WaldenPond

Well if I get it right, scouts are not supposed to march in step. They are hardly ever in full uniform, even though the regs say that you either wear your uniform or you don't, and why on earth would you want to purposely do something half-assed? If you walk in a parade you look like a dope. If you walk out of cadence you look unorganized. If you are an unfocused group looking this way and that you look lost and confused. If you are like a lot of packs and troops I have seen, walking with scout shirts un-tucked with blue jeans on picking up candy and stuffing it in your pockets......Pretty unimpressive. Scouts probably shouldn't march in a parade if they don't plan on marching in a parade- just like they shouldnt plan on camping if they don't plan on camping. Bad marching is as sorry as bad camping, but at least with camping hardly anybody sees you except the squirrels. You guys abused old Lem a while back about his idea of there being general standards of courtesy and manners. You said that all that was relative and regional and cultural and what not. Well marching is marching no matter where you go. The steps might be a little different. But the idea is the same: Do you look disciplined, respectful, obedient, and orderly? Are you a team? Do you practice leadership that can be manifested in basic drill? Do you have pride in your appearance? DO you show dignity and bearing in your manner of speech and your posture? All these things are universal- and a parade is an occasion to show off how your group positively relates to the community and to each other. Just showing up and being seen is not only NOT ENOUGH, it would be better not to show up at all if you can't really DO YOUR BEST. People expect more from scouts because scouts claim in their solemn oath to do their best. Walden Pond

In the film, the boys in town were seen to be kind of in the way and in need of some place of their own. They were shown accidentally breaking windows with baseballs and getting in the way of traffic. The problem of what to do for the boys of town was brought up in a town council meeting and the lady who Lem was pursuing scribbled on a notepad the word "boy scouts", and showed it to her boss( and potential beau).. He was a putz, but Lem stould up and suggested to the crowded room that the town ought to have a boy scout troop. This did indeed impress the lady. (She thought that her and Lem were on the same wave-length). When the Mayor told Lem that this suggrestion is made every year, and the only problem is that no man ever steps forward to be the scoutmaster. And the rest is history.

Most of the world still relies on the machete. A good sharp machete beats a hand saw for the stuff an inch thick and thinner. And you can wear a machete on your belt pretty safely. And the problem with the technology is that it sometimes does too much work to be educational- such as the calculator and the word-processor. I have met parents who have argued to me very passionately that hand-writing (print or cursive) is dead and that they are not concerned wit their children learning it. I have met parents who think that calculators are a skill to be learned- along with computers. If the technology does not elevate- but only makes things easier- then I say GO-Luddite when you are scouting!!! The same goes with compass and star navigation versus GPS. Walden Pond

Saws are quicker for sure. But there is something about letting a boy use an axe that says "I trust you", and "Take a whack out of that" and "You are ready to use a tool that men have been using since the stone age". It's symbolic utility may still be there- even if the saw beats it in other ways. Besides, the scout axe is an original scout tool. We still encourage the kids to light fires with flint and steel. There are a lot of high tech items that make other scout skills seem obsolete- unti the batteries run out and the gadget breaks. Saws also break- it is a lot harder to bust your axe.

Maine greetings! I think Lem had a naysayer way about him I personally find repugnant. But I think he did raise concerns and arguments that some of us have probably have heard before in friendlier quarters. As wrong-headed as many of his outlooks might be, I think he brought up the "perception" issue about scouting that we all can probably agree is in need of improvement. As someone who used to work in advertising, I have learned that anybody can legitimately say that everything is in need of better publicity and market placement. I am heartened to learn that BSA is thinking about launching a new PR campaign in near future. I understand the arguments raised here that it is incumbent on volunteers to learn the program and execute it properly, but maybe BSA could make a better effort of attracting adults into considereing volunteering and training to be scouters. The popular American imagination, if there is such a thing, seems to me to be open to the things BSA can deliver on. A new movie about scouting like the one being played with on another thread is not a stupid idea. Many career fields and pursuits are largely affected by Media. Look at the explosion in the forensic school attendance after the CSI phenomenon. Scouting just is not seen on TV, except on Cartoon Network as being portrayed as Slugs and other animals. The Moose scoutmaster is a favorite of my kids. Even the military is benefited by film and TV. The portrayal of soldiers in the Transformers film probably got a lot of kids thinking about service as a positive thing. A good honest portrayal of the Patrol Method in action- even in documentary form could be interesting and informative. It might even inspire a whole new generation of Lems to take their place in the ranks of scouters.