Rick Perry is the governor of Texas. He is an Eagle Scout and the father of an Eagle Scout. At the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington, D. C. on February 9th, he said, “The venerable institution of the Boy Scouts of America, with its clearly-stated belief in God, adherence to a strict moral code and steadfast focus on shaping young men, is the trophy buck that the ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) and their friends would like to hang above the fireplace.”
Governor Perry has just written a book to defend the Boy Scouts against these attacks. The proceeds of the book, On My Honor, will go to the legal defense fund for the BSA. The lawsuits against the Boy Scouts cost both the citizens of America and the Boy Scouts millions of dollars. It costs the citizens money for bringing the suits against the Scouts and it costs the Scouts money to defend against them. All this wasted money could be used for much better activities, yet is wasted in the legal system.
Over the years, the BSA has not changed its positions, but the political climate has changed around it. Today, the challenges to the BSA are based on its position opposing openly gay and open atheist leaders. This is based on the core principles of the BSA–the Scout Oath and Law.
The City of Philadelphia is trying to evict the Boy Scouts from their headquarters building. The irony of this is that the BSA paid for and built the building their own money, then donated the building to the city. Now the city wants to kick them out of the building that the Scouts paid for themselves.
Last night, I sat on a Board of Review for two Eagle Scouts. Both young men were fine examples of what Scouting tries to do: develop character, fitness, and leadership in the young men of America.
This morning, Dennis Prager interviewed Governor Perry on his radio show. Dennis has mentioned many times how destructive these attacks on the Scouts are. He wondered how it would feel for being responsible for destroying a wonderful institution that does so much good.
As a society, we need to strengthen the institutions that strengthen us, not destroy them. The use of public accommodations to assist good organizations should be a given instead a target to threaten these organizations.
Tags: attacks on Boy Scouts, BSA, Rick Perry
