BP

This is a story about Lord Baden-Powell, the Boy Scouts of America, being prepared and being your own policeman.

The Boy Scouts:

Bastion of maleness organized to provide passage into a sanctioned manhood. A guide providing the means to proper self-reliance, citizenship, physical fitness and devotion to God. With its roots in British colonial militarism, the Boy Scout movement was, at its inception, almost simultaneously launched in the United States based on its appeal as a system for instilling male youths with upstanding qualities.

Chief among these positive attributes (and perhaps the trigger for the institution's export to the U.S.) is the predisposition towards performing good deeds free of charge. The lure of fun and adventure is used to draw in candidates which are provided with a uniform and indoctrinated into the way of the Scout which includes training in spirit (the ideals, laws and traditions of Scouting), participation (tasks within the club and without, including means for advancement in rank or position) and craft (which can include any number of activities that can be somehow, if even remotely, related to the club/organization or its mission).

Progress within the organization is achieved through completion of praiseworthy tasks which are detailed in elaborate manuals and overseen by masters or counselors (positions which are normally held by parental figures). Manuals and handbooks are of utmost importance within the Scouting organization because they contain the sanctioned rules and goals for achieving the ideal male life. The end goal of the organization's use of romantic ideals, male comraderie, and strict adherence to physical, emotional and intellectual training is the production of a good citizen.

"...this Handbook represents the experiences of many people - experts in Scouting and experts in technical lines. It is written for the boys of the nation. It is our hope that it will inspire you and help you to be watchful for opportunities to help other people, to be tolerant and respectful of the rights of others, to be courageous and self-reliant - in other words, to be a good American."

HANDBOOK FOR BOYS, Boy Scouts of America, 1948 p.vi

NOTE: [Scouting, at present, is available to heterosexual males who believe in God.]