The forces of evil are loose in the
world. The proof of this is all around us.
The recent tragic events in Littleton, Colorado and the reactions to these events
are one reminder. Our opinion poll
reading political leaders have the rectitude of a weather vane in a
tornado. The Boy Scouts are being sued
to force us to relinquish our moral principles. The news media celebrates these
happenings and happily promotes them. It
was summed up nicely for me by Thomas Sowell who recently wrote: "...[I]t
is truly galling to have those who have been undermining both morality and
parents for years now demand that parents be held legally responsible for the
acts of their children."
Yes, the forces of evil are loose in the
world but they are not winning no matter what you might read in the papers or
see on the television news. For the
victories of the forces of good are silent and unreported by the news media. It
has been thirty-five years since I last visited Littleton, Colorado. Yet I
vividly remember the view as you look West and see the
majesty of God’s handy work in the vistas of the Rocky Mountains. Many of us
also see our children, our grandchildren, and the youth of our community as
God’s handy work and we are determined to preserve their future. We have determined that we will use Scouting
as one of the ways that we will seek to mold the character of our young
people. In this we have our silent
victories. As an example I point to the
recent Eagle Scout Recognition Dinner where we celebrated our most recent Eagle
Scouts and listened as they recited their accomplishments and told us about
their Eagle projects. For over an hour
boy after boy, sixty-four in all, stood before us and told of the stunning
tasks that they had undertaken for the betterment of their community. “I painted my neighbor’s house.” “I built a
bridge.” “I built a playground.” In their matter-of-fact recitations are the
sounds of our victory.
It is not about guns or television shows
or the lyrics to popular songs. It is
about giving our youth a moral compass to steer by. Baden-Powell told us that the one sure hope for
the future of the world depended upon youth that lived by the Scout Oath and
Law and that believed in themselves, believed in God and believed in their
country. It is toward that end that we labor.
And we are winning. We can only
lose if we despair. The forces of evil that are aligned against us know that
the possibility of despair is our only weak point. That is why they have set their propaganda
machinery in motion. But we can hear the
silent victories. We can see it in the
smiling faces of our young people as they raise their hands in the Scout sign
and give heartfelt rendition of the Scout Oath and Law. We can hear it in their laughter. Do not despair. We are winning. And we will
win.