Okay, normally I try to stay away from posting political stuff, but something has come up that I feel I should put my two cents in.
Recently the Boy Scouts of America has announced they are changing their name to Scouts BSA, based on their decision to begin allowing girls to join. This has stirred up a lot of controversy.
Personally, I'm happy for the change.
Having been in the scouting program my whole life, I can say with complete honestly that it played a big part in becoming who I am today. I attended meetings, learned the skills, earned my Eagle, and spent six summers working at a Scout Camp. I gained an appreciation for nature and for the country I live in, learned to deal with difficult problems, and made a few good friends along the way. I could easily fill a book with all my experiences, both good and bad.
So, why would I want to limit this to only my future sons, or my brothers or nephews? Why shouldn't my nieces be allowed to learn the Oath and Law? Why must my sisters be barred from excellent sources of knowledge about forestry, citizenship and patriotism? As a scout I learned to be self sufficient, to know how to deal with many a difficult task, to understand the value in hard work. Why would I, or anyone for that matter, want to keep my future daughters from participating in this great program?
To those who say scouting is for boys to become men, I say you're wrong. Scouting has always served the purpose of teaching boys how to be reliable friends, honest neighbors, and trustworthy teachers. It's taught them to not be afraid of blood, sweat and tears through cheerful service to others. It has taught them honesty, virtue, morality. And now, the Scouting program wishes to offer these values to girls as well, and I couldn't be happier for them. For some day in the future, if/when I have a daughter of my own, I look forward to being just as proud of my Eagle Scout as I would for my son.
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As a current life scout, it’s dumb because they already have Girl Scouts. They should stay to gender exclusive programs for adolescents because we are still maturing. Also Boy Scouts was already available for 16 year old women through venturing.