Scout's dishonor

They have been presidents (Gerald Ford), presidential candidates (Ross Perot), astronauts (Neil Armstrong), movie directors (Steven Spielberg), business tycoons (Sam Walton, founder of Wal-mart) and television personalities (John Tesh, former Entertainment Tonight presenter, now pianist), but not atheists.\nLast Wednesday, 19-year-old Eagle Scout Darrell Lambert received a letter from the Chief Seattle Council of the Boy Scouts of America notifying him he was no longer welcome in the Boy Scout fraternity.\nSince its establishment in 1910, over 100 million members have passed through the ranks of the Boy Scouts -- currently, there are 5 million nationwide. The organization considers itself the nation's foremost youth program, which is in keeping with the longstanding support and popularity it has received from both the government and general public.\n"The mission of the Boy Scouts of America is to prepare young people to make ethical and moral choices over their lifetimes by instilling in them the values of the Scout Oath and Law," states the group's web site www.scouting.org. Members must be trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean and reverent.\nLambert, an atheist, was given a week to adhere to the law of reverence or get out. \n"Advocating a belief in a supreme being has been a core value of the Boy Scouts," Mark Hunter, director of marketing and administration for the Chief Seattle Council, told the New York Times. "The 12th point of the Scout Law is 'reverent,' and that includes being faithful in your religious duties and respecting the beliefs of others."\nDespite this respecting-the-beliefs-of-others rhetoric, Lambert has little legal ground to fight the council's decision.\nIn 2000, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-4 in favor of the Scouts to expel James Dale, a 20-year Eagle Scout and Scout leader, because of his homosexuality. In doing so, the court affirmed the Boy Scouts of America as a private organization with the right to set its own standards for membership.\nDale and Lambert are not isolated incidents. For example, Tim Curran in 1980, Michael Geller, Chuck Merino and Roland Pool in 1992, Dave Knapp in 1993, Chris Hayes, Mark Noel and Scott Pusillo in 2000 and Len Lanzi in 2001 have all been kicked out or barred on grounds of homosexuality. Then there are the expulsions due to atheism: Paul Trout in 1985, Brad Seabourn in 1991, Clifford Grambo in 1995, Benjamin Scalise and his father John in 1997.\nWhat is particularly cause for concern is the fact public schools are required to cooperate with the Boy Scouts or they face losing their federal funding. This government sanction forces schools to accept an organization that actively discriminates on the basis of sexuality and religious stance.\nThe U.S. Department of Justice reported in September 2001 that hate crimes motivated by religion or sexual orientation are most frequently committed by male offenders between the ages of 11 and 21. The Boy Scouts of America, whose core membership age ranges from 7- to 21-years-old, are in an excellent position to convey a message of tolerance and acceptance. Instead, the Scout Oath and Law fails miserably.\nScouts may consider themselves a private organization, but the privileges that have been bestowed on them by the government and community place them in a very public role in the American education system. As a consequence, they have an obligation to be inclusive and embracing of the diversity present in modern society. Anything less is an abuse of America's youth.