The boy scouts organization complained Thursday that President Donald Trump’s July 24 jamboree speech was too political, only six months after its progressive leadership suddenly redefined boyhood to include “transgender” girls.
‘I want to extend my sincere apologies to those in our Scouting family who were offended by the political rhetoric that was inserted into the jamboree,” said a statement from Michael Surbaugh, the chief scout executive for the Boy Scouts of America. He continued:
That was never our intent. The invitation for the sitting U.S. President to visit the National Jamboree is a long-standing tradition that has been extended to the leader of our nation that has had a Jamboree during his term since 1937. It is in no way an endorsement of any person, party or policies.
The apology was prompted by widespread complaints from anti-Trump parents and groups about the president’s rambunctious speech, during which the huge crowd of youths chanted “We Love Trump.” Some progressives complained the speech looked like a ‘Hitler Youth” rally, effectively describing American scouts as young Nazis.
Boy Scouts chant "We love Trump!!" during president's speech to Jamboree pic.twitter.com/xorHPmpZiZ
— Charlie Spiering (@charliespiering) July 24, 2017
For you to plead that the BSA is non-political is a sham. The bending to poltiical will of the various activist groups in the change of membership policy and leadership policy several years ago demosntrates the BSA is very political…or you just cared more about corporate dollars than what had been a long standing policy. Trump gave a marvelous spech….I heard it…and then I read it… To whom are you really serving these days?
For years, people have called upon us to take a position on political issues, and we have steadfastly remained non-partisan and refused to comment on political matters. We sincerely regret that politics were inserted into the Scouting program.
He also insisted the focus of the boy scouts organization has not changed:
the focus of Scouting remains the same today as every day. Trustworthiness, loyalty, kindness and bravery are just a few of the admirable traits Scouts aspire to develop – in fact, they make up the Scout Oath and Scout Law.
In fact, Surbaugh has helped to flip the core mission of the boy scouts organization from a focus on helping boys to mature into self-reliant, confident and patriotic men, towards the tasks of marketing progressive claims to teenagers boys.
In January, for example, after a few weeks of secret debate by its corporate-dominated governing board, Surbaugh accepted and established the progressive claim that boys’ biology is not a guide to their sex, character, or adulthood life. That message was built into his announcement that anyone can join the boy scouts if they claim to have a male “gender identity,” regardless of their biology. He said:
We and others have recently been challenged by a very complex topic on the issue of ‘gender identity.’ For more than 100 years, the BSA, along with schools, sports and other youth organizations ultimately deferred to the information on an individual’s birth certificate to determine eligibility for, and participation in, many programs, especially single-gender programs.
After weeks of significant conservations at all levels of our organization, we realized that referring to birth certificates as the reference point is no longer sufficient. Communities and state laws are now interpreting ‘gender identity’ differently than society did in the past, and these new laws vary widely from state to state.
Starting today, we will accept registration in our scouting programs based on the gender identity provided on an individual’s application.
In July 2015, the scouting organization also ditched its original focus on helping young boys mature into fathers by accepting scout leaders who say they are gay. That acceptance effectively endorsed the progressive demand that homosexuality should get the same level of social status as heterosexuality.
The 2015 decision was welcomed by pro-gay groups as a gain in social status: “For decades, the Boy Scouts of America’s ban on gay adults has stood as a towering example of explicit, institutional homophobia in one of America’s most important and recognizable civic organizations … it is difficult to overstate the importance of today’s announcement,” said a statement by a group called “Scouts for Equality.”
The scouting group’s board is dominated by progressive-leaning corporate executives, including Randall Stephenson, CEO of AT&T, which is now lobbying against a Texas bill to protect the sexual privacy of K-12 kids, amid pressure by transgender groups to allow boys into girls’ bathroom and shower facilities. “CEOs and top executives from more than a dozen major Dallas-based corporations — including American Airlines, AT&T and BNSF Railway — delivered letters to [GOP leaders] decrying the bathroom bill as a proposal that would “seriously hurt the state’s ability to attract new businesses, investments and jobs,” according to the Texas Tribune.
Some of the scout leaders are eager to ditch evolved and proven social practices. For example, Gregory Nelson, the Mountain Bike program director at Boy Scouts of America, posted this May 2016 progressive message on the organization’s website:
I endorse the recent changes. We have no business taking any position on sexuality. We are not anti-gay or pro-gay. We have no position. There is no Sex Merit Badge. The true conservatives always knew that Scouting should not be in the business of ruling on human sexuality. We got rid of a position that put us squarely in one camp. a camp we had no business being in. Now we are out of the judging game. Thank God! Now lets go back to being the School of the Wilderness instead of the school of sexual morality. If someone asks if we are pro-gay, we have no position either way. We let others deal with that one. We are too busy creating better people.
The leftward lurch of the scouting organization has spurred much criticism and the creation of a rival organization. According to Todd Starnes, a host of Fox News & Commentary:
The adult leadership of the BSA has allowed the organization to become a playground for the gender and sex revolutionaries. In January, the BSA sacrificed its last vestige of integrity on the altar of political correctness by allowing girls who identify as boys to join scout troops.
And where was the BSA leadership when the Mainstream Media compared the president’s speech to a Hitler Nazi Youth speech?
So spare us the righteous indignation, Mr. Surbaugh.
I would urge every parent with a child in the Boy Scouts to consider an alternative scouting organization – Trail Life USA. Trail Life is a faith-based scouting program that stands on a firm foundation.
There was a time when the Boy Scouts of America taught young boys and young men to make moral and ethical decisions. But those days are long gone.
To watch the President’s speech, click here.
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