Open Season on Boy Scouting

Per Michelle Malkin:

A San Francisco liberal compares the Boy Scouts to Hamas jihadists-in-training (scroll down to the fifth letter).
But don't question her patriotism!
Hat tip: Reader Daniel G.
Update: More Bay Area Boy Scout-bashing spotted.

Okay. I’ve had it.

Boy Scouting and Girl Scouting are an important part of my family’s life. Shoot, Hubs and I met while chaperoning a Sea Scout Bridge and Ball. And I am sick and tired of the Loony Left taking potshots at an organization they do not understand.

There was a time in the mid-1800’s- early 1900’s when some people looked around, saw a need, and—to borrow a phrase from Henry J. Kaiser—filled it. They did this on their own, without sanction, permission, or funds from the government, using their own time, talent, and—very often—their treasure. Or the treasure of other like-minded individuals. From these individuals came organizations like the American Red Cross (Clara Barton), the YMCA, the YWCA, Campfire Girls (Dr. & Mrs. Luther Gulick), the 4-H (A.B. Graham), and, yes, the Boy Scouts of American (Daniel Beard, Ernest Thompson Seton, and William D. Boyce) and the Girl Scouts of the USA (Juliette Gordon Lowe).

Now the Looney Left want to dismantle these organizations. They do not want to replace them—oh, no, that would take Work. Commitment. Money. It’s much easier to "tweak" an organization that doesn’t fit your criteria so that it becomes closer to what you think it should be and bears no resemblance to its previous self. Will it serve the needs of the community it was originally designed for? Who cares? The goal is to make sure it is “politically correct” and completely inoffensive, not that it works. (An example would be our public schools.)

If Steven Spielberg is so upset with the Boy Scout policy on gay leadership, then he should start an alternative program. You’re an Eagle Scout, Steven! Use your leadership skills and put your money where your mouth is! Ted Kennedy has a couple of nice compounds—one in Hyannisport and one in Florida—that his dad bought with ill-gotten gains. Maybe Ted could donate them for campgrounds for gay youth, instead of for chasing nubile and naïve girls. The camps could be named “Kamp Kopechne.”

George Soros is trying to buy the Democratic Party—he might have better luck if he started his indoctrination process young. Call the group the “Soros Sitizens for Society” (don’t worry about the spelling—it’s a lost art as far as kids are concerned). Barbara Streisand can donate one of her estates so that transgendered youth have a safe place to stay to learn how to be the gender they’ve always wanted to be.

Just leave my Boy Scouts and my Girl Scouts alone, thankyouverymuch.

While I don't agree with all the policy decisions either organization has made, I happen to believe in Duty to God, Duty to Country, Duty to Family, Duty to Self. I think being loyal, trustworthy, cheerful, brave, thrifty, responsible for myself and others, a sister to every Girl Scout, etc., etc., are worthy ideals. They are values I try to live by and want my children to live by. That Scouting also offers opportunities not easily available for my children in other venues is entirely due to the hard work of the adults involved. There is no magic. And it's true of all organizations that serve youth: Little League, Babe Ruth, Pop Warner, youth soccer, children's theater. Adults are in charge. Adults donate a lot of time, energy, and money to make these experiences happen. If you don't like what you see, create your own. But be prepared--it's not easy being a Leader.