A Matter of Character
Julian E. Barnes at the Wall Street Journal reports that Robert Gates—Secretary of Defense and a former Eagle Scout himself—spoke to more than 45,000 Scouts at the Boy Scout Jamboree at Fort AP Hill — just outside Washington, D.C.–the other day.
Quoting Walter Lippman, Gates said he sees daily “the disaster of the character of men” and “the catastrophe of the soul.”
He went on to explain that he was not referring to the Boy Scouts.
Gates praised Scouting for pushing young people into the wilderness to learn both about nature and self reliance. He also said the Boy Scout’s great contribution was encouraging public service. “The scouting movement shows dramatically that service, public service, still beckons the best among us to do battle with complacency, neglect, intolerance, and the emptiness of the spirit that are the common enemies of social peace and justice,” he said.
President Obama had been invited to speak at the Jamboree—this one especially important because it marks the Boy Scouts 100th year—but he did not attend. He was in New York taping his appearance on The View. All of his predecessors have attended at least one Jamboree.
Last week at a Dairy Queen in Virginia, I ran into some Scouts from Florida on their way to the Jamboree. Troop 225—I know because their troop number was shaved into their hair.
Great kids they were– as Master Yoda would say.
