Eagle Scout

Decorated with twenty-one merit badges sewn on a green sash and several patches on my shirt sleeves, I stood before forty people on the day of May 22, 2005 to rededicate myself to the oath that I have based my life upon during my whole seven years as a Boy Scout:

On my honor, I will do my best
To do my duty to God and my country
And to obey the Scout Law;

To help other people at all times;

To keep myself physically strong, mentally awake, and morally staight.

As I reflected today on this oath that I rededicated myself to... I realized that those words within the Scout Oath is not just words. Using a metaphor of a potter and clay, those words are the potter and he molds the clay, which is a boy, into a young man who is prepared to face the world in the latter part of his life. Speaking of words... there are also another aspect of Boy Scouts that a boy must try live their lives upon: The Scout Law.

A Scout is...

Trustworthy.
Loyal.
Helpful.
Friendly.
Courtaeous.
Kind.
Obedient.
Cheerful.
Thrifty.
Brave.
Clean.
Reverent.

After seven years of reciting the Oath and Law, it has become more significant as I progressed during my journey toward Eagle Scout rank. If you will sum them all up... this is what character is all about. By definition, Character means "The combination of qualities or features that distinguishes one person, group, or thing from another" and "moral or ethical strength." As a boy starts off in his scouting career, he doesn't know anything about the Scout Oath nor the Law, but as years progress, he will learn to recite it by memory. You might think that those boys are being brainwashed repeating those words. I don't think that it's a brainwashing effort but a way of making the boys learn a certain set of principles to base his life upon as a gentleman instead of a boy who does not care anything about his life and follows the philosophy of "Carpe Diem" or "Seize the Day."

That is the philosophy that I do not advocate. To live under that banner means that you don't even care about your life and "just go with the flow." Going with the flow might mean having a casual sex or curse constantly while talking with other people. It could also mean go out and party hard until you drop. When you feel like robbing a store, do it. When you want to kill somebody, you would. Hurting somebody is okay. Bottom point: nothing is stopping you from seizing the day and living it as much as possible with no regrets.

I know that some of the situations that I presented above are a bit extreme and you would think, "This guy's just delusional because that's NOT what seizing the day is about." I just wanted to present some situation so ridiculous so you will see in a new light on what that philosophy might mean. I know nobody does those extreme cases such as murdering, kidnapping or robbing stores, but that is precisely what "Carpe Diem" means.

Now that brings around to my point... Boy Scouts of America strengthens character in a boy. It makes the boys think about the consequences of their actions and how to live above the standards of the world. This journey is laden with tests. Just as iron sharpens iron, testings that the boys face during his journey will sharpen him, making him more wise and more capable of distinguish between what is right and wrong.

That is one or many things that I have to thank Boy Scouts of America for. Being an Eagle Scout might mean a lot to some people, but the badge itself has no meaning to me. The hardships and testings that Boy Scouts of America gave me throughout those seven years have strengthened me and evolved a boy into a man with character. That is what my Eagle badge symbolizes. Without Boy Scouts of America, I don't know what I would have ended up as. I might be one of those people who says "eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow we die" only if Robert Boyce did not meet that unknown scouter on a foggy night in London.

If you are involved in Scouting movement as one of the leaders... I express my thanks on the behalf of the fellow Scouters for what you are doing.