Where Men and Heroes are Made

If you saw or heard any news today you know about the tornado that hit a Boy Scout camp in Iowa.  You know that four Boy Scouts died.  You also know that many of those Boy Scouts who did not die ended up being heroes.

The loss of the four boys was tragic and I don’t want to gloss over or take away from that in any way.  But in my mind the larger story is the boys who were heroes.  The news media isn’t missing that point but they aren’t taking it to its logical conclusion.

There have certainly been boys who were not Boy Scouts who ended up being heroes.  But who seriously believes that if the same events that occurred in Iowa had occurred in some other kind of camp than a Boy Scout camp the same heroic actions by boys would have happened?  I don’t believe that and I suspect most other people don’t either.

The actions of those Boy Scouts illustrates just what a fantastic organization the Boy Scouts of America really is.  People have, of course, known that for decades and longer but in recent years it has become fashionable to attack the Boy Scouts of America.  Organizations such as The United Way have withheld funding for the Boy Scouts.  Cities like San Francisco have tried their best to run the Boy Scouts out of town.  In locale after locale the Boy Scouts have been denied meeting space.  They’ve been sued and hounded relentlessly.  And through it all they’ve remained true to their principles.  They exist to teach boys how to be men.

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