Many Americans, even those who are not affiliated with the program, can tick off many of the basic tenets of being a Boy Scout.
Scouts, the creed goes, are loyal, trustworthy, reverent, brave, helpful, courteous as well as a half-dozen other sound, character-strengthening traits.
Yet one thing Boy Scouts have not had to be, since 2019, are boys. That year, the organization ended more than a century of all-male segregation by admitting girls.
That came four years after an initial step to the left: dropping the ban on openly gay Scout troop leaders.
The leftward drift continues, now that, as of last month, those Scout qualities will include being woke.
Writing at the conservative website The Federalist, Spencer Lindquist, who became an Eagle Scout in 2018, noted that as of Nov. 1 the requirements for Eagle, as of 2022, now include earning a “Citizenship in Society” merit badge.
The Scouts explained in a press release that this badge “encourages Scouts to explore important topics around diversity, equity, inclusion, and ethical leadership and learn why these qualities are important in society and in Scouting.”
The merit badge illustrates the Scouts’ “commitment to promoting diversity, equity and inclusion” and will help participants “understand the diverse world we live in.”
Lindquist, citing his own “lived experience” as a Scout, noted that “at a surface glance, the merit badge may not appear particularly controversial, despite using the rebranded language of critical race theory.”
“One of the requirements simply implores Scouts to ‘Consider ethical decision making.’ Another tells them to discuss ‘what you can personally do to create a welcoming environment in your Scouting unit.’ There’s even a notable lack of conversation about race, gender, white privilege, oppression, or any of the critical race theory buzzwords,” he added.
“It might feel refreshing, he admitted.
“But don’t take that sigh of relief just yet.”
Lindquist said the Critical Race Theory devil hiding in the details is found in the guidebooks provided to adult troop leaders who will steer the potential Eagles.
That guide “reveals the radicalism of the ideologies of those who worked to make this a requirement for prospective Eagle Scouts,” he wrote.
“He pointed out one source is a podcast called “All My Relations,” which “focuses on the Native American experience” and features episodes such as “Decolonizing Sex,” “Celebrate Indigenous Peoples, Not Columbus,” and “Indigiqueer.”
“Flag folding is so last year,” Lindquist observed. “What we really need are Eagle Scouts who understand the Native American LGBT sexual experience!”
Another guide for the adult guides is from a group called Learning for Justice, which offers something called “White Anti Racism: Living the Legacy.” Lindquist wrote that it is a “transcription of a series of interviews that parrots the critical race theory talking points we’ve become all too familiar with.” The program is linked to the radical, ideologically divisive Southern Poverty Law Center, whose mission includes efforts to “dismantle white supremacy” and “strengthen intersectional movements.”
Lindquist noted that another resource is the “Guide to Allyship,” which encourages disciples to “transfer the benefits of your privilege to those who lack it” and to “amplify voices of the oppressed before your own.”
The guide’s talking points urge counselors to promote “diversity, equity, and inclusion” by initiatives such as “Offering diversity and inclusion training for BSA employees and volunteers,” and “Reviewing property names, events and insignia, in partnership with local councils, to ensure that symbols of oppression are not in use today or in the future.”
Lindquist wrote that unlike other merit badges the Citizenship in Society one does not come with its own book explaining its purpose and how to earn it.
“Scouts will be at the mercy of their individual counselor, a prospect that could either be a saving grace or doom children to nauseating lectures on intersectionality and privilege,” Lindquist argued.
In other words, the noble but rapidly dying tradition of scouting will soon mirror your typical college class lecture, corporate workforce development program, or Hollywood script.
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