ACLU War on the Boy Scouts

It is the sort of community project that is so common around the United States that it does not merit the attention of the news, but it remains extraordinary nonetheless. Like many Boy Scout troops around the country, one in Ellicott City Maryland finds itself concerned about former scouts who are now serving overseas in life-threatening situations. The threats in Iraq are certainly more immediate for those who helped raise the young adults who are now serving there.

This particular Maryland troop organized to send a 30-pound box of food, toiletries and other items to one of its Eagle Scouts now in Iraq. One thing that an Eagle Scout learns is service to others, so this overseas Eagle Scout wrote about his concern for his fellow soldiers. So not only did this troop manage to send their own Eagle Scout a box from home, but a total of ten boxes, 320 pounds all told, to Iraq. The entire project was conceived and executed in four days.

However, the real gift of these boxes it not tangible. It is not the cans of tuna or packages of crackers or cookies or coffee or CDs or DVDs or magazines that are important, it is the love and support expressed by taking the time and effort to assemble and send the boxes that is the greatest gift. Each box also contained holiday cards created by scouts addressed to the individual soldiers. It is these thoughtful messages that will nourish and sustain the soldiers long after the last cookie in the last box is consumed.

During the same week, it appears that the Department of Defense is capitulating to the demands of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and is no longer permitting military installations to sponsor Boy Scout troops. The egregious offense for which the Boy Scouts of America is being banished is the scout promise:

"...to do my duty to God and my country and to obey the Scout Law; to help other people at all times; to keep myself physically strong, mentally awake and morally straight."

The ACLU sees an implicit and rigidly enforced theocracy when parents bring their children to scout troops sponsored by military bases. When others look at the Boy Scouts, they see adults helping to guide honorable young men. While the ACLU fears the mention of God in public spaces, others see an authoritarian effort to strip voluntary spirituality from the public square. While the ACLU sees forced religiosity, others see the ACLU trying to deny their right of voluntary association and an attempt to impose their own imperial secularity.

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