In my 61 years, I’ve been a member of the Boy Scouts, the Society of Professional Journalists, and two unions. I think there was a year in there when I belonged to the Missouri Democratic Party, but only because I had to if I wanted to run as a Democrat for a county office. Not joining things doesn’t make me special or signify that I’m independent—there are plenty of very conventionally minded or reactionary people who believe being outside or above joining things make them independent thinkers. More than anything, I think not joining organizations or being member of a group of like-minded individuals makes me a non-joiner.
That said, I was a loyal member of the Boy Scouts from the ages of 11 to 17. At the beginning, it was a great time for me. I learned things, each merit badge was like a junior master class in a particular something. The Scouts took me into the outdoors and taught me trail skills, and these I’ve used extensively through my adult life.
Boy Scouts also allowed me to escape an oft violent and arbitrary homelife. It demanded I make my way among my peers, throwing off the bonds of bullying and intimidation I suffered so often at home and at the hands of my classmates in parochial school. In a meaningful way, Boy Scouts gave me a kind of freedom, even if was religious and disciplined.
All day, I’ve been thinking about the Scout Law, which I know by heart even today, some 44 years after I last raised my hand and said it as part of a group of uniformed scouts in formation. How relevant are these things to me today? Did I absorb these ideas from my time in Scouts or did I have elements at the base of these fundamentals in my own soul?
I want to go through the twelve precepts and think about them seriously. They are ideals, and not a bad set at that. But after all the Scouting indoctrination, I believe I took some of them to heart outside the context of being a boy and feeling a part of something.
A Scout is:
Trustworthy
When I was drinking during and after being a Scout, I certainly wanted to be trustworthy. In many aspects of life, I could carry out this ideal. But where rubber met road, I would skid around in all different directions due to the exigencies of feeding the addiction. In other words, I was trustworthy when it was convenient and dishonest and conniving when it came to ensuring I had a supply that would carry me through to passing out.
After I stopped drinking, it took me a while to learn how to be trustworthy in all my affairs. But after a short time, you could be sure that what I said was engraved in stone. You could trust me with your money, your family, and your needs most, if not all the time. To be certain, I lie sometimes. But it makes me feel so rotten that I correct the situation as soon as I understand that fear and selfishness have brought me to a transgression. After that, it’s a matter of righting the wrong and making amends for my lapse of good judgment.
I take this so seriously that I do not take pledges or swear oaths. I will not do it at the college where I have to submit a loyalty oath to get paid. Instead, on the tiny coercive document, I marked out everything that violated my own soul, affirmed in place of swearing, and signed the paper “(under protest)”. If ever I stand before a court, I will not swear. I never swear, even in minor situations when people promise something and say simply, “I swear.” I don’t it. I won’t ever swear an oath or sign a pledge. It doesn’t happen. It never will.
Loyal
When it comes to friendships, personal relationships, marriage, fatherhood, and being a teacher, I strive to be the most loyal person you know. This is not hard for me. My default position in relationships is trust, sometimes to my detriment. I trust you. If I don’t, things don’t happen, the relationship does not go forward. I’m a kind, courteous, and civil. But more than this, you don’t get if I don’t trust you. This occurs occasionally. There are people I get a feeling about. I proceed cautiously and carefully. We’ll see if this thing works out. But until then, you can trust me. You can always trust me. To be there when you need me. To be a part of the solution. To be the rod upon which you can raise your flag. To be the person you can tell anything to and know that it is locked in an impenetrable safe.
Helpful
Just ask and I’ll do what I can. This is inviable.
Friendly
When I am not, I feel awful and right the wrong.
Courteous
This is not a strong point for me, at least in the eyes of other people. I believe you can open your own doors, unless you really can’t. I try to think of others all the time, but I fail often due to my own selfishness. In this, I am a work in progress until termination.
Kind
This is one of my strong points, I believe. It’s easy for me due to my innate sense of fairness. I want to treat you better than you treat me. I try not to let your lack of kindness to me or others impinge upon my psychic dictate to be kind to you.
There is a hitch, however, and one that’s hard to get over. I tend to get judgmental about people who, regardless of their treatment of me, treat others poorly. I’m working on this.
Obedient
I obey all laws I believe are just. In matters of work, I try to follow directions. Be kind about it and it’s a whole lot easier for me. I’d rather be asked than told.
Cheerful
I do poorly in this ideal when I’m not well off psychically, physically, or mentally. Again, I do the best I can and when I fail, I try to make it up to whomever I have confronted with crankiness.
Thrifty
I’m pretty good about this. I don’t buy what I don’t need. I am a good saver. At the same time, I’m not ungenerous or a spendthrift or tightwad. If you need and I have, I will share. Most of the time, if you need, I share, even when I can’t afford it. I’m lucky to have a job and something saved against the future. If I give it (money, time, energy) to you, it’s yours. I can’t tell you how to use what I give you. Most of the time, too, if I give, I expect you won’t give it back. That’s not my job. My job is to share.
Brave
Ask anyone who knows me. I’m probably the bravest person you know or will meet. That doesn’t mean I’m never fearful, even terrified. But I know that, for me, walking into the terror is much better than cowering before it. Again, as above, I may falter. But in these instances, I get up, dust myself off, and continue forward, regardless how terrified I may be. If you need evidence, I can give you plenty. Right now, you will have to take my word for it.
Clean
The Scouts wanted me to be clean in my thinking and actions. I’m often not. Instead, I work all the time to be pure at heart. That’s something more important than not thinking, sometimes, prurient thoughts.
Reverent
Absolutely not, most of the time. In terms of literature, art, and history, I have deep respect, even awe. Be even these things are not unassailable. Nothing is so sacred it can’t be doubted, questioned, or interrogated. I hoist my petard on this one. Independence of mind is much more important than tradition or religion. Even this independence should be examined and reexamined to ensure that it doesn’t become ossified dictum or dogma.
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