By: Mary Mostert, Analyst, Banner of Liberty (www.bannerofliberty.com)
August 20, 2001
Brent, one of my readers, wrote to his senators about what he calls "the politicalization of the Boy Scouts and the attempts by the homosexual community and in many cases some members of the Democratic party to paint them as homophobic and discriminators against homosexuals." Brent was particularly incensed at the vicious and sexually explicit web sites that came up in his search on the subject of Boy Scouts.
The link that that particularly incensed Brent was an article from the Village Voice entitled "Sex in the First Person" graphically describing the author's and his homosexual partner's disgusting and "depraved sexual desires and fantasies ...towards young Boy Scouts."
Brent noted that his web search revealed
"Numerous news articles (that)note or mention homosexual campaigns to exclude and deprive Scouts from use of public places or facilities, or to deny them privileges they have previously enjoyed. There is much hype to cast Scouts as bigots and homophobes. There are active campaigns to deprive them of financial support and contributions. The media attempts to paint any hint of disagreement with BSA's stance against homosexuality by members or individuals of Scouting as justification that the Scouts should compromise their beliefs and stance and conform to acceptance of homosexual lifestyles.
What is really sad about all this is the picture of Scouting in America that is being portrayed by this effort. If you had just arrived from Mars and decided to find out what the Boy Scouts of America are all about by doing a web search of the subject, based on recent news stories you'd think bashing homosexuals is part of the Scout program . It's a very clever propaganda campaign.
Brent's e-mail arrived shortly after I had gotten a telephone report about the successful completion of my 14-year-old grandson's Eagle Scout project from my daughter Gwen Moore. As is required by the Boy Scouts of America, Jeff had been active in his troop, earned 21 merit badges and achieved Life rank in January the same night Troop 581, chartered by the Kenosha, Wisconsin Ward of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints celebrated its 25th anniversary.
He had demonstrated that he "lives by the principles of the Scout Oath and Law" in his daily life and had received the required written recommendations. Scout headquarters approved his Eagle service project. He used much of his summer vacation demonstrating that he could "Plan, develop, and give leadership to others in a service project" which, given the controversy going on in Wisconsin about the Boy Scouts, could have subjected him to ridicule.
About the time Jeff was awarded his Life rank, the United Way of Milwaukee, which furnished nearly $700,000 in funding to various Scout entities in 2000, established a task force to decide whether it would quit funding the Scouts.
Because the Scouts insist on maintaining their nearly 100 year old "morally straight" Scout Oath, Neil Albrecht, executive director of the Milwaukee Lesbian, Gay, Bi-Sexual and Transsexual Community Center is demanding that Milwaukee's United Way withdraw support for the Boy Scouts.
Yet, according Albrecht the United Way helps fund the Lesbian, Gay, Bi-Sexual, and Transsexual Community Center which, according to its name and by-laws, does not include heterosexuals in its membership. That's discrimination based on sexual orientation. Its By-Laws under Eligibility reads: "No person shall be denied membership in this organization because of race, color, handicap, nationality, religious affiliation or belief, etc., even though the name Milwaukee Lesbian/ Gay/ Bisexual/ Transgender Community Center was chosen." (http://www.mkelgbt.org/ourhome/aboutus/history/bylaws.html) Rather glaringly, the LGBT Community Center does not include "sexual orientation" in its membership rules, allowing it to discriminate against heterosexuals.
With that hypocrisy and contention as a background, last week's conclusion to Jeffrey's project is a powerful lesson for the small minded, sexually obsessed adults that are waging war against the Boy Scouts.
Jeffrey, who lives in the suburbs, wanted to do something for other kids for his Eagle project and came up with the idea of collecting 15 used bicycles, fixing them up, and giving them to disadvantaged kids, most of them black, in the Kenosha Boys and Girls Club. (One of the efforts being made by the enemies of the Boy Scouts is to urge people to contribute to the Boys and Girls Clubs because they allow homosexual members and leaders.) After receiving Scout approval, Jeffrey began to look for bicycles in the neighborhood that were no longer being used and to talk the owners into contributing them. He went to garage sales and left his name and address and a suggestion that, if the bike didn't sell, that they think about contributing it to his project. Sometimes the owner of the bicycle would say, "Here, you can have it now!"
