Fred Goodwin, CMA
2007-04-28 02:17:06 UTC
FIRST-PERSON: Not your mom's Girl Scouts
http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=25503
By Penna Dexter
Apr 26, 2007
DALLAS (BP)--Did you get your Girl Scout cookies this year? Those
delectable Thin Mints, those yummy Do-Si-Dos, the melt-in-your mouth
Tagalongs. Ya' know, they say these treats no longer contain trans
fats. Perhaps the cookies are more wholesome than they were when I
sold them oh-so-many years ago. But the national organization that
promotes their sale, the Girl Scouts of the USA, is not.
Pro-family Americans have admired the Boy Scouts' unwavering
opposition -- even under intense pressure -- to get the organization
to permit homosexuals to be scoutmasters. The Boy Scouts of America
has stood firm against the politically correct forces that would move
the organization off its current mission in training boys to be men of
character, faith and high moral standards. But the story of the Girl
Scouts is quite different.
This is a very touchy subject among Girl Scout leaders and parents of
Girl Scouts who are conservative and who avoid the feminist "girl
power" agenda that's pervasive throughout the national program. The
local troop leaders and area councils have tremendous influence on the
character and direction of their groups. But the national organization
is no longer the character-focused morally uplifting pillar of society
it once was.
The Boy Scouts has refused, despite intense pressure, to drop any
reference to God from its oath. But, in 1993, the Girl Scout Promise
was revised to make God optional. And even earlier, in 1972, the Girls
Scouts removed "loyalty" from their oath, claiming it was outmoded.
Patti Garibay, a former Girl Scout and longtime leader, recruiter,
troop director, and council delegate observed with dismay as the
national leadership of the Girl Scouts consciously downplayed the
organization's traditional emphasis on the role of God in America's
heritage. Garibay eventually withdrew from the Girl Scouts, turning
her energy and talents toward the formation in 1995 of a new scouting
organization, American Heritage Girls (www.ahgonline.org) that now has
some 6,000 members with 1,200 leaders in 32 states. Garibay's last
Christmas as a Girl Scouts troop leader confirmed her decision to
leave: She learned, she said, that singing Christmas carols as a troop
would be technically illegal because of a rule prohibiting the singing
of hymns.
The Girl Scouts' emphasis on "girl power" has its roots in feminist
ideology, which gained an early foothold in the organization. In 1977,
radical feminist Betty Friedan, who was on the Girl Scouts Board of
Directors, used that platform to proclaim her support of the Equal
Rights Amendment. The national organization proceeded to take the
liberal feminist position on issue after issue. It supports Title IX,
which mandates gender equity in school-funded sports, and backs
affirmative action in recruiting, hiring and promoting.
The GSUSA officially supports gun control and was represented in the
Million Mom March. Victimization and the "crisis" of girls are
stressed in scout literature. Girl Scout badges include "Domestic
Violence Awareness" and, of course, "Girl Power." Writing for
Concerned Women for America, cultural observer Bob Knight said, "Some
years ago, the Girl Scouts began purging materials of positive
references to homemakers. Instead of being family-centered, the group
now promotes 'girl empowerment,' with programs that focus heavily on a
narcissistic devotion to self, but then steered into collective action
for liberal causes, such as environmentalism. (Contrast this to
American Heritage Girls' "strong emphasis on servitude.")
Certainly the Girl Scouts encourage involvement in a number of worthy
endeavors. And leaders' discretion guides activity and program
decisions at the troop and council level. However, parents of those
sweet little Brownies and lovely young scouts need to understand that
Planned Parenthood has gained a strong foothold in the Girl Scouts.
Planned Parenthood is the nation's largest abortion provider and its
sex education programs give abstinence short shrift in favor of
condoms and other forms of birth control.
