I know quite a few Boy Scouts. Some of them are proud Eagle Scouts. And some of them likely have attended the annual Scout Jamboree, which is a huuuge deal in the world of scouting.
I was a Boy Scout once myself, although I didn’t climb too far up the ladder of achievement.
Have any of my scouting pals ever heard a presidential speech like the one delivered this week by Donald John Trump? Ohhh, I doubt it — bigly!
The president took the occasion to launch into a political riff likes of which have been avoided for the eight decades that presidents have been speaking to the Boy Scouts.
He attacked “fake news,” he attacked his predecessor Barack Obama, he attacked the candidate he defeated in 2016.
How much time did the president spend during his 35-minute speech saluting the values of “reverence” and “obedience” pushed by the Scouts? Damn little! Did he talk about the need to always “be prepared”?
Trump meandered through a litany of tales about his business career and his still-young political career. “Who the hell wants to talk politics” at the Jamboree? Trump asked.
I guess he did.
Trump set the stage for this kind of ridiculousness almost from the beginning of his presidency. Recall the day after his inauguration when he went to the CIA, stood before the wall honoring those who have fallen in service to their country and then extolled the size of his “massive” political victory over Hillary Rodham Clinton.
Tradition, decorum, dignity of the office mean nothing to the clown who now occupies it. He demonstrated it yet again.
I am shaking my head … in disgust.
So great to learn of a voice of common sense and reason from Amarillo!
As an Eagle Scout, I was just flummoxed, flabbergasted and, towards the end, furious that our President did this.
The Boy Scouts in attendance were between the ages of 12-17. Seeing the President is, for most, a once in a lifetime experience. It’s a time for these Scouts to see and experience leadership. They were there to hear a noble speech about what can happen in America.
Instead, they heard a rambling, non-cogent diatribe.
If you want to be in Scouts, you quickly learn that it is work. It’s fun but it is also work. You learn to plan, do your homework in order to be successful. Being a Scout is more than just talking and wanting to be a Scout, it’s work.
It’s clear from the President’s speech, he didn’t plan, he didn’t do his homework, he didn’t work. The Scouts deserved better.
Can you imagine the outrage from evangelicals if Barack Obama or Bill Clinton had made such a speech? They are silent in this instance.