Then he and his team of helpers went to local businesses that sold bicycle parts and asked for contributions. They also asked for contributions to purchase some of the needed parts. One salesman, in the local Sears store, when asked if the store could contribute some parts said he couldn't authorize that but took $10 out of his pocket to give to Jeff to buy needed parts, although he didn't have scouts in his family. It was politely turned down. There were others who did contribute and the parts and new tires were purchased.
Jeffrey ended up with 18 bicycles and a scooter, which was contributed by his sister Julie. He and his team cleaned and painted and put needed parts on the bikes. His dad, Mike Moore, got a U-Haul truck to transport the bikes, and when the truck and bikes arrived at the Boys and Girls Club last Thursday an excited group of youngsters could hardly be contained. Jeff handed the bikes and the one scooter down to the kids one at a time while a photographer from the Kenosha News, snapped pictures and a reporter interviewed the children.
The leaders at the Boys and Girls Club, knowing ahead that the bikes were coming, had given each of the children a ticket whenever they did something nice for someone else, so those kids who had done the most for others had the best chance of their names being drawn for a bike. One girl, whose ticket was chosen out of the pile chose the scooter and was soon having a great time on it. She asked, "Can I really take this home?" Assured she could she grinned happily. The next day the Kenosha News printed a large article on the front page of the local section, with a picture of the little girl grinning widely as she played on the scooter.
Jeff had planned on dropping off the bicycles and leaving, but the kids and the leaders of the Boys and Girls club wanted him to come inside the club. They had made large posters thanking him and the kids began to chant: "Jeff! Jeff! Jeff!" One of the kids asked him to come join their club. Jeff and his parents were totally unprepared for the response. Jeff was asked if he'd like to make a speech and, being an honest kid, he said, "NO!" The newspaper reporter quoted some of the kids, who were crowding around to take the bikes as Jeff handed them down from the truck, as saying, "Jeff helped us and we wanted to help him." The lead paragraph of the news article began, "While other 14-year-olds were riding their bikes with their friends Thursday, Jeff Moore, 14, was handing out bikes to disadvantaged children at The Boys and Girls Club of Kenosha."
Ever since I got the family report on this event, I've thought about it. I thought about the adults involved - my daughter and her husband, the people who willingly donated hundreds of dollars worth of bicycles and the leaders of the Boys and Girls Club. . They cared about the kids and worked to make the event meaningful to all. How wise for the Boys and Girls Club leaders to use the bicycles to teach the kids the importance of serving others!
I've thought about the children involved, Jeff and his sisters, Julie and April, Jeff's friends who worked on the bicycles and the children in the Boys and Girls Club who did more than just show appreciation. They opened their hearts and invited Jeff in. Many of the kids knew Jeff from school. They will always remember the white kid from the suburbs that "wanted to do something for kids." They'll remember he was a Boy Scout. And, they will probably wonder what's wrong with adults in their community who want to financially ruin the Boy Scouts and kick them out of their schools.
No one was asking questions about sexual orientation, or race, or religion or the amount of money they had. It was just a bunch of kids having a great experience in learning how to share and to care for one another.
Hopefully, some of the adults in the Milwaukee United Way and the Milwaukee Lesbian/ Gay/ Bisexual/ Transgender Community Center will learn something from Jeff's example and the example of the all the people who helped make Jeff's Eagle project such a success. Every year there are thousands of Boy Scout service projects that are done quietly, without pay, reward or recognition while people like Neil Albrecht, and others who hope to destroy the Boy Scouts for selfish reasons seem to get unlimited pay, reward and recognition
The Kenosha News deserves a round of applause for devoting considerable newsprint to a story that captured one day in the life of one young Boy Scout who is still puzzled by all the hoopla about those bicycles. After all, he was only doing what a Scout is taught to do. He was living the Scout Law that teaches:
To comment: mmostert@bannerofliberty.com
To Save Our Scouts go to: http://www.saveourscouts.org