Boy Scouts Should Be More Tolerant

Reading about the Randall twins March 24 and their battle to do good works within the Boy Scouts under their agnostic religious standard raises memories of my call to service as a Girl Scout leader 22 years ago.

I am an agnostic, and I was morally offended by exclusionary practices of the local Scout troop.

What led me to leadership was the fact that the co-leaders of my daughter’s troop excluded girls whose mothers did not take on a troop support job. Girls were being left out because their mothers’ heavy work schedules precluded participation.

It was hard to fathom, for these were the girls who most needed the association and activities of Scouting.

I took the leadership training and started a second troop where parent participation was encouraged but was not a requirement for Girl Scout participation.

I placed emphasis on achievement through badge skills, community service, leadership skills and teamwork. I would have preferred to revise the oath with a version that would promote love and acceptance of classmates and neighbors regardless of religion, race or ethnicity, but we all said the oath and practiced principles of getting along.

It is high time for a new organization that is truly secular but devoted to principles that nurture children and teens with an eye to self-reliance, community service and healthy interpersonal relationships.

Sports provide good opportunities for teamwork, and churches often provide community service opportunities, but we must work on tolerance, understanding and acceptance of various religions and cultures.

The Boy Scouts have shown themselves to be an organization that cannot provide leadership that fosters mutual understanding. They have lost their moral compass.

R. HEALY

Huntington Beach