COMMENTARY: Scouting Remains Trustworthy

Abstinence never got a girl pregnant.

Refusing to drink alcohol has never resulted in an arrest for driving while drunk.

The easiest way to avoid a confrontation about politics, religion, sex, abortion and Coke vs. Pepsi is to express no opinion all.

And the absolute best way to avoid the risk of getting caught up in a controversy over mistreatment of children is to eschew all activities involving youngsters.

In all of our lives, there are individuals and organizations who earn a place of deep appreciation because of their positive impact. The Boy Scouts of America and the men and women whose volunteerism helped guide my journey from Cub Scout to Eagle Scout are among the most cherished influences of my life. My scoutmaster in Little Rock’s Troop 381 was Alan Mortier. He, along with assistant scoutmasters like Curtis Granger, Larry Glover and Bud Reeves, were difference-makers.

So, it naturally pains me when this awesome organization gets caught up in scandal. Last week, private attorneys in Oregon who specialize in representing plaintiff s in child sex abuse cases released nearly 15,000 pages of ineligible volunteer files compiled by the Boy Scouts of America from 1959 to the-mid-1980s. They acquired the files in a lawsuit by an adult who sued the Boy Scouts over his molestation as a kid at the hands of an assistant scoutmaster in the 1980s.

The files document allegations of sex abuse by a small percentage of Scouting volunteers across the country.

The Scouts fought the files’ public release because they, in many cases, contain accusations, not proven cases. The organization in some cases reacted much like school districts or churches: they drummed the alleged offender out of Scouting, but he’s remained free to pursue his crimes in other venues. That’s not good enough.

Today’s Scouting leadership has admitted some cases were not handled well by the organization; others were covered up by local officials such as prosecutors and law enforcement.

I’m a Scout leader today.

My two boys are in Cub Scouts. I can attest to the heavy emphasis on training leaders must go through to understand how to protect youngsters. Parents are encouraged to go through the same training.

I credit the Scouts for maintaining the ineligible volunteer files for the purpose of keeping child predators out of one of the world’s largest organizations for youth. To see the files now twisted by critics into some sort of damning evidence of organizational indifference is disappointing.

It’s an organization primarily operated by volunteers, and that sometimes leads to less-than-perfect responses to difficult situations. Other situations have been handled well.

The fact that anyone used an organization designed to develop boys and girls into responsible, civic minded teens and adults is disturbing, but such discoveries are unfortunately a reality. Why? Because youth organizations, in pursuit of building character, skills and knowledge among our young people, also create a target audience.

Maladjusted, warped individuals are drawn to places where they can pursue their victims: day cares, youth ministries, schools, boys and girls clubs, youth camps, and organizations dedicated to building up children for the future, such as the Boy Scouts and Girls Scouts.

They develop their skills to work their ways into positions of trust, constantly looking for that moment when, like a coiled snake, they can strike.

Through the years, there have been those ready to throw the Boy Scouts and similar organizations under the bus. Their sneering commentaries in letters to the editor and online attempts cast the organizations as the evil perpetrators.

The organizations, however, are victimized in a way far less damaging and heinous than the children who are assaulted, but victimized nonetheless. Still, good policies have come out of the experience, such as two-deep leadership, which demands no adult spend time alone with any Scout other than his own son.

Yes, some awful things have happened in Scouting’s 102-year history, but my experience tells me the organization has done 1,000 great things for its members for every one incident of heartbreaking abuse. They don’t take the easy path of noninvolvement.

Any instance of abuse is unacceptable and police should be asked to investigate in all instances.

In my Scouting experience, I don’t think there was anyone who would have hesitated to take such steps.

I still believe in the Boy Scouts and the positive influence they deliver in the lives of millions of kids.

GREG HARTON IS OPINION PAGE EDITOR OF NWA MEDIA.