As you are well aware, Barack Obama is now the President Elect of the United States of America. No matter how you looked at the election, it was going to be historic. If the Republican candidates won the election, America would have its first female Vice President. If the Democrat candidates won the election, America would have its first African-American President.
Now that we know who the next President of the United States will be, we can ponder other questions, like whether or not Barack Obama will become the next Honorary President of the Boy Scouts of America. While some Scouts and Scouters assume this is an automatic designation, it is not. According to Section 9 “Honorary Officers” of Article IV of the Boy Scouts of America By Laws:
Honorary President and Vice-Presidents
Clause 1. The President of the United States may, during term of office, be elected to be the Honorary President of the Boy Scouts of America. In addition, living former Presidents of the United States and other citizens who have rendered distinguished service to our country through work for young people may be elected to be honorary vice-presidents. Such election shall be by the Executive Board upon the recommendation of the Nominating Committee for such terms as the Executive Board shall specify.
Taking a look at the past, every President since William Taft has taken on the title of Honorary President. President Taft accepted the position to “thus sustain a similar relation to the movement as does King George V to a similar movement in England.” President Taft was quoted:
“I am very glad to give my sympathy and support to such a movement as this. Anything that directs the boy’s spirit in the right channel for usefulness and for the making of manly men should be encouraged.”
Assuming the BSA Executive Board elects Barack Obama to be the Honorary President of the Boy Scouts of America after he takes office, it is up to Mr. Obama to accept the position. While there were reports that Mr. Obama was involved with Scouting as a youth, it wasn’t with the Boy Scouts of America, but rather with the Gerakan Pramuka (the national Scouting organization of Indonesia).
If President-Elect Obama follows tradition he will be part of the largest celebration the Boy Scouts of America has ever seen. He will help the organization celebrate its 100th Anniversary and address the crowd at the 2010 National Boy Scout Jamboree.
We know that his Vice President, Joe Biden, is Cub Scout friendly, but Mr. Obama hasn’t really mentioned his thoughts on the Boy Scouts and their role in this great country.
Do you think President-Elect Obama will be the next Honorary President of the Boy Scouts of America?
Popularity: 7% [?]
November 5th, 2008 at 12:48 pm
I think so. Especially because Obama’s biggest background of note is as a community organizer I think he’ll look favorably on the BSA. He organized poor black neighborhoods and BSA has partnered with the NAACP to do the same thing. It sounds like an easy fit to me.
November 5th, 2008 at 2:59 pm
I wouldn’t be so quick to assume Mr. Obama will accept. He’s a Democrat, and we all remember how the Democrats treated the Boy Scout color guard at the 2000 Democratic Convention.
Some (many?) Democrats oppose the Boy Scouts because of our membership policies; I believe some tried to get Bill Clinton to renounce his honorary presidency of BSA back in the 90s. Its a fact that some Democrats wanted to renounce Congress’ charter of BSA.
Even if Obama looks favorably on the Boy Scouts, I wouldn’t put it past his advisers and other Democrats to counsel him to decline the honorary presidency of BSA.
November 5th, 2008 at 10:46 pm
Personally I’m not sure…
I hope he is supportive, although I’m a little nervous. While I’m sure from his past that he supports our outreach efforts, the membership policy will be a hard point to sell. I have the same problem when I talk Scouting with my Social Work Colleagues.
November 6th, 2008 at 11:37 am
Considering that Obama describes both his parents as atheists/unbelievers in his books, he might not consider an organization that would reject both his parents as an organization he should support.
November 10th, 2008 at 2:48 pm
I personnaly hope he is NOT the Honorary President of the BSA. It make me sick that my son would have his liberal signature on his Eagle Card when he makes Eagle this summer. We should not even ask him to have the position.
November 11th, 2008 at 10:41 pm
No, I don’t thing obama will except the job.. It goes against his upbringing.
We’ll have to wait and see.
November 12th, 2008 at 2:06 pm
Wow, Dave M. You’re a selfish man. If you feel so strongly against President Obama signing your son’s Eagle Card, then you should simply forbid your son from attaining Eagle rank if Obama is indeed Honorary President of the BSA. That would not only keep his signature off the card, but would also allow you to put your words into action. But I doubt that your convictions are as strong as you like to think.
November 12th, 2008 at 2:44 pm
Personally I hope that President-elect Obama declines the BSA honorary presidency. It makes me sick that a group that discriminates against people because of religious affiliation would even think that there should be a link the government, as the government believes in the equality of all people, whether or no they believe in a particular religion of belief. It is simply sickening to think that the government would consider having any affiliation with the BSA let alone having the President be an honorary chair of the group.
November 12th, 2008 at 6:57 pm
I was an Eagle Scout, and my card was signed by Reagan. I would much rather have had Obama sign it, but having said that, I hope he turns down the position on principle. He has campaigned on the promise of change and inclusiveness, yet the BSA continues to discriminate against atheist and gay Americans. Yes, they have that right, as does any other private organization, but then need to honorably withdraw from all publicly supported venues. Obama needs to learn his black BSA history http://www.aaregistry.com/african_american_history/2781/The_Black_Boy_Scout_a_history___ before he jumps in for the sake expediency, like he did with his presidential campaigns in throwing gay American equality under the bus. But, I suspect he will take the job because it is politically correct.
November 14th, 2008 at 12:14 pm
I found this site cruizen google.
Any-who I found a huge list of eagle scout projects on http://www.scoutchief.com
-PS I’m an Eagle Scout
November 17th, 2008 at 1:26 pm
I don’t know for certain whether he would or not, but I think it would be wonderful if he didn’t. It would be a clear way to send a message to a discriminatory organization that their bigotry has no place in this country.
