The Uniform

[Prairie_Scouter]

LisaBob,

 

My feelings about uniform use aside, it just seems to me that you've got an adult leader who has no common sense, and, well, isn't much of a leader.

[Kudu]

Kudu: No one is stuck with the uniform, and who is this we you are talking about?

 

I would be happy to explain that for you, Dan! "We" would be those of us who understand why our Scouts are stuck with an over-priced, inferior uniform.

 

From the Christmas tree red epaulettes to the blister-causing cotton socks, the hot-house parlour-Scouting BSA Uniform is first and foremost a symbol of dress-designer values.

 

But when worn properly, the BSA Uniform serves as a symbol that all Scouts can understand as to why their freedoms as Americans depend on a free market economy. The BSA Uniform is a life-long lesson as to what happens when a government gets into the business of picking corporations, and granting them a monopoly which shields them from the corrective forces of the marketplace.

 

By the way, when a Scout complains about how ugly the Scouts pants are, the proper reply is "Don't blame me, I'm a libertarian!"

 

Kudu

[AvidSM]

Lisabob's story of the boy who is forced to wear a wet uniform and nearly quitting because of it is a case in point. You can achieve 100% uniform compliance, but you pay a price for it. The leader who forced that boy to wear a wet uniform is not fit to be called a Scouter.

 

I wore a uniform while working at a Burger King back in the late 70's - it had about the same fit.