Perry Makes a Good Point

I have decided to post about an article I read in the Austin-American Statesman about a book by Rick Perry. According to the article, this book is called "On My Honor" and has a lot to do with Perry's childhood, the Boy Scouts of America, and his issues with the Scouts being sued by the ACLU.

This is a subject that is particularly dear to me as I spent a summer working at a wonderful Texas Boy Scout camp. Frankly, I intended to read this article and again be aggravated by the usual BS (excuse me) of blatant discrimination, as well as my own confused annoyance with the ACLU for trying to impose on a private organization (I know! I'm so torn on this issue!)

And there was all of that! But, to my surprise, Perry also made an unbelievably good point in this article, which is that "the ACLU's activism drains resources that could be spent serving more boys, costing the Scouts more than $1 million a year in legal bills."

Having worked with these boys, I can definitely agree that these resources could be way better spent on the boys than on disputes such as gay rights in the Boy Scout community. While gay rights are, I believe, important, they are already accepted by the younger generation of Scouts. Or they were at least accepted by the Scouts I worked with, considering how four of a staff of thirty were openly gay or bi-sexual.

The article about Perry's book, other than discussing Perry's views on the dispute between the ACLU and the Boy Scouts, also outlined some key points concerning Perry's childhood which were relatively interesting.