People that know me know that I have a wide variety of books, both new and old. I am one of those odd people that feel I must personally own and possess any book I have read. In addition, from time to time, I pick up some old book that strikes my fancy. Friends and relatives that know this will often pass them my way. This is how I ended up getting a circa 1922-29 era copy of the “Handbook for Boys” by the Boy Scouts of America. When reading the book, one quickly realizes that it espouses ideals and values clearly coming from a different era.
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The manual lists the requirements to achieve the rank of “Tenderfoot.” In order to attain that badge, the Scout must understand the notion of an honor code and understand some history, including (gasp!) the Christian element in the founding of America. In the 1920’s, Scouts were told, regarding “Codes of Honor” that
The strong men of every age and every race have always had their codes of honor. In ancient Japan, among the sun-worshipping Incas of Peru, the Knights of the Middle Ages, the Crusaders, the American Indians, the hardy frontiersmen of early America– all these had their codes of honor. Even so, the newer civilization of America, touched by the laws of Moses and the teachings of Christ, has built the code of Washington and Lincoln and Roosevelt [ed. note: Theodore Roosevelt] and Wilson– the code of strong, clean American Citizenship– the law of the Scout.
Interesting stuff. Didn’t they know about the separation of Church and state back then? What gives? Thank goodness we’ve become so much more “enlightened” since then. And what of the “law of the Scout?” It still sticks in my head many years after being a Scout myself:
“A Scout is Trustworthy, Loyal, Helpful, Friendly, Courteous, Kind, Obedient, Cheerful, Thrifty, Brave, Clean, and Reverent.”
In addition to the 12 points of the Scout Law, which exist to this day, back in the twenties there was a price to pay for actions and deeds contrary to its tenets. For example, the 80 year-old manual details the “trustworthy” point of the Scout Law:
“A Scout’s honor is to be trusted. If he were to violate his honor by telling a lie, or by cheating, or by not doing exactly a given task, when trusted on his honor, he may be directed to hand over his Scout Badge.”
What about his feelings? Or his self-esteem?
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The Boy Scouts of America and its code for honorable living go back many years, rooted in very strong traditions and long-held maxims of life. Because these fly in the face of today’s debased culture, the organization often finds itself under attack by liberal groups like the ACLU. The values represented are a throwback from some long-gone era– values that the liberals and their ilk have worked hard to destroy.
The Boy Scouts of America and its code for honorable living go back many years, rooted in very strong traditions and long-held maxims of life. Because these fly in the face of today’s debased culture, the organization often finds itself under attack by liberal groups like the ACLU. The values represented are a throwback from some long-gone era– values that the liberals and their ilk have worked hard to destroy.
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Someday, every tradition or remembrance that hails from the bygone days of our forefathers will be eliminated. Will what’s left still be America?