beverage (say, what do y'all drink in France around a campfire?) and swapping stories and debating the finer points of Scouting. Others like to think of this e-community as a lazy Sunday afternoon on a front porch, with friendly neighbors dropping in from time to time to listen, make snide comments, or just chat. either way, welcome!

You guys remember the film, "Mr. Roberts"? Sometimes, I get the feeling we are on that ship. We love the old boat, we're loyal to our mission, and we're doing our jobs the best we can, but the ship is being driven by an out of touch skipper who doesn't care what we think or even where the ship seems to be going. All we can do is be like Ensign Pulver and throw the damned palm tree over the side now and then ...

Bonjour Hugolin! Please pull up a log and join our campfire. We have lots of good folks here who share their Scouting experiences, and we look forward to your contributions from Scouting in France!

OK, how about a 'dillo and a nutria? I'll even throw in a couple of skunks and a squirrel or two. Say, you wouldn't have a black-footed ferret, would you? I hear they're hard to find ...

I really hope I am just misinterpreting what Rooster said - it sure seemed that he implied that Buddhists were not qualified to be members of the BSA. I'll let Kahuna or another Buddhist member of our forum answer that charge. It seems to me as if Rooster disagrees with the BSA position statement that says "BSA does not define what constitutes belief in God", prefering to use his own, rather narrow definition.

Rooster, I rather suspect that your grandmother is probably Christian, so of course she wouldn't find the question offensive. But what of the 13 year old Buddhist? By even asking the question, do you think you would be "respecting the convictions and beliefs of others in matters of custom and religion"?

pack, Does your daughter trade? I have an extra armadillo and I'm looking for a 3-toed sloth But I take great issue with your comment about paleontology and archeology being the same thing. I already have enough people asking me if I dig up dinosaurs. It's true that the time scale is vastly different (cartoon cavemen notwithstanding) but so is the subject. In fact, just about the only thing that is similar is the fact that we labor in the hot sun and dig up old stuff (that and the fact that we're all ruggedly handsome and wear dashing clothing) ...

You know, I visited that exhibit at the Jamboree and, with due respect to the individuals involved, I just didn't get it. It seemed like a pretty narrow and estoteric field of interest to warrant an entire merit badge. But, that's just me. I suppose an aerospace engineer wouldn't see the point in a paleontology meit badge!

paraphrased (obviously) from a recent conversation I had with a Scout ... I thought so, too.

Regarding jd's "apalling lack of dinosaurs" in the BSA program, I seem to remember a nascent effort somewhere to develop a Paleontology merit badge. Does anyone have any info on that?

"Well, Mr. Mori, I've always thought that was a little vague. Justin, who is a Catholic, says that 'Duty to God' means that he has to, like, go to Mass every Sunday and go to catechism class on Saturdays and say grace at every meal and lots of other stuff he has to do. Mark, who is a ... I don't remember what he is, but he says his 'Duty to God' can be like, just quietly meditating plus doing volunteer stuff like helping out at the homeless shelter or stuff like that. So I guess that 'Duty to God' depends on who you are, huh?. So I guess, yeah, I do my 'Duty to God'. I am respectful of all living creatures and that's very important to me and my family. And I read a lot and try to improve myself - my mom says that God's greatest gift is the human mind and that a mind is a terrible thing to waste. So, yes, I do my duty."

Ed, what do you then say to the Eagle candidate who replies with something along the lines of the following ... "I'm not sure. My beliefs have changed a lot since I first became a Scout. I no longer believe in the Sunday-school God that Reverend Smith talks about, but I think there must be something else to it all, 'cause the universe is a pretty big place. I'm just not sure what the word for it is. But I've been reading about other religions and what they believe."

Semper, I like that mental picture a lot. We call this place "a virtual campfire", but I like the image of a virtual front porch even better. hmmm... but that makes me want to go "inside" for a slice of virtual peach pie...

How do you define the term "Paper Eagle"?

Fuzzy, I especially enjoy the drunken weave that most threads take from topic to topic. Some threads are more like several conversations being conducted simultaneously and at the same volume. A sometimes frustrating but always entertaining new form of dialogue.

As my wife likes to remind me, there is a very fine line between hobby and mental illness ...

The blue cards are a commonly used form of documentation, but are not required in and of themselves to prove MB completion. The camp should provide some form of written documentation of completion/partials to the SM. Keep that original in the troop advancement files and just make a photocopy for the scouts files.

With all the cool and fun activities offered at Jambo, I can't imagine that anyone whould choose to spend ALL their time doing any one single thing. But in any event, who are we (adults) to tell them (youth) how to spend their free time during their week at the Jamboree? It is their choice!

Jerry, Respectfully, I think you miss the point of patch trading. It IS part of the program at the Jamboree. Moreover, it is very nearly the ONLY part of the program that is run BY youth, FOR youth. No adult was telling the boys that patch trading would be at this place or at that time - the boys decided. And each scout got to decide for himself how much time and energy to spend in trading, just as he did for working on merit badges or doing Action Alley stuff. Patch trading certainly isn't for everyone. A few fellows may get obsessed, but many more couldn't care less for patches. Long after the scouts return home and the clothes are washed and the gear is stowed and the pictures are mounted in albums, those guys will have their bag of patches. Just touching and feeling those patches brings back memories. And they will have fun going though them and remembering, "This is the one I got from that scrawny little guy from Minnesota, and this is the one I had to trade three of mine for to that big dude from Kentucky!" At the Jamboree, after a long shift, I very much enjoyed strolling along the roadways watching the fellows trading back and forth. And every single trade I witnessed ended with a smile and a handshake.

How about the scout who honestly answers, "Sometimes. Other times I'm not so sure." Would this fellow pass your BoR?

I don't know how many of you noticed the gateways to the Western region encampments near Trading Post C. They had big, colorful logos for each of the several states in the Western region. The Golden Gate Bridge for California, etc. Did anyone else notice the logo they had for New Mexico? Some graphic artist had evidently searched the web for a picture of a characteristic adobe building ... and came up with ... the Alamo! It just cracked me up!

Semper and Ed are both correct. However, please remember that BSA does not define what constitutes belief in God or the practice of religion, leaving this to the Scout and his family. This means that a belief in the God of the Judeo-Christian majority is NOT a requirement.

KY, I have a very similar situation, but one step behind where you are and so I can't offer any perspective yet. The younger brother of one of our Eagles joined the troop several months ago. He has Down's and has not yet gone through the first SM conference or BoR. I have obtained the guidebook for alternative requirements but the parents and I haven't really discussed how the Scouting advancement method will be used to help this fellow grow and develop. I'm eager to follow the responses to your post.