[Winona Online Democracy]
At 05:50 PM 3/29/01 -0600, Kathy Seifert wrote:
>So, Ed, are you saying that folks at the (Boy Scout) council level have the
authority
>and/or responsibility to sign or not sign as well as to solicit funding?
>This sounds like many non-profit boards (United Way included) and is often
>"where the buck stops." I've found that it is so very important for boards
>of "membership" organizations to listen to input from their members when
>tough decisions like this come up. I wonder what BSA's by-laws say about
>how local volunteers have a voice in the organization, because without you
>there would be no BSA! It seems that this is what Dean is getting at--what
>kind of actions can local or "front line" folks take to create change from
>within? (Correct me if I'm wrong).
I wish I had an easy answer to that one, Kathy. Local volunteer leaders ARE
making their opinions known all over the country through formal and informal
meetings, on-line discussion groups, letter-writing campaigns, etc. In
fact, it appears to me that the Dale decision and its repercusions have
probably created the largest debate scouting has seen in years.
Realize, of course, that scouting is by its nature a somewhat conservative
program: each meeting starts with the pledge of allegience and recitation of
"oaths" and "promises". It is intended primarily as a character-building
program (contrary to a common perception that it focusses on camping etc.)
which, by the way, I veiw as a GOOD thing - this was a major reason for my
getting involved. Thus, scouting attracts many people who SUPPORT the Dale
decision, and their voices are a major part of this discussion. It could be
argued, and in fact HAS been argued repeatedly, that the scouting
organization WAS "listening to its members" in banning homosexuals.
There is a bigger issue for me, however. Like the vast majority of scout
volunteers, I am not in scouting to advance any political agendas on either
side of this issue. I do it because a) I think it is a terrific program
for boys and b) without local vounteers there would be no program. My
focus is 100% on the dozen or so boys I see every week, and I think I can
safely promise that every other scout leader at the pack or troop level
would say the same thing. I care very little about national- or
council-level decisions unless they affect "my boys", and I have to be
honest that I find 99% of their decisions fully supportable and truly
directed at helping kids. Thus, while I will make my protest known about
the Dale decision, I will not do anything to weaken the rest of the scouting
program which I think boys today so desperately need - that would truly
cause far more harm that the Dale decision did. I would continue to support
a homosexual boy or adult in my troop, but I would also try to keep that
person in scouting for all of its greater values, hoping we could just
"ignore" the national policy. This is no different than many other
organizations, where I can support a program even if I disagree with some of
its policies.
Ed Thompson
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