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| One of Norman Rockwell's many iconic illustrations of Boy Scouts |
As a former Boy Scout whose father had a successful 25-plus year career as a BSA executive and rose to the upper echelon of the organization, I experienced some mixed emotions at first.
Growing up in a "Scouting family", I was surrounded by the imagery, symbolism, values, accoutrements and traditions that are so deeply embedded into the Boy Scouts' DNA.
From an early age, the latest issues of Boy's Life, the colorful official magazine for Boy Scouts, were always scattered about the house courtesy of my dad.
More than 110 million Americans have participated in various Scouting programs over the years, so it's a good bet that Boy's Life was the first real magazine experience for many boys.
First published in 1911, Boy's Life has featured the work of a number of iconic artists over the years, including illustrator Norman Rockwell (pictured above), surrealist painter Salvador Dali, photographer Ansel Adams and cartoonist Dik Browne (Hagar the Horrible and Hi and Lois).
Boy's Life has also featured a number of well-known writers over the years including sci-fi writers such as Arthur C. Clarke, Issac Asimov, Robert Heinlein and Ray Bradbury - and "Roots" and "The Autobiography of Malcom X" author Alex Haley.
The excitement of coming home from school and seeing the latest issue of Boy's Life in the mail with my name on the address label on the cover had a formative impact on my love of reading, desire to learn and love of magazines - if you could see my kitchen table and living room you'd understand that love of printed magazines has never left me.
Since the BSA was founded one hundred and eight years ago back in 1910, as the name implies, it's core mission has been focused on the development of character through the learning and mastery of a wide range of skills related to nature and the outdoors ("scoutcraft").
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| Women have served in the Cub Scouts as Den Mothers since the 1930's |
But women have been integral parts of the BSA for years, and not just as "Scouting Moms" whose role as the crucial support system behind Cub Scout pack and Boy Scout troop meetings and activities too-often goes unheralded.
In the 20th century, women like LaVern Watts Parmley, Ann W. Nally and Eleanor Parsons Pratt also served integral roles in the expansion of community scouting - which in turn raised the BSA's profile on the national level.
As I learned first-hand when I joined Cub Scouts back in the 3rd grade, women served in volunteer leadership positions as Den Mothers for Cub Scouts, which serves boys (and now girls) ages 6 to 11.
Women also serve as leaders for Boy Scouts which serves boys ages 11 to 18 and also serve as leaders and members of other BSA programs like Explorers (a more career-focused program which was merged into the Venturers program starting in 2001) and Sea Scouts - programs which have allowed co-ed participation for years.
So while it was surprising for me to hear that the BSA would change it's name to Scouts BSA in 2019 and welcome girls as scouts, looking back upon the role women have played as both local volunteers and as executives in the organization, my sense is that the move is a logical one.
A necessary 21st century move whose time was clearly past given that the BSA opened it's ranks to welcome openly gay and transgender scouts in 2015 - and two years later announced that girls would be able to participate in Cub Scouts starting this year.
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| Sydney Ireland with her older brother Bryan at a 2016 National Organization for Women conference |
In 1995 Katrina Yeaw and three other girls attempted to join a Cub Scout pack in California and when their membership application was denied, she took her fight to the California Supreme Court in 1997.
She lost when the justices upheld the BSA's right to establish their own membership criteria, but the proverbial glass was cracked.
Since the age of four, Sydney Ireland (pictured left) has been lobbying to follow her older brother Bryan, an Eagle Scout, to officially join his Manhattan, New York Boy Scout troop.
She's garnered national media attention since 2015 when her Change.org petition began focusing press attention on her campaign - and putting pressure on the BSA to revise it's policy towards allowing girls to be Scouts.
In August, 2017, Ireland had her op-ed published in the Washington Post, and for anyone who reads her Change.org petition, or her WaPo ope-ed, it's hard to argue against her logic.
She's already been taking part in her brother's BSA Scout troop activities for over a decade, has done the work to earn some tough merit badges (you try doing the Mile Swim, she's done it twice) and wants to pursue her dream of being an Eagle Scout.
Regardless of where you fall on girls being allowed to join the Boy Scouts, you have to admire Sydney Ireland's determination - which helped influence the BSA's decision to begin admitting girls into the Cub Scouts in 2017.
Sadly though, as Camila Domonoske reported for NPR last Wednesday, Ireland will be too old to enter the Scouts program next year when the BSA begins admitting girls.
