Why The Boy Scouts Are Wrong

The proudest accomplishment of my life to date has been receiving my Eagle Scout award. In my eyes, this was even more of an accomplishment than graduating college. Millions of people graduate. Quite a few deal with similar issues that I did on my path.

Not very many can call themselves an Eagle Scout.

Most of the lessons we learned in Scouts have been able to transfer into our everyday lives. It’s more than just dodgeball and merit badges and camping; Scouts are about growing as a person and being a better man because of it.

As I look back, though, there’s one thing the Boy Scouts taught me that I really don’t agree with. We always had a motto when we camped, stating “Leave No Trace”. We were always taught to leave the site as undisturbed as we possibly could, so that animals or someone else could come along right after we’d left and never have known we were there.

I understand it’s an environmental analogy, but I don’t like it as a life lesson. We shouldn’t be striving to be as invisible as possible. Rather, we should be doing everything possible to ensure a better future for the generations that will follow us.

Am I reaching? Maybe. But this is my blog, and I get to do what I want.