Evolution of Scouting

[WHEELER]

Earlier while rummaging through the links I came upon an article called "Evolution of Scouting". I am not able to get back to the site since the URL has went kaput for some reason.

 

I went to Net Compass, clicked on BSA, then clicked on "Description and History". There was an article called "Evolution of Scouting".

 

I have tried several times to get back to that because I didn't have time when I stumbled across it. I do most certainly want to read it. If somebody else can retrieve that and post it here, I would be greatly obliged.

 

Curious Minds want to know.

[OldGreyEagle]

While we wait,

 

Wheeler, you seem to favor Socrates, and he was a great mind. He once said

 

I am not an Athenian or a Greek - I am a citizen of the world.

 

So, apparently Socrates would have supported the UN, leastwise he favored world citizenship. If so that makes Socrates a Socialist and all things he said are tainted by his socialistic tendencies which then renders most of your posts which use Socratic quotes as major support null and void.

[WHEELER]

I just answered this on the other thread which is on the Scoutmaster, the Effecient cause.

[WHEELER]

This is taken from www.geocities.com/~pack215/hist-cs-women.html   The article is The changing Role of Women in Cub Scouting.

A SOCIOLOGICAL EVOLUTION

In the earliest days of the Cubbing program, women were allowed only limited participation. They were not allowed to register with the BSA. They could not hold the role of Cubmaster, Committee member, or Commissioner. Those positions were reserved for registered men only.

Since 1930 however, women have gained full participation in the program. This process has been gradual, but continual. It wasn't until 1976, forty-six years after the initiation of 'Cubbing,' that women were finally granted the ability to serve as Cubmasters, assistant Cubmasters, and all commissioner positions. They were also authorized that year to participate in Cub Scout Trainer and Scouter Wood Badge courses to which women had been previously denied access to.

 

TODAY The position of Chief Scout Executive and BSA President are still the domain of men, but its only a matter of time! Many women are holding top level professional positions within the BSA. On the volunteer side, there are more registered women in all levels of Cub Scouting than men. In some Packs, the lack of male participation has become problematic. Many units now focus on ways to attract more men during their annual membership drives.

....and the pendulum continues to swing!

I want people to notice the title of this extract:  SOCIOLOGICAL EVOLUTION.  That is right.  It is about evolving the Boy Scouts into a womens organization.

It is not about THE BOYS.  It is about themselves.  They dont care who they hurt.  They dont care about boys and what they need.  It is not about doing what is BEST for boys.  It is about THEM.  Their status, their satisfaction of envy and covetousness.  It is about them and they dont care who they destroy.  Is it really healthy for boys to be led and controlled by women??????  Do they care?  NOOOOOOO.  It is about them.

Evolution.  That is really what is going on in the BSA movement.  The BSA is evolving into something else completely.  The satisfaction of women.  The BSA is just another trophy of conquest for the feminist movement.  And it is just another nail in the coffin for masculinity and manhood.  The total subjection of men to females will be complete.

Who preaches Evolution?  Only Socialists, Communists, Liberals and Fascists.  Evolution is socialistic modality.

Its only a matter of time isnt it for the BSA to completely fold under the attacks of Feminism.  Instead of women urging their husbands to do their duty, women are taking the place of men.

(This was not the ariticle I saw, there are others out there proclaiming the Evolution of Scouting.  Yes, an evolution from its original intent to progressive values and the effeminizing of men.)

 

[Marty_Doyle]

Good to see the library's open.

 

The title of the article is "THE CHANGING ROLE OF WOMEN IN CUB SCOUTING". I guess "A Sociological Evolution" could be considered a subtitle.

 

Missing from the above post is the long list of chronological highlights from 1930 to 1984 that make up the bulk of the article.

 

All of this can be found on the Virtual Cub Leader's Handbook site, an excellent source for Cub Scout leaders to draw from. However, it is not an official Boy Scouts of America site. It is a resource put up and maintained by a fellow volunteer. The article cited is also not an official publication, but contains "portions excerpted from "History of Cub Scouting"", a 1987 Boy Scout publication. This, to me, means that the article may contain the author's opinions.

