Working with Kids

Thanks Matt.  You are right in noting the comparison between now and my era.  I was in Germany for three years during the worst of Vietnam, and I heard some really scary stuff from guys rotating in, as well as some truly emotionally destructive attitudes.  Then when I went home and went back to college on the GI Bill, I encountered the on campus issues and also traveling in  uniform was often a toss up as to what  type of reception we might get.  I rotate back in December of 68 and entered ASU the fall of 69.  Here is a verse I wrote about that time.  It shows my confusion, as I honestly had already began to see much of the truth few of us wanted to accept, but also my realization that the problem was beyond me to solve.     Safe   Diana Ross’ plaintive “Baby, Baby”, vibrates from 1965. Chanute Air Force Base, Rantoul, Illinois. Late summer cumulus mount over the plains as Vietnam becomes more than a remote question of geographic trivia. Elvis and John still live; so do “Bobby” and “Martin”. I walk though the town streets in fall, shuffling through leaves, watching grey plumed squirrels, marveling at the crispness of air and colors. Desert autumn is dryer, more subtle.   Soon Germany is my place, its myriad distractions, mini-skirts in London, streetwalkers in Paris, Swiss Alps and cows, skiing in Garmisch, and ever present beer.   But I’ll not be able to forget my true mission.   F-105’s roar, Phantoms scream, NATO planes attack daily the bombing range in Siegenburg where Hitler once dropped real ones. Letters arrive from home, news of high school friends injured or killed in the Far East. Here, “Six Day War” evacuees arrive, Czechs flee Russian tanks, and “rotatees” from ‘Nam are posted, tormented by fear, guilt, and hate.   90’s Finished 8-12-04        I went to HS in Twentyine Palms and of course I had many friends whos families were Marines.  I lost at least one classmate, and know of others badly damaged both physically and emotionally.  Today, some still live that era, but many say that they now understand the protests more, and while not forgiving the over the top nastiness much of the time, aimed at those least responsible, they at least get it a little.  And I never was comfortable on campus during marches, as I was still in reserves, though no duty due to time in active duty.  I have thought a lot about these things over the years, and I wish I could somehow understand better why so many are so dogmatic and unwilling to see others as simply people.  Few of my peers are truly comfortable with that time, and a few are in serious inner struggles now that they have kids and grandkids and see similar stuff.        That is why I want to share with the youth, but I also do not want to overstep or cause issues that affect them as people and as Scouting youth.  Th blinders are a problem, but I do not know if those that wear them do so because the already recognize the problems and do not want reminders, or if they simply do not want to confronted with so much that is obvious.   Well, since I have decided to be the first centenarian in my family, I have some time to work on it.   Meanwhile, good Scouting.  And may we all find a way to Do Our Best to live the Spirit.

This post is a serious question that is challenging me, and I suspect may challenge others as well.  How do we live the Spirit of Scouting when we live in a very challenging political environment that can easily grate against the basic precepts of Scouting?    

@skeptic, with all due respect, Truth and Knowledge are not personal opinions. "Referring youth back to family" makes a lot of sense when it comes to religion, but not this fiasco. If the scout's parents are getting their news from X/TikTok/QAnon or any of a number of other worthless information sources then all you're doing is keeping the scouts confused. What makes for an informed opinion? A bit of skepticism is certainly good. So is humility. I'd say play the devil's advocate on any issue they're interested in and show them how to come to their own answers. The bigger problem I see is that fear is freezing people from doing the right thing. They're afraid they're the only one that isn't so sure, so to be safe they're just going to go along. That's the problem. Democracy doesn't work when a lot of people are afraid to speak their mind. Your job is to teach them about truth and knowledge as well as bravery, humility, and kindness. Unfortunately this isn't just scouts. The best example is that Congress is frozen. Half of them think they can't do anything because they don't have the votes and the other half think they can't do anything because they're afraid they'll be voted out. I suspect the truth is that there are a fair number of people that voted for this administration but didn't vote for what's going on. Those people are the ones that hold all the power, if only they'd find the confidence to talk about their concerns. If only Congress would talk to them then, who knows, Congress might become a third co-equal branch of the government. Novel idea, no? For all the others, a bunch are getting what they voted for and I have no sympathy for what's happening to them. For those that didn't vote for this administration it's time to play the cards that were dealt. You say you don't remember a time when things were this "muddled and frozen by blind opinion?" Sure you do. You grew up in one such period. Civil rights. Vietnam. A lot of people were really sure about things until they started asking questions. Even then, the complexity of what was going on was much more than people realized. How many decades did it take to quit blaming vets? Anyone that thinks history is simple is not paying attention. I think we shouldn't whitewash our history.  Just like scouts growing from making mistakes and learning from them so does society.

I once proposed a "Religious Study/Faith" Merit Badge. It would have been a comparative religion sort of thing. They politely turned it down as not necessary with the Religious Awards program in place. Now, I want to reiterate that the rumor of combining the Pet Care and Cooking Merit Badges is FALSE... 

Simply, how do we work around the huge issues that our political circus now presents, especially without being accused of trying to force personal opinion on our youth?  I try to not discuss things of that nature directly with youth, though sometimes they specifically ask me my thoughts.  I refer them to parents and suggest if they want to find their own position, that they do it by examining things from all sides. hopefully sources outside their normal interactions.  But, as it gets worse, the concept of Citizenship gets really fuzzy, and steering clear is hard to do.  So other than referring a youth back to family and so on, and suggest they read and maybe form an opinion of their own, how do we manage this.  I am almost 81, and I do not remember a time when the political environment was so muddled and frozen by blind opinion.  Do not know if there is a good answer, but just asking, as it is coming up more often, even from younger youth.