Boy Scouts Impact On Society

On June 28, 2000, the Supreme Court ruled in a 5-4 ruling that the Boy Scouts of America could prohibit gay men and boys from gaining membership. This case came about when James Dale, assistant Scoutmaster to Troop 73 of New Jersey, was notified that his adult membership to the Boys Scouts of America was revoked based on the fact that his sexual orientation was viewed as inconsistent with the Boy Scouts of America’s values by Monmouth Council Executive, James Kay.

There is one thing that President Gerald R. Ford; the first man on the moon, Neil Armstrong; filmmaker Steven Spielberg and I all have in common. We are all Eagle Scouts. Since 1911, there have been more than one million Boy Scouts that have earned the rank of Eagle Scout, the highest rank advancement in Scouting. However, only about two and a half percent of ALL Boy Scouts have achieved the rank of Eagle Scout. It is a very long path, but one that is well worth the journey.

There are many examples of things and groups that are different in appearance but have similarities in how they are made up. Two of these groups are Boy Scouts and street gangs. Although the Boy Scouts are a constructive organization and street gangs are generally quite destructive, they have practices that are similar. Both sell different products, have some sort of role for the women that are involved, and have some sort of rank system.

All across America, young men join together in a special organization called the Boy Scouts of America. Scouts from 1st grade to seniors in high school work toward a common goal: growing up into a functional, mature citizen and leader of the United States. I joined this great organization in 2006 as a Wolf Cub Scout and rose through the ranks to get into Boy Scouts in 2010. I didn’t know what to expect from such a widely popular, military-like group. Will I get pushed to my limit? How much can Scouts impact me? Is Cub Scouts like what others say?

When my grandfather earned his Eagle Scout Rank in 1933, he unknowingly began what would become a family tradition that has helped mold my personal perspective today. He ignited a passion for Boy Scouts within my family, which continued through my father, and was fulfilled by me when I earned the Rank of Eagle in 2014. Scouting formed me into the person I am today more so than any other activity I have ever been involved with, reinforcing my family’s emphasis on leadership, service, and work ethic.

This case deals with the Plaintiff's expulsion from his position as Assistant Scoutmaster in a Boy Scouts of America (henceforth called "BSA") troop due to his status as an active homosexual. Dale, the Plaintiff, was serving as an Assistant Scoutmaster in 1990, when, due to a local newspaper article, it was discovered by officials in the local Monmouth BSA Council that he was an active homosexual. A letter was sent to Dale by the Council, notifying him of their decision to revoke his membership in the organization. Dale sent a letter in response, asking why this action was taken. The Council then notified Dale that his homosexual activities made him ineligible for membership in the BSA, as well as making

The Kentucky YMCA is a big part of my life. The first thing that I learned when I joined was that people at the Y promote four core values. These are Respect, Responsibility, Honesty, and Caring. These words have been seared into my brain by constant repetition and reminders. I never was conscious of these values until I saw them in work during a program they call Y Corps. This program is a large community service program that goes on 6 different service trips over the summer around Kentucky, the northern states, and the southern states. I had the privilege of going on the trip to the south. I realized that I was seeing these values be acted out by 27 high school students that were nothing special yet incredibly important all at once. I realized

The case study stated that members would start when they were very young and lose interest after a few years. So one of the things Scouts Canada had to do was find a way to retain them past those few years. The reason why Scouts Canada faced its loss of potential members was because they failed to understand their market segments. They could not tailor their product or ‘membership’ so that it

primary cause of being a grand person to society. For these reasons, I chose to

In YMCA the growth and development is very important. Youth participation has grown tremendously. It is now grown to 200,000. YMCA is opened on so many places in New York City. Their staff continues to exceed the performance and targets to bring positive culture. The goal for YMCA is “to focus the priorities and goals more on the people and they serve and less on the institution” (The YMCA, n.d., p. 1).

My Supreme Court case is Boy Scouts of America v. Dale which took place in early 2000. James Dale was a member of the Boy Scouts and was in fact an Eagle Scout who got his membership to the Boy Scouts of America revoked when they found out that Dale was a homosexual and gay rights activist. Dale had been a boy scout his whole life, and happened to be an assistant scout master in New Jersey at the time that his membership was revoked. Basically this case was questioning whether or not an organization can be forced to accept a member into their home if their beliefs and daily manners go against the heart and sole nature of the organization.

When thinking of Boy Scouts and Football, two completely different images pop into someones head with both programs seemingly to have little to no crossover. Yet despite differences such as the goals of the organization and what is expected of an individual, Boy Scouts and Footballs structures are very similar in ways such as the responsibilities adults have, how people are grouped, and these groups interactions with other groups. Obviously Boy Scouts and Football have many differences, with one of them being the goals of each organization. When Lord Baden Powell first published Scouting for Boys in 1907, he originally intended it to help instruct young boys in reconnaissance and scouting. Today as scouting has spread to over 200 countries, their goal has shifted to support young people in their development mentally, physically, and spiritually.

If an organization had over three million members, you would expect for them to be accepting of all who wanted to join. Not in the case of Boy Scouts of America who revoked the membership of a homosexual scout member James Dale. Dale was a boy scout for ten years and earned one of the highest badges a Boy Scout could receive, an Eagle Scout Badge. In 1989, Dale applied to become an Adult Leader and got accepted as an Assistant Scoutmaster, but was discharged sixteen months later, because he was a homosexual. This happened shortly after he had spoken out on gay and lesbian teen health and psychological issues.

Secondly, some of the time I spent in Boy Scouts, while working to earn my Eagle Scout rank, served to simultaneously strengthen both my faith and my sense of morality. Although, Boy Scouts is mindful not to advance any religious beliefs onto anyone, the organization does provide, for those who wish to practice their faith, opportunities to do so within scouting. For example, Boy Scouts offers a Duty to God program where upon completion I earned a patch recognizing that I had worked to further strengthen my faith. In addition, while quite a bit of influence from Christianity can be observed in some elements of Boy Scouts, such as in the Scout Oath with doing one’s duty to God and the Scout Law with a scout always being reverent, Boy Scouts

The Boy Scouts of America and the Girls Scouts of the USA are both nonprofit organizations that can be the most wonderful experiences in one’s life. Being a Boy Scout or Girl Scout can help the youth develop maturity and character, as they grow with age and enter adulthood. Through the process of volunteering and showing leadership skills, Boy Scouts of America and Girls Scouts of the USA are both life-changing organizations. One involved in any of the two organizations will create unity throughout their community and uphold a legacy. While the youth involved in one of the two organizations earn achievements and countless awards, scouting can be utilized to create an exceptional college admission resume. Although the Girls Scouts of the