The Girl Scouts' original forays into sex education were not without
opposition. In 1975, one Catholic archdiocese expressed its
disapproval of the organization's sex ed program by pulling its
support. Since that time council and troop leaders have brought their
beliefs to bear on the sexual messages presented to Girl Scouts in
various areas of the country. But in 1989, a program titled "Decisions
for Your Life: Preventing Teenage Pregnancy" was implemented. One of
the program's stated goals was that "with the help of community
resource consultants, sex education will be a program component of the
Girl Scouts." In some places, these community resource consultants
ended up being Planned Parenthood. In fact, in a 2004 interview with
NBC News, Girl Scouts CEO Kathy Cloninger stated, "We have
relationships ... with Planned Parenthood organizations across the
country, to bring information-based sex education programs to girls."
The national Girl Scouts organization has been criticized for
including on its website a link to Planned Parenthood's graphic site
for teens and for endorsing a book for young children called "It's
Perfectly Normal" that provides amoral descriptions for young children
regarding homosexuality and masturbation.
Perhaps the starkest contrast between the Boy Scouts and the Girl
Scouts is the way homosexuality is addressed. In 1980, the Girl Scouts
changed their guidelines on homosexuality. The organization adopted a
"non-discrimination" policy, making clear it would thereafter welcome
lesbians, either as scouts or as troop leaders. In fact, a 1997 book
entitled, "On My Honor: Lesbians Reflect on their Scouting
Experience," is filled with stories of homosexual encounters in the
Girl Scouts and a statement by a former Girl Scout administrator that
about one third of the Girl Scouts' paid professional staff are
lesbians.
When it comes to scouting, there is now a choice for girls and their
families who realize that the Girl Scouts of America is not your
mother's Girl Scouts.
--30--
Penna Dexter is a board of trustee member with the Southern Baptist
Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, a conservative activist and an
announcer on the syndicated radio program "Life on the
Line" (information available at www.lifeontheline.com). She currently
serves as a consultant for KMA Direct Communications in Plano, Texas,
and as a co-host of "Jerry Johnson Live," a production of Criswell
Communications. She formerly was a co-host of Marlin Maddoux's "Point
of View" syndicated radio program.
http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=25503
By Penna Dexter
Apr 26, 2007
DALLAS (BP)--Did you get your Girl Scout cookies this year? Those
delectable Thin Mints, those yummy Do-Si-Dos, the melt-in-your mouth
Tagalongs. Ya' know, they say these treats no longer contain trans
fats. Perhaps the cookies are more wholesome than they were when I
sold them oh-so-many years ago. But the national organization that
promotes their sale, the Girl Scouts of the USA, is not.
Pro-family Americans have admired the Boy Scouts' unwavering
opposition -- even under intense pressure -- to get the organization
to permit homosexuals to be scoutmasters. The Boy Scouts of America
has stood firm against the politically correct forces that would move
the organization off its current mission in training boys to be men of
character, faith and high moral standards. But the story of the Girl
Scouts is quite different.
This is a very touchy subject among Girl Scout leaders and parents of
Girl Scouts who are conservative and who avoid the feminist "girl
power" agenda that's pervasive throughout the national program. The
local troop leaders and area councils have tremendous influence on the
character and direction of their groups. But the national organization
is no longer the character-focused morally uplifting pillar of society
it once was.
The Boy Scouts has refused, despite intense pressure, to drop any
reference to God from its oath. But, in 1993, the Girl Scout Promise
was revised to make God optional. And even earlier, in 1972, the Girls
Scouts removed "loyalty" from their oath, claiming it was outmoded.
Patti Garibay, a former Girl Scout and longtime leader, recruiter,
troop director, and council delegate observed with dismay as the
national leadership of the Girl Scouts consciously downplayed the
organization's traditional emphasis on the role of God in America's
heritage. Garibay eventually withdrew from the Girl Scouts, turning
her energy and talents toward the formation in 1995 of a new scouting
organization, American Heritage Girls (www.ahgonline.org) that now has
some 6,000 members with 1,200 leaders in 32 states. Garibay's last
Christmas as a Girl Scouts troop leader confirmed her decision to
leave: She learned, she said, that singing Christmas carols as a troop
would be technically illegal because of a rule prohibiting the singing
of hymns.
