Get Off My Honor!: The Assault on the Boy Scouts of America [Paperback]

 

 

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I am a 48 yr old Arrow of Light and Eagle Scout, Brotherhood member of the Order of the Arrow, current Den Leader and District Trainer, former Unit Commissioner and COPE Instructor, with approaching 20 years in the program. (Which only means I been around a while and may have something to say worth saying.)
I like much of what I read in this book.

1. I agree with Jay Malmstrom that Scouting is not and has never been a Christian organization. However, the BSA has _always_ insisted that all Scouts acknowledge a Higher Being. It does not have to be God as I understand God to be (a great relief to the Christian Scientists, I am sure.) Our Promise and our Law require at least a superficial statement of belief in this Higher Power and at least token participation in some form of religion. Let us not be carried away on the wings of conservative religio-political fervor. Scouting is not an Evangelical Christian nor Conservative Republican movement. It may, at times, share common goals with either, but it has room for my Jewish, Muslim, Hindu brothers and even Roman Catholic, Baptist, and Lutheran neighbors. The point is that with regard to faith, there is room in Scouting's big tent for all people of good will. However, militant Athiests have started to pick a fight with us. They would assert their right to be free of religion to the point that we who believe anything can no longer feel free to practice and discuss our faith in public.

2. Our disagreements over homosexuality are more complex than can be presented in a book such as this. Hans does as good a job as he can to lay out the issues. Reviewer Jay Malmstrom would draw the distiction "between homosexuality and pedophilism" and complain that the BSA is alone in it's confusion about the two. I would disagree, but it is beside the point. The bitter truth is that those men who sexually abuse boys are by definition homosexuals or bisexuals, even if most homosexuals are not pedophiles. Just as I would not have a troop of Girl Scouts go camping with a heterosexual man, I would not knowingly send a troup of boys camping with a homosexual. I AM disturbed when I hear people accuse the Scouts of thereby teaching hatred. (And I have often heard this.) I was never taught in Scouting to hate or to show disrespect to others. On the contrary, I was always taught to be friendly, courteous, kind, and cheerful towards others - to be helpful to those who needed help and not just the ones like me. Though I believe that homosexuality is wrong - I have friends who are homosexuals. If my friend called me in the middle of the night to say his car had broken down on the highway 50 miles away and could I come to get him, I would go get him if I could. I think he is wrong. He thinks I am wrong for thinking him wrong. We are friends and still struggle with each other to understand and be understood. We do not hate each other, even if I am intolerant on this issue regarding Scouting.

3. Our (Scouting's) alignment and entanglement with government and other public institutions is the result of a long process of working together to the benefit of all. Those who would force Scouts out of the public places they have used, served, and often maintained for many decades are naive. The value that Scouting offers the community is considerable. In 2004 our council officially recorded over 300,000 Hours of Community Service performed, 250,000 Pounds of Food collected during Scouting for Food Campaign, and over 3,000,000 Hours of good old-fashioned Camping. My Cub Scout Den (7 boys aged 9-10) did at least 70 hours of unreported service projects last year. Are they saying this program is bad because of our stand on religion and homosexuality? Then where are the Athiest and homosexual-freindly groups that are providing this level of service to our communities?

My biggest complaint about the book is it's "in-your-face" title and cover, which I feel is antagonistic. Now, I am not asking to build a bridge, that was not the purpose of the book, but the title is a bit harsh.

ALSO I felt it's conventional conservative viewpoint was a weakness. It is a classic apologetic(apologia or defence of one's beliefs, not apology) document and skillfully written. (No, I was not expecting "It Takes a Village"!) It marshals most, if not all, of the arguments we in Scouting have been kicking around for the last decade or so, and integrates them with the views of religious and social conservatives. Though written last year, it does not reflect the more recent failures of the Far Left, such as increasing United Way Support rather than dwindling to nothing. And while the last section on what we can do is interesting, I had hopes that there would be some spark from this new flint and steel that would light a fire to illuminate some of Scouting's critics. But I cannot fault Hans for failing to do what none of the rest of us has been able to accomplish.

