eagle scout? big deal...

[numbnuts240]

ok, the point of this thread isn't necessarily here to gather your opinions on the boy scout program. i'm making this to hear your thoughts on an observation that i made yesterday while participating in an eagle scout ceremony.

i am an eagle scout. i have a few friends who are also eagle scouts. i am currently an assistant scoutmaster and committee person in my old troop, and as such, i was asked to speak at an eagle scout ceremony for one of our scouts. of course, i obliged.

so there is a part in our ceremonies when it's our own custom to read some letters to the audience that were sent to the new eagle scout. these could be from anyone and everyone of any importance (the mayor of the town comes to all our ceremonies to speak a bit, his jokes sucked a** this year). now what struck me as really, i won't say odd, but it really pissed me off, was that there was nothing sent acknowledging this kid from the desk of the potus. i, as well as all my friends, received letters from whoever the current potus was, as well as an official us flag with certificate stating that said flag was flown over the us capitol on a designated date.

is this accomplishment of an american youth so unimportant that obama couldn't take 5 seconds out of his day to order someone to write a letter for him? this kid got letters from both bushs, gov. rell, and dodd (maybe others, but i didn't read all of them), but not the current potus. tbh, i was appalled. the other assistant scoutmaster plans on writing a letter to the editor of the local paper to hopefully call obama out on this.

thoughts?

[WDRacing]

I have to say that my give a !@#$ factor for this kid not recieving a letter is about zero. It's a great achievment to reach Eagle, we always made a big deal of it back when I was a scout. But it's not surprising that the POTUS didn't send a letter, or have a generic draft signed etc. The dude has things to do ya know. Like Hawaii vacations, Health Care reform and spending as much of our taxes as possible before he gets booted the F out in 3 years.

You might as well count our entire Gov out of anything worth a crap anymore. Why? Because they have failed on every level I can think of. This is just another, albeit small, example of a Gov that doesn't care about anything other then furthering their own ideals and increasing their parties power and influence at any and all costs.

[szh]

Hmmm ... I attended two Eagle Scout ceremonies recently in the past few months where the current POTUS did send letters (along with ones from other folks too). And our Senator sent the flown flag.

Z

[numbnuts240]

it's been about 5 years since i've been active or to an eagle court of honor, so idk if at some point george w stopped for a while. but as i said, he still sent something, along with his parents, acknowledging the occasion. i understand that scouting isn't as big as it used to be, but it really can be a great program if there were more public support for it and more kids willing to go out and do stuff instead of playing video games all day and updating their social networking crapola.

[szh]

Agreed!

My son started with Cub Scouts a number of years ago after he became age-eligible and went through the program over the years. He just turned 11 in May and joined the Boy Scouts after the Arrow of Light event.

Attending the Boy Scout weekly meetings last fall has been a bit challenging, since he also started at a new advanced Middle School (6th grade) this August with lots of homework. But, he is making it periodically and has been on a few campouts too, and is now working on his next Scout level.

I do hope he keeps it going for a few more years at least ... although I don't think he will make Eagle since he has other interests that keep him busy too.

Z

[WDRacing]

i understand that scouting isn't as big as it used to be, but it really can be a great program if there were more public support for it and more kids willing to go out and do stuff instead of playing video games all day and updating their social networking crapola.

And that's where the real problem is. Kids are friggin lazy SOBs these days. They are basically taught that you don't need any drive to succeed. This whole "everyone is a winner" BS is killing this society. Why try when you don't have to? Why pay bills when those that actually work will pay them for you? The Gov and our current accepted ideology stands behind nothing worth while. Why become the best that you can be when it simply means you'll be the one paying for everyone else?

This is a very disturbing trend.

My eldest son didn't want anything to do with boy scouts. He has no drive, and would rather play video games and watch cartoons. When he ran track last year, he didn't even try. But he got the same certificate that everyone in the school got. There were NO superior performer awards for any of the sports. Not even to a kid that broke records, competed in age brackets beyond his and won a state level meet while he had the flu. The kid threw up 2 times during the race and still won. This was a freshman competing at a Varsity level. He got the same piece of printer paper my son got. Sad

This type of story exemplifies the United States of America right now. A bankrupt has been full of lazy, media educated sheeple ready to give everything we stand for away just so long as they don't have to "do" anything or "work to succeed".

WD

[numbnuts240]

see, that's the thing with scouts. all boys are encouraged to work towards their eagle, but we all know that not all of them will go all the way. and that's ok, the whole point of the program is to stimulate the boys to try things that they wouldn't normally try, learn to be more independent, learn leadership skills, take pride in their communities, etc. so i feel that when a boy actually completes all the requirements needed to earn his eagle, he should get all the recognition he can, and i'm insulted that obama couldn't have even ordered a form letter to be sent.

[WDRacing]

I couldn't agree more. The scouts is a great program. Some of my best childhood memories are of camping/hiking etc. I went to summer camps, winter camps...all kinds of stuff.

Making Eagle isn't something that should be looked upon as a mediocre accomplishment. I consider it more noteworthy then the Nobel these days that's for damn sure.

[USsil80]

I couldn't agree more. The scouts is a great program. Some of my best childhood memories are of camping/hiking etc. I went to summer camps, winter camps...all kinds of stuff.

Making Eagle isn't something that should be looked upon as a mediocre accomplishment. I consider it more noteworthy then the Nobel these days that's for damn sure.

as an eagle scout myself i find myself appualed about how todays youth looks at scouting... i got to do so many things that i never would of got to with out scouts... kids need to get out and do things

[numbnuts240]

i got to do so many things that i never would of got to with out scouts

exactly, between all the different types of things i did at summer camp, i won't even go into the philmont trip. it's an awesome thing to have listed on your resume. *sigh*

[szh]

And that's where the real problem is. Kids are friggin lazy SOBs these days. They are basically taught that you don't need any drive to succeed. This whole "everyone is a winner" BS is killing this society. Why try when you don't have to? Why pay bills when those that actually work will pay them for you? The Gov and our current accepted ideology stands behind nothing worth while. Why become the best that you can be when it simply means you'll be the one paying for everyone else?