The Girl Scouts' emphasis on "girl power" has its roots in feminist
ideology, which gained an early foothold in the organization. In 1977,
radical feminist Betty Friedan, who was on the Girl Scouts Board of
Directors, used that platform to proclaim her support of the Equal
Rights Amendment. The national organization proceeded to take the
liberal feminist position on issue after issue. It supports Title IX,
which mandates gender equity in school-funded sports, and backs
affirmative action in recruiting, hiring and promoting.
The GSUSA officially supports gun control and was represented in the
Million Mom March. Victimization and the "crisis" of girls are
stressed in scout literature. Girl Scout badges include "Domestic
Violence Awareness" and, of course, "Girl Power." Writing for
Concerned Women for America, cultural observer Bob Knight said, "Some
years ago, the Girl Scouts began purging materials of positive
references to homemakers. Instead of being family-centered, the group
now promotes 'girl empowerment,' with programs that focus heavily on a
narcissistic devotion to self, but then steered into collective action
for liberal causes, such as environmentalism. (Contrast this to
American Heritage Girls' "strong emphasis on servitude.")
Certainly the Girl Scouts encourage involvement in a number of worthy
endeavors. And leaders' discretion guides activity and program
decisions at the troop and council level. However, parents of those
sweet little Brownies and lovely young scouts need to understand that
Planned Parenthood has gained a strong foothold in the Girl Scouts.
Planned Parenthood is the nation's largest abortion provider and its
sex education programs give abstinence short shrift in favor of
condoms and other forms of birth control.
The Girl Scouts' original forays into sex education were not without
opposition. In 1975, one Catholic archdiocese expressed its
disapproval of the organization's sex ed program by pulling its
support. Since that time council and troop leaders have brought their
beliefs to bear on the sexual messages presented to Girl Scouts in
various areas of the country. But in 1989, a program titled "Decisions
for Your Life: Preventing Teenage Pregnancy" was implemented. One of
the program's stated goals was that "with the help of community
resource consultants, sex education will be a program component of the
Girl Scouts." In some places, these community resource consultants
ended up being Planned Parenthood. In fact, in a 2004 interview with
NBC News, Girl Scouts CEO Kathy Cloninger stated, "We have
relationships ... with Planned Parenthood organizations across the
country, to bring information-based sex education programs to girls."
The national Girl Scouts organization has been criticized for
including on its website a link to Planned Parenthood's graphic site
for teens and for endorsing a book for young children called "It's
Perfectly Normal" that provides amoral descriptions for young children
regarding homosexuality and masturbation.
Perhaps the starkest contrast between the Boy Scouts and the Girl
Scouts is the way homosexuality is addressed. In 1980, the Girl Scouts
changed their guidelines on homosexuality. The organization adopted a
"non-discrimination" policy, making clear it would thereafter welcome
lesbians, either as scouts or as troop leaders. In fact, a 1997 book
entitled, "On My Honor: Lesbians Reflect on their Scouting
Experience," is filled with stories of homosexual encounters in the
Girl Scouts and a statement by a former Girl Scout administrator that
about one third of the Girl Scouts' paid professional staff are
lesbians.
When it comes to scouting, there is now a choice for girls and their
families who realize that the Girl Scouts of America is not your
mother's Girl Scouts.
--30--
Penna Dexter is a board of trustee member with the Southern Baptist
Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, a conservative activist and an
announcer on the syndicated radio program "Life on the
Line" (information available at www.lifeontheline.com). She currently
serves as a consultant for KMA Direct Communications in Plano, Texas,
and as a co-host of "Jerry Johnson Live," a production of Criswell
Communications. She formerly was a co-host of Marlin Maddoux's "Point
of View" syndicated radio program.