From: Dr. Bob Klein (drbob@troop111.org)
Date: Sun Nov 03 2002 - 12:53:29 CST
Nothing like coming home from a campout to a personal attack.
Abstracting comments out of context in an effort to twist their meaning
and score points off them is an intellectually dishonest form of
discourse that is better suited to political advertisements and the
editorial pages of the Washington Post - not here.
I stand by my remarks, taken as a whole. I believe the spirit and
intent of those comments - which addressed an ongoing debate about the
merits of uniforming for travelling to and from Philmont - are both
quite clear and internally consistent.
- Dr. Bob Klein, SM-111, Arlington, VA
Dan Kurtenbach wrote:
> Bob Klein wrote:
>
>
>>I may start a firestorm on this next comment, but I personally would
>>urge you in the stongest possible terms to NOT take or use your Scout
>>Uniforms on the trail. Although they were once the standard for trail
>>use at Philmont, that was pre-1970 with the uniforms of that time. The
>>modern version is very poorly suited for wilderness outdoor use (despite
>>the pretty pictures in the various official literature, or the
>>ridiculous testimonials that were common in Boy's Life or Scouting
>>Magazine a few years back - thankfully now rarely seen
>>
>
> Then Bob wrote:
>
>
>>Units that wear full Class A's all
>>the time have no difficulties doing so while on travel to Philmont or
>>elsewhere. Units that have sunk to some lower standard . . . I think
>>Scouts in mufti look like crap.
>>
>
> So, Bob, why is "some lower standard" not only okay, but strongly
> recommended on the trail, where Scouting really happens? After all, you
> wrote:
>
>
>>Personally, I DO believe that the
>>uniform is an inherent character building facet of modern Scouting (and
>>check that 10th point of the Scout Law too), and that is one of the
>>primary reasons why Troop 111 is a fully uniformed outfit.
>>
>
> Does character building stop at the trailhead? If you can actually come up
> with some rationale for looking "like crap" on the trail, particularly when
> BSA shows Scouts doing *everything* in Class A uniforms in so much of their
> literature, and BSA and many experienced Scouters swear that the full
> uniform works well for *all* Scouting activities, should not that rationale
> apply across the board? Even if you believe that the current Scout uniform
> is not well-suited for the wilderness, wouldn't it build character in your
> Scouts, and particularly promote the 10th *and* 11th points of the Scout
> Law, to wear full Class A uniforms in the wilderness anyway? Wouldn't that
> be a good tool for building Eagle Scouts?
>
> When you refer to "mufti," are you including the official BSA activity
> uniform (Scout shorts or pants with a Troop or camp T-shirt)? Is the
> official activity uniform "some lower standard"?
>
> I guess I'm just confused by your thinking here. And, oh yes, by something
> else you said:
>
>
>>I like my Unit to look sharp
>>
>
> What does what *you* like have to do with it? Aren't Scoutmasters giving in
> to their personal uniforming preferences exactly what you so sharply
> criticized?
>
> Dan Kurtenbach
> Fairfax, VA
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