This is a very disturbing trend.

Exactly right ... everyone wants to make sure that the kid's "self-esteem" is perfect. But this has created a "I deserve everything without any hard work to earn it" attitude among most (not all) of the young people out there today.

Even though the backlash (no jobs, etc.) during this last economic downtown has been sobering for some of them, it has made our next-generation's overall success fairly questionable at best. If we are not careful, this could lead to a national malaise within a few years - and make the US very much like the present-day socialist nations of the planet.

We need to fix this ... somehow!

Z

[RobPaulson]

fellow eagle scout here.

is it the adult leaders who are in charge of the children the ones who are responsible for notifying the proper authorities of this accomplishment though? or does yankee council just have representation in some way in the white house?

I got a letter from potus as well. however, to me, a letter does not mean too much so this topic doesnt seem to move me very much. The kid should be proud he got eagle, he doesnt need a machine printed signature of a douche bag to make him feel special, he just accomplished the highest rank of scouting possible.

(dont mean for that to come across cynical... i really am an eagle scout and incredibly proud of it and the organization. however, letters from officials in any situation just always struck me as insanely shallow and meaningless.)

[Urabus GodofTraction]

Eagle Scout here.

Got a letter from every living President (an Nancy Reagan, as I mailed the letters right as Pres. Reagan died. Framed that one.

The Big O should have at least tasked a minion to deal with such a simple but important matter...

That said, BSA has gone down, down, down in quality since I've been in it. I can't imagine what it's like now if it continued the trend.

[AZhitman]

^

Life Scout (moved 3x in the year after I attained it), never re-joined in any of my subsequent cities of residence...

I have fond memories of Scouting, and I'm certain it made me a better person.

Pathetic that the current POTUS couldn't, like Charlieo said, assign the task to some chump limp-wristed libby intern...

Then again, he doesn't give a damn.

He's probably convinced the BSA is some right-wing, racist radical group that teaches boys to be REAL men, not slimy union-supporting media-seeking terrorlst-pandering Nancy-boys.

God forbid there should be some self-determination and rugged individualism in this country, huh Prez?

Lame.

[audtatious]

BSA won't get support until they promote homosexuality.

[RobPaulson]

BSA won't get support until they promote homosexuality.

this bothers me. not that they dont, but that people have a problem with it. its a private club. we can do what we want. there is a reason we dont put 7-18 year old male AND female children in the same organizations that participate in overnight activities.

people say, just b/c they are gay doesnt mean they are going to try anything. I understand the fact that homosexuals are not all flamboyant and pervs, thats not what i'm getting at. i say, replace the gay kid in your mind with a female, see if its a socially acceptable situation.

14 year old girl and boy in a tent together, alone, in the woods, for a week. really?? just is not right.

@ political correctness, its ruining the world and everything in it.

[numbnuts240]

****s aren't real people.

[USsil80]

@ political correctness, its ruining the world and everything in it.

100% truth there!!!!

[audtatious]

****s aren't real people.

That's how we know you are a fake

[numbnuts240]

[snwbrdr435]

Wow thats bs, I have a very nice letter signed by bush. I also got one from the gov. at the time and from the local selectmen and from kerry/ kennedy. My brother is having his court of honor in a few months. He just barely made it he turned 18 yesterday. I will see if any of our recent eagles have had gotten a letter.

[snwbrdr435]

I also think that some of the leadership in the troops around the country is lacking. I will never forget the first scouting trip i went on after going through cub scouts. It was a council camporee at one of the local camps. We dropped one of our steaks in the fire pit we were cooking on. One of our leaders looked at it and goes it ads flavor just eat it. Three of the kids i was with refused to even take a bite. If one of the current scouts were to drop a steak the leaders would probably go buy them another one.

[smockers83]

Thoughts? Reference this thread perhaps.

zer...-busy

[audtatious]

Those posting above that went through Scouting all seem to be right-leaners. Are there any Libs who went through? Just curious.

I never went through the Boy Scouts. I started with the YMCA India Guides, moved into Cub Scouts and through Weblos and got the Arrow of Light. Being in Chicago at the time we joined the "Trailblazers" for a year instead of BS. We then moved and I never rejoined anything. Was a fun time and was great for shaping a person into being an achiever.

[srellim234]

Apparently the Obama administration DOES send recognition letters but they have to be applied for properly. This is from http://www.boyandgirlscouts.com:

http://www.boyandgirlscouts.co...erica/

[snwbrdr435]

http://www.prospect.org/csnc/blogs/tapp ... ent_of_the

[JustinStrife]

I only made it to 1st class. Moved around too often as a kid, and then changed sets of parents. My dad and step-mom were too busy with work so I never got back into Scouts or Martial Arts.

Best memories I ever had growing up.

[SullivanRacing06]

i reached eagle in 05 and got letters from most of floridas reps, obamas a celebrity not a prez

[s0m3th1ngAZ]

I made Heart before my family had to move and I couldn't make myself join the new troop.My favorite activity was playing Slingshot paintball. That and the week-long survival camp at Polaris.

[srellim234]

The proper way to get letters of commendation, send invitations, etc. are provided at eaglescout.org. They do note that letters of commendation must be requested and are not automatic from anyone. It also indicates that requesting letters from the President should be directed to a different address.

http://www.eaglescout.org/fina...eting