By Max Feiler
"A Scout is Trustworthy, Loyal, Helpful, Friendly, Courteous, Kind, Obedient, Cheerful, Thrifty, Brave, Clean, and Reverent" The Scout Law is one of the fundamentals of the Boy Scouts of America. But what does it mean? To each scout, it means something different To me, each of the 12 points means something separate. However, all of the points are connected somehow.
Trust is something that is a must have for a scout To me, a scout must be a person who can be relied upon, even if he does not know, or even like, the person in need of help. Also, it means that a scout must be able to tell the truth at all times, even if it will hurt somebody he knows or himself. He must do what is best for the whole, not for himself.
A scout must be loyal. He must obey the exact commands or rules of a superior or wherever he may be. In order for a scout to advance and make his way up the ranks, he must not cheat or cut corners. He must follow the beaten path at all times with no shortcuts around obstacles. Also, he must be loyal to his patrol, as a Scout or as Patrol Leader. He must always have a dedication to his patrol, no matter how much they dislike it
Being helpful is rule number one in Scouting. As a Boy Scout, you must be helpful to everybody. You must be at hand 24/7 in order to help the in need. If there is a man struggling to carry his groceries, you go help him. If there is an elderly woman having trouble walking around, you go help her and escort her.
A scout must be friendly. This coincides with being helpful. A Scout must always be a nice person and treat everyone with respect He cannot be disrespectful
to anybody and respect others. He must also not turn anybody down if they need something. Also, there must be no demoting gestures or language towards others.
Being courteous has the same meaning as respect, but there is a minor plot twist involved. Along with being respectful, there must be class and honor along with it Say a scout is talking as a guest somewhere. He would have to show some class with himself in order to gain full respect I think that this is one of the most important parts of the Scout Law.
A Scout must be kind. It is like being friendly, but there is a small difference. The scout does not necessarily need to like the person. Kindness shows that you are being respectful and nice, while with friendly you act like best pals with the other person.
Of course, a scout must be obedient I see it as a sub-category of loyal. It is the following the rules part of being loyal. A scout must always obey the rules, even if he does not agree with them. He shall not complain or whine, but just except the conditions and move on.
Cheerful is a major point that affects all other points. If a scout is cheerful, he is making everybody else around him feel at ease. Also, a scout must be cheerful in order to do certain parts of the Scout Law. In order to be friendly, he must be cheerful. In order to be respectful and obedient, a scout must be in a good mood. It is an extremely necessary, yet commonly overlooked, point of the scout law.
A scout must be thrifty on his part He must be smart on what he does and how he does diem. Perhaps a scout brings $100 on a campout Sure, he can buy a lot of goodies. But does he necessarily need to buy $100 worth of camp goodies? A scout must know when enough is enough, and he must be smart to not fall into any traps or snags that may tempt him along the way.
A scout needs to be brave. However, I have a different definition than what most people may use. I see brave as doing something completely new and unknown, but being smart about it Some people may call going into a cave with a mother black bear in it brave. I just see that as stupid. Being brave, to me, means to do something new and different, but also being smart about it
Being clean is a very important to a scout I feel that the cleaner a scout is, the better he feels. It is then easier for him to become cheerful, and then he is able to carry out the rest of the scout law. Hygiene is key to a scouts life, and it is all the better when there is a lack of body odor.
Reverence is a key point in the Scout Law. If you are reverent, you are more at ease. A scout who has a relationship with his spiritual side has better results in my experience. You feel a little more eased and calm. Then you feel less stressed out and are able to keep your focus on the objective at hand.
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