I’m the atheist who helps fund scout activities via my taxes.
December 2nd, 2008 at 12:48 am
I, too, AM an Eagle Scout (I don’t use the past tense term “was”)and I hope that President-elect Obama declines the position of Honorary President. What was once a fine organization has been hijacked by a band of right wing religious zealots who seek nothing more than to pervert the original tenets of Scouting to turn it into an discriminatory and exclusive organization. Furthermore, I hope Obama and Congress have the guts to strip their Federal charter as well for their discriminatory policies and make them find another place to hold their National Jamboree rather than Ft. AP Hill.
To the disgruntled person (Dave M) who is incensed that his son’s Eagle card will be signed by Obama. Maybe you ought to have him quit and “send a message” to Obama because you do not agree with his politics. What a great example that would be for his fellow Scouts showing that his dad wants him to “live” by the principles embodied in the Scout Oath and Law. Personally, I didn’t even vote for Obama but he is going to be the leader of the country and though I may not agree with him on all issues, he is going to be our President for the next four years.
But your behavior is what would be expected out of one who could not make it past the Bobcat rank. Definitely not worthy of calling themselves an EAGLE.
December 2nd, 2008 at 5:24 pm
I think it is shameful that we Americans would even be commenting on this subject. Barack Obama has been fairly elected by the people of the United States of America and should be treated with respect in regard to this honorary position as all other Presidents have in the past. President has been set. He should be offered the Honor and then it is totally up to him whether he accepts. I hope that he will embrace our organization for all the good it has achieved for 100 years. This petty bickering is what is wrong with our country. I find it inappropriate that Scouting News even opened such a discussion up.
United we stand divided we fall.
Scoutmaster,
Artie O’Neal
December 7th, 2008 at 10:50 am
Like many people here, I too am an Eagle Scout. I am agnostic and I have seen firsthand what the discriminatory practises of the BSA are. President-elect Obama campaigned on a platform of non-discrimination and change. I expect him to follow through on that promise. My card was signed by George Bush, perhaps the most bigoted man to have set foot in the Oval Office. To Mr O’Neal, I say that issues such as this must be discussed. I have much respect for scouting as I’ve been a scout for ten years, an Eagle scout for three of them. I attended the 21st World Scout Jamboree and represented the USA to the rest of the world. I have much respect for that philosophy that has directed my life.
As an agnostic, I am still moral and I still exemplify the values in the Scout Law, including reverence. Having no belief in a god does not prevent you from being moral. The BSA is essentially saying that you cannot be moral without being religious and if President-elect Obama accepts the seat of honorary president, he will have signed on with that position. I find this unconscionable and completely wrong for a man who has claimed to bring on tolerance and change. In a democracy such as ours, we must discuss ideas such as this, through the Internet if need be, for no issue is above us. The BSA whom claims be a fully American and patriotic organization, perpetrates the most un-American agenda of discrimination I have seen from a government-friendly group of people.
Eagle Scout,
Nathan Held
December 8th, 2008 at 7:27 pm
I am an Eagle Scout. Because I my lack of religious affiliation I would not be allowed to be a merit badge counselor, and because of my friendships with homosexuals I cannot stomach the prospect of being affiliated with the BSA except in the past. I can only hope that in the future, the BSA will realize that condoning discrimination was a terrible mistake and will apologize to all those discriminated against.
Mr. Obama should not accept the title, and no president who has taken the time to read the 14th Amendment should do so either.
December 22nd, 2008 at 10:37 pm
I was a boy scout and it was a very good experience for me - it instilled confidence, gave me leadership skills and I learned more practical knowledge from being a boyscout than I did in high school. I loved being a boy scout and took great pride in it - I supported BSA right up until they announced that being gay is not okay. Now I’m a straight guy, married with a family, and I don’t want my kids joining an organization that teaches/condones intolerance. A good part of being a boy scout is being respectful of others, even if they are different from you.
As a supporter of Barak Obama, I would be greatly disappointed it he accepted an honorary title in an exclusionary organization, and the BSA is exactly that.
An aside, I seem to recall from my time in the scouts that sexual orientation was not on the agenda. Engaging in any sexual activity (gay, straight, whatever) was grounds to be “uninvited” to the scouts.
To David M.: your irrational fear of liberals is remarkable. You would sabotage your son’s efforts at achievement to serve your vanity. You should be ashamed.
I think it’s important for former scouts to speak up on this issue.
December 23rd, 2008 at 12:34 pm
I am not gay or atheist and my years in scouting were some of the most
important in my life.
I think it is important for us former scouts to let everyone know that the ban on gays and atheist is not something that always existed in scouting but is a relatively new agenda of the BSA executive council, which is not elected by the BSA volunteer membership.
These days you frequently see some BSA scouters complaining that the BSA discrimination policies are criticized by “outsiders” with little or no knowledge of scouting life. This is far from the truth.
We did not have or need such policies during my years in scouting. I too hope that President Obama refuses the honorary title from the BSA.
Jim Hughes
Gig Harbor, WA
Eagle Scout, 1969
January 2nd, 2009 at 4:00 pm
If he does accept, which I believe he will, can I put white-out over Bush’s signature on my Eagle certificate and have Obama sign it instead? Or can I just get a new one? Having a war criminal’s autograph on my wall is getting real old.
January 5th, 2009 at 9:41 pm
Scouting has had a positive impact on African American communities in this country–I should know, I am just finishing a documentary film about it called 759: Boy Scouts of Harlem. You can view the trailer here: http://www.harlemscouts.com.
Obama will decide for himself but I believe he will see the tremendous value Scouting contributes to our country–
Justin Szlasa
Eagle Scout & director/producer
759: Boy Scouts of Harlem