The fact that the women who are involved in Cub (and all levels of Boy) Scouting ARE involved, as opposed to the post's author, is something to be commended. If one was in Cub Scouts in the sixties or earlier, one probably only had "Den Mothers" (because all of the fathers were at work). Didn't seem to scar us.

[firstpusk]

Evolution simply means change. But according to WHEELER, evolution is an evil word as opposed to the magic words like masculinity. In the thread he started on evolution, he demonstrated his absolute ignorance of what evolution actually entails.

 

His scouting threads continue to show that this man does not really understand much of what he is talking about. Cub scouting is all about the boys and their families. It is pretty obvious that he doesn't spend much time around pinewood derbies, blue and golds and den meetings. Yes, women are involved in the Cub program in ways that were not allowed when I was a cub scout.

 

I have worked with plenty of women that have contributed to the proper character development of these boys. Something WHEELER has never done and is not suited for by temperment or experience.

 

Perhaps it is all jealousy or misplaced rage. Whatever the case, the "contibution" of this poster is all negativity. I am praying for him and I suggest that all of us do the same. Maybe he can find something positive to do with his energy. I am hopeful that it has nothing to do with scouting we really don't need his kind of help.

[WHEELER]

Can I direct your attention to the Post: Socrates, Culture defines Politics. In the reply field, there is a synopsis of Antonio Gramsci and the socialist ideas of transforming the culture to change politics.

 

We see here the transformation of ideas in order to transform churches and institutions, to serve socialist modalities.

 

As further proof that I am gettting hot is that I can no longer able to access sites linked to this website. George Orwell is proud of you. You guys do a good job. Just think if I am able to read other stuff that is now hidden---what other things shall we uncover!?!

 

Only, Cockroaches hide in the dark. Truth seeks light, Evil darkness.

[Marty_Doyle]

Good golly, Terry, I never knew you had so much power!

You must be a Red Sox fan too, because I am having problems getting to the Yankees site to try and get tickets for me and my son!

[firstpusk]

"Can I direct your attention to the Post: Socrates, Culture defines Politics. In the reply field, there is a synopsis of Antonio Gramsci and the socialist ideas of transforming the culture to change politics."

 

Yes, I am quite sure that Antonio Gramsci focused on expanding the role of Den Mothers to promote the world wide communist conspiracy.

 

"We see here the transformation of ideas in order to transform churches and institutions, to serve socialist modalities."

 

And Den Mothers have destroyed the churches using evolution.

 

"As further proof that I am gettting hot is that I can no longer able to access sites linked to this website. George Orwell is proud of you. You guys do a good job. Just think if I am able to read other stuff that is now hidden---what other things shall we uncover!?!"

 

I don't think I would say you are getting hot, delusional perhaps, would be getting warmer.

 

"Only, Cockroaches hide in the dark. Truth seeks light, Evil darkness."

 

Please, don't be so hard on yourself. You know not what you do...that does not make you the evil cockroach of darkness. You are just a bit out of touch.

[Proud Eagle]

There go I, but for the Grace of God.

 

Wheeler, I have a book for you to add to your reading list. It is one I am reading with a group of fellow students. It doesn't really have anything to do with the current subject, but it is a good book that can be thought provoking. "The Sunflower: On the Possibilities and Limits of Forgiveness" by Simon Wiesenthal. It probably isn't worth going on a search for it, but if there happens to be a copy in the local library, it is worth a read. In fact, I would recommend it to anyone that runs across a copy.

 

OK. Now back to what I had intended to say.

 

I personally have quite a bit of sympathy for Wheeler. He certainly seems to have only the best intentions. I would certainly hope that were the positions reversed (I holding his convictions and seeing others walking around in apparent blindness to what is going on) I would try to get everyone to see the light. On the other hand, if you are the only one seeing the light, then maybe you should take a moment to consider if it is really there or not.

