Today my brother and I taped a piece for the Penn and Teller show called "Bulls***." Some of the questions surprised me, but maybe that was due to the fact that the show combined two issues which I have tried to keep separate but the courts have rolled them into one big ball o'wax: Atheists/Agnostics and Gays.
First, let me explain atheists/agnostics and scouting. Atheists/Agnostics in scouting could be treated just as another form of religious belief. Just as one could earn their religious award, one could explain their lack of belief and what it means to them. In fact some groups (such as Atheist United) do serve this function and can provide Atheists/Agnostics with the same source of information as a Church structure. In all my years of Scouting, not one person had a problem with my lack of beliefs, not one. My troop belonged to a Presbyterian Church, my friends were from all different religious faiths, and I attended Scout Sunday like everyone else out of respect of the Church that hosted our troop. My lack of beliefs did not prevent me from following the scout law of "Reverent," in fact I had more respect for the beliefs of other scouts then other scouts held towards me. That has always been a sticking point for me, how do all these people say "Do onto others as others would do onto you," yet they go around and scream in my face, tried to start fights, or spit on me. Needless to say, I didn't return the favor towards these Scouts who showed ill will towards me. My beliefs didn't matter when a leader needed to step up, they didn't matter when we were in the backcountry of New Mexico for 12 days, and they sure didn't matter when I was with my fellow scouts at the National Order of the Arrow Conference. Religion is a touchy subject, which unfortunately has been intertwined into patriotism. I may not profess a belief in a god or gods but I do feel our government needs to provide to its citizens, that we all need to be active in the political process. There is a difference between doing ones duty to "God and Country" to one doing their duty to their "Country." I'm more of a patriot for standing up for my freedom of religion, and I thank the Scouts for giving me the leadership training and the courage to stand up to the wrongs in their own organization.
As for the separate issue of Gays in scouting, I'll keep my discussion of this brief. I do not know a single person who will stop and ask a person for their sexual orientation before receiving help or aid. None, Period. James Dale, Tim Curran, and others are scouts who went through the program with no problems or issues with their leaders, their problems didn't develop until their sexual orientation came to light. Gays in scouting has been a subject that I really don't focus on too much as it was one of the differences that we had with the ACLU, they wanted to mix the cases, we decided to go it alone on the state Unruh act under Religion.
So to conclude this post, I can say the greatest amount of Bulls*** that one can spout is that Scouting will suffer if Atheists/Agnostics are allowed in. It didn't, it still exists, it's still here. I earned 26 merit badges, was selected to the Order of the Arrow by my fellow peers, attended both Philmont and the National Order of the Arrow Conference and Scouting is still here. My only regret is that I was not able to open up the organization to all, to give the same opportunities that my brother and I fought for to others.
The fight will continue, there are still cases in Berkley and my brother is going through law school, with me soon to follow.
I'm upholding the Scout oath and law everyday in my life, one does not need religion to do so.
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This is post number 400. Gee, I can't believe I have that much stuff on here. It will make great book material someday.
