Boy Scouts Ruling

Re “Scouting Report: Be Prepared for the Worst,” by Mike Downey, March 25: The founders of scouting specifically included “duty to God” and “A scout is reverent” in the requirements. Living a religious life is considered to be part of the character of the model scout. Scouting also promotes “traditional values.” This is why a person who identifies himself by his sexuality cannot serve as a leader. The New Jersey ruling is a lower court’s, the same as the faulty ruling of the California lower court. I’m sure that the higher court will overturn.

Scouting develops a particular character (as defined by scouts) by using outdoor activities and challenges as tools. Learning outdoorsmanship is not an end, it is a means to an end. The Randalls simply were not mature enough to become the men that scouting tries to develop. The father just wanted to make a name for himself.

JIM BUSSE

Rancho Palos Verdes

* It was with great sadness that I read of the California Supreme Court’s ruling that, as a private organization, the Boy Scouts may exclude agnostics, atheists and gays from membership. In the late 1950s I was an enthusiastic member of a scout troop in a blue-collar neighborhood in Chicago. Meeting each week in a public park field house, the troop’s leaders were the committed policeman, firemen, waitresses and metalworkers who made up the community.

Whatever pronouncements they might receive from the national headquarters, it is hard for me to imagine these sensible people picking and choosing which of the neighborhood’s kids could become troop members based on religious doctrine or bedroom activities.

DAVID AXELROD

Los Angeles

* When I became an Eagle Scout 25 years ago, I was taught the importance of accepting the lifestyles and beliefs of others. The lesson being taught in scouting today seems to be intolerance toward others. I find this change of direction disheartening. Imagine the confusion and disillusionment of pre-teenagers when they discover that their family’s religious convictions, or lack thereof, preclude them from joining their friends and classmates in the Boy Scouts.

If the Boy Scouts hope to prosper in the future, they must open their hearts and minds to those who have differing beliefs. A strong religious conviction is not a prerequisite for strong moral character.

RICHARD PLAVETICH

Laguna Beach

* In the past, the Boy Scouts of America has displayed questionable moral judgment through policies of racial segregation and, in the case of Japanese Americans, outright exclusion in the aftermath of World War II. Gays and atheists are simply the latest recipients of this historically persistent prejudice.

It’s time to recognize the Boy Scouts for the organization it really is: an institution that preaches moral rectitude, but, through example, teaches our youth to discriminate against any member of society that doesn’t measure up to its limited standards. Instead of clamoring for inclusion into this unhealthy environment, our time would be better served by creating new organizations that teach our youth the true meaning of morality, character and fair play.

TIM OLSEN

Los Angeles