Why don't you just quit?

I have been accused of being unfaithful to the BSA because I disagree with its discriminatory practices. I have been told that I should leave the movement, that I don’t belong, that I am a traitor.

In totalitarian states like Iraq under Saddam Hussein the first and last dedication was to the party in power. To survive one subverted all personal opinions, all beliefs and adopted those of the government. Dissent was cruelly punished.

I don’t want to destroy the BSA. I simply want to advocate the positive potential within our own creed, to decentralize the decisions over who can and can’t lead scouts to where it belongs; in the hands of local people. I already coexist with many who do not share my beliefs, and am perfectly willing to continue.

The founding principles of our nation, peaceful tolerance of many systems of thought and the freedom to express ideas, finds no clearer expression than the scout oath and law.

Let’s live up to that incredible potential for good.