 

However, Wheeler is not alone in his beliefs. (Though I doubt any other person holds the exact same combination of beliefs about all subjects that Wheeler does.) There are many that believe that to a greater or lesser extent, western civilization has lost its way. There are many that believe that a variety of insidious evils have crept into the very fabric of our lives. Now many may write those people off as fringe reactionaries, but the problem is they do, at least to some extent, have a point.

 

Socialism and socialist ideas have caused major change in western society and in the United States. In the US modern liberalism is not so stridently socialist as its European counterparts, which in turn seem tame compared to the Communist states of the cold war. However, there is a slow creep toward certain aspects of the socialist ideal. As to weather or not this is a good thing, that must be left to individual judgment. But to deny that there has been a massive, nearly revolutionary rather than evolutionary, change in western civilization and the United States over the past century or so is pure naivet. Now, not all of the change has been toward true socialism. There have been other ideals and philosophies contributing to the change.

 

Where I depart from Wheeler is the level of concern, nay, near panic, that these facts stir up in me. I see the changes as being neither so complete nor so evil as Wheeler does. I certainly do not think there is a conspiracy under way to silence people and hide the truth.

 

Let me demonstrate a practical example in the differences of our opinions.

 

In an earlier post Wheeler mentioned the changes in the newer translations. Specifically newer translations omitted certain words relating to being effeminate. Now Wheeler seems to see this as part of some great Socialist/Fascist/Liberal plot to hide and destroy the truth. On the other hand I believe the change came about in something more like this way:

various individuals in public life began to change their opinions about certain issues

this lead to preachers and theologians re-examining those same issues

soon certain teaching began to be de-emphasized in favor of other teachings

scholars were brought up in this now changed culture

those scholars were asked to do new translations

because of the pre-existing biases caused by the society and culture, these scholars chose to translate certain passages differently than other scholars had in the past

 

Essentially the old scholars were biased by the times in which they lived.

The new scholars were also biased by the times in which they lived.

The translations reflect the differences in attitudes, opinions, and understanding caused by those different times.

 

Now it is certainly possible that one group of scholars or the other may actually produce a better translation. However, not being a scholar of Greek or Hebrew, I am in no position to translate from original texts. I could, with great effort and some mental pain, produce a clumsy translation from the intermediate Latin, but that would be of little use in evaluating the accuracy of scripture. Therefore, I instead believe it when those I trust who have greater expertise in these matters tell me that some translation or another is good, or better, or down right terrible. For me, the primary source of such information in the Church, which has been in that business for about nineteen centuries now.

 

So, now the question is, what, if anything does any of this have to do with Scouting. In the immediate practical sense, absolutely nothing. In a more general and indirect way, it has as much to do with Scouting as it does with just about anything else. These great questions of philosophy, theology, politics, and culture do have some effect on Scouting. We all agree that the Scouting movement has changed since its founding. Simply going back and reading the old manuals with the new gift of enlightenment that Wheeler is trying to force upon us would do no one any practical good at all. However, if Wheeler is correct that our understanding of things, down to the meaning of words, is so different than from the time of the founding, it brings into question weather or not any of us can really know what even such constants as the Scout Oath and Law were intended to mean.

 

I personally reject that assertion. I believe, through careful evaluation, each of us can come to just as complete and correct an understanding of the Oath and Law and other key thing as any person had a century ago. Perhaps if we merely read those words casually without true thought, we would fail to discern their true meaning as Wheeler seems to fear. Unfortunately for Wheeler, I know of no Scouter that looks upon the Oath and Law so lightly. (If there be such Scouters in the movement let them resign quickly before their liaise fair attitudes effect the Scouts.) All Scouter I know take the Oath and Law quite seriously. It is an instrument that is used to evaluate many parts of life. Like any critical instrument, we are constantly seeking to tune it and calibrate it properly.

 

I think I will stop there. I seem to have forgotten what the subject of this thread was in the first place. Perhaps it is time for some breakfast.

[OldGreyEagle]

Congratulations Proud Eagle, you have proved long doesnt have to be rambling and that a well thought out cogent disposition of the matter being discussed is possible.