Zeiger, a 19-year-old college student has done a splendid job of tracing the liberal assault on the Boy Scouts of America. He points out that all other scouting programs that have allowed themselves to be separated from the guiding principles and morals present when they were founded have floundered and ceased to be a dynamic force in building tomorrow's leaders out of today's youth. I love his references to Churchill on the place of Scouts in the future of Western Civilization.

The book is sobering in that it paints the stark reality that BSA programming is being injured because of the costs required to defend themselves on two simple matters of self-determinination, including reference to "God" in their motto.

I would almost get a little discouraged were it not for two facts: (a) Zeiger gives practical ways we can support the BSA and (b) the fact that an intelligent and articulate 19-year-old is sounding a clarion call for America to return to its moral roots in all areas of public life! Very encouraging.

In this wonderful book, author and Eagle Scout Hans Zeiger explores the Boy Scouts of America, their history and principles, and the assault that they have come under from the modern American Left. Now, this is not a scholarly and unbiased look at the Scouts. Instead, what it is is an impassioned defense of the Scouts and the ideals that they hold, ideals that are increasingly out of step with the modern world - ideals like loyalty and honor.

I must say, this is a great book, one that makes an excellent case for the Scouts. Indeed, the very fact that the BSA still turns out such well-reasoned and articulate young men as Mr. Zeiger is a source of great encouragement. If you are a supporter of the Boy Scouts, and want to read about them and the assault on them, then this is a great book to get. (Indeed, if you are a supporter of the Scouts, turn to the last chapter of this book, which includes seven things you can do to support them.) I highly recommend this book to everyone!

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5.0 out of 5 stars A Testament...
While I have to disagree with a lot said in this book. It is proof in the success of scouting that this young man can articulate his feelings into a book and feels so strongly... Read more

Published 4 months ago by Harry C. Riley

2.0 out of 5 stars This poor kid is a nineteen-year old antique
If you feel that the Boy Scouts of America has been wronged because organizations and state agencies no longer want to subsidize it, then this is the book for you. Read more

Published 10 months ago by Robert A. Crook

5.0 out of 5 stars A well researched book
I have never read such a well written, engaging and researched book by an author so young. It covers a very controversial issue in Scouting today. Read more

Published 23 months ago by Conrad W. Hamilton

5.0 out of 5 stars Wow!!!!
What a gem!!! And to be written by such a young author! Hats off to you sir. You are a shining example of what the BSA is proud to produce - smart, well rounded, politically aware... Read more

Published on May 21, 2009 by Beevan

3.0 out of 5 stars Get Off My Honor
I was disappointed. I thought it would be more about why being a Boy Scout reaching for the rank of Eagle is and honorable thing to do and that some values are timeless and why... Read more

Published on April 5, 2009 by Lori L. Robinson

5.0 out of 5 stars People need to get a life and get off the Boy Scouts!!
I bought this book for my husband and he loves this one also. He can't believe some of the attacks on the boy scouts. He is only half way through and he loves it. Read more

Published on June 5, 2008 by T. Valencia

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Reading
Every scouter should read this book.If we don't speak out for what's right. We will have no scouting or any youth program . Loose the youth,we loose the country.

Published on May 30, 2008 by Robert M. Casillo

1.0 out of 5 stars Hans = Bigot
The scouts need to be freed from idealogical idiots like the one who wrote this book.

Published on February 20, 2008 by Matt

1.0 out of 5 stars Assaulting America's Mainstream Values
Lt. Col. Oliver North's foreword to Zeiger's book says the Boy Scouts have come under fire for promoting "what many of us euphemistically call traditional values." (p. Read more

Published on December 1, 2007 by Eric A. Isaacson

5.0 out of 5 stars A Standard of Truth in the Fight Against the Moral Decline of Our Youth.
When I first heard about this book, I knew it had an important message, but I never expected to have to quell the urge to highlight or underline nearly every sentence in the book... Read more

Published on November 1, 2007 by iPosty

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