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| Scouts BSA: a glimpse of scouting's 2nd century |
It's an experience that will test you and force you to reach within yourself.
There's something rewarding about that, not just the skills that will last a lifetime.
It's also the internal development of core values and ideals about community, cooperation, citizenship and challenging yourself - things that can't be learned from books.
So if a young person wants to learn those things and have those experiences, by all rights they should have the chance to do so - Sydney Ireland included.
Given the divisive nature of the current occupant of the Oval Office, and his politics of exclusion, discrimination and incessant cultural warfare, there's little doubt that some on the conservative side of the spectrum will view the BSA's decision exclusively as some kind of victory for what some view as the forces of "political correctness."
Unfortunately, in recent years the Boy Scouts have served as something of an ideological battleground for the rightwing conservatives who ignore Trump's myriad flaws because (to them) he represents someone willing to fight the existential threats that unsettle and alarm them.
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| Ex-Cub Scout Ames Mayfield and his dog |
The last time I blogged about the Boy Scouts was back in October of 2017 when 11-year-old Cub Scout Ames Mayfield was kicked out of his pack by his den leader.
Why did he get kicked out?
Because he publicly (and politely) confronted conservative Colorado Republican state lawmaker Vicki Marble about her co-sponsoring a bill that would allow domestic violence offenders to own a gun.
Ames' question came about 23 days after the horrific mass shooting in Las Vegas so it was entirely justified, but gun lobby supporters in Colorado and other parts of the country were feeling particularly defensive - no doubt they cheered an 11-year-old kid getting booted out of his Cub Scout pack for asking a Republican politician a question.
In July of last year I blogged about the media flap that arose after Trump used an appearance at the Boy Scout Jamboree in West Virginia to repeat more lies about President Obama, and vilify his political enemies while he told a rambling story about being at a party.
The resulting dust-up fired up conservatives who felt Trump had every right to ramble on like a drunken buffoon in front of a crowd of thousands of Boy Scouts - even long-time scouters were divided on the issue.
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| BSA Chief Scout Executive Michael Surbaugh |
Looking at the decision last week to open the Scouts up to girls, my sense is that Surbaugh and other members of the BSA hierarchy were trying to carefully reaffirm the values of the one hundred and eight-year-old organization - because there's little question their brand (and membership) took a hit after Trump's comments at the Jamboree last summer.
In this age of social media, OTT streaming devices, video games, smart phones and year-round sports for kids ages 6 to 18, the one thing the BSA can scant afford to do is to alienate anyone.
My sense is that the decision to rebrand itself Scouts BSA (kind of a clever take on Scouts USA right?) served a couple purposes.
First, in the age of #MeToo, it affirmed the BSA as an organization that wants to be relevant in the 21st century while still upholding the values at it's core.
Allowing young women to join as scouts shows that the BSA recognizes the importance of the role it can play in ensuring that women have equal access in American society, at a time when that's not always the case in Hollywood and other industries.
In short, the decision shows that the BSA can lead - with some encouragement and nudging from girls like Katrina Yeaw and Sydney Ireland of course.
Second, it opens the gates to increased membership within its ranks by showing the 50% of the U.S. population who do not have a penis that they are wanted, and they are welcomed in the scouting community - at all levels.
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| Ex-New York AG Eric Schneiderman |
And to the credit of Michel Surbaugh, other BSA executives and the BSA board, the organization has strategically placed itself on the correct side of the road in terms of the #MeToo movement - recognizing that this is a pivotal time in terms of the history of gender equity in America.
A point driven home by the sudden resignation of Eric Schneiderman in the wake of the publishing of the shocking allegations of physical abuse leveled against him in the bombshell New Yorker article by Jane Mayer and Ronan Farrow that was published Tuesday evening.
So there will be those who will criticize the BSA for changing it's name and welcoming girls; and that's their right.
But what some of those inclined to be angered over the BSA brand change fail to understand in my opinion, is that the decision to break down a final barrier and welcome girls isn't about "Political Correctness" as some on Fox and Friends might grumble.
It's about evolution.
And as Darwin observed, better to be on the right side of that particular part of the process of natural order - especially when viewed from the vantage point of future generations.
After all, these days the dinosaur is just a fossil in the ground - the birds are still flying.
By putting the word Scouts in front of BSA, the organization isn't just redefining it's membership - they're demonstrating a desire to adapt and survive well into the 21st century.
And I'm betting there are a lot of boys and girls who'll be the better for it.
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