Posted on 10/22/2007 5:58:34 PM PDT by SJackson
FOR FOUR YEARS the architect of the U.S. Capitol has censored letters from constituents by removing political and religious messages. That outrageous policy was halted by a 17-year-old Ohio Boy Scout originally from New Hampshire.
Andrew Larochelle of Dayton, Ohio, whose grandfather Marcel is an Army veteran from Manchester, wanted to celebrate his attainment of the rank of Eagle Scout by giving his grandfather a flag that had been flown over the Capitol. He wrote this message to go on the certificate: "In honor of my grandfather Marcel Larochelle, and his dedication and love of God, country, and family."
Well, Stephen Ayers, acting architect of the Capitol, removed "God" from the message. Rules prohibited any mention of politics or religion, you see.
Larochelle contacted his representative, Rep. Michael Turner, R-Ohio, who got more than 100 members of Congress to petition House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to change the rule. Amazingly, Pelosi at first refused. But as the campaign got national attention, she relented.
Ayers rescinded the rule, saying, most correctly, that it was "beyond the scope of this agency's responsibilities to censor messages from members of Congress."
And so a 17-year-old Eagle Scout scored a win for free speech, religious tolerance and faith.
God Bless this Eagle Scout.
I love the Boy Scouts of America
Eagle Scout (’43)
My youngest is currently working on his Eagle rank. He should finish his Eagle project in the next month or so. He has one merit badge left. Nothing like stressing Mom out. He turns 18 in March.
We currently have 5 Life scouts working on their Eagle.
He is living up to the coveted Eagle Scout status.
Well done!
Wonderful!
Thankfully this incident shows the quality of backbone our fearless leaders have.
The Eagle Scout used the system to get his problem resolved -- just as the handbook prescribes and the BSA recommends.
Here's a demonstration of leadership some of our politicians should take a lesson in -- a shining example for all scouts to follow!
that Eagle will be a positive influence his entire life. A wonderful accomplishment for the young man. Congratulations
My oldest made Eagle (at 16) last spring. My youngest is Life and heading toward the project soon.
Thank for all your kind words. Just hope that he gets it all finished before the birthday.
We would be thrilled to get his award signed by Bush.
My DH is getting ready to retire after (too) many years in the military. He was less than 48 hours away from retirement when it was decided that he was going to re-enlist. He already had his thank you letter from GW Bush.
Your homepage says it all. I don’t know if these are your words or not, but it worth repeating.
One Hundred Scouts
Of the 100 boys who become Scouts, it must be confessed that 30 will drop out in their first year. Perhaps this may be regarded as a failure, but in later life all of these will remember that they had been Scouts and will speak well of the program.
Of the 100, only rarely will one ever appear before a juvenile court judge. Twelve of the 100 will be from families that belong to no church. Through Scouting, these 12 and many of their families will be brought into contact with a church and will continue to be active all their lives. Six of the 100 will become pastors.
Each of the 100 will learn something from Scouting. Almost all will develop hobbies that will add interest throughout the rest of their lives. Approximately one half will serve in the military and in varying degrees profit from their scout training. At least one will use it to save another person’s life, and many will credit it with saving their own.
Two of the 100 will reach the rank of Eagle, and at least one will later say that he values his Eagle badge above his college degree. Many will find their future vocation through merit-badge work and Scouting contacts. Seventeen of the 100 boys will later become Scout leaders and will give leadership to thousands of additional boys.
Only one in four boys in America will become Scouts, but it is interesting to know that of the leaders of this nation in business, religion, and politics, three out of four were Scouts. >
In response to your homepage. I see and hear many stories of scouts that have performed first aid and other life saving heroics.
Last year we hosted a foreign exchange student. He joined the troop and had many adventures through the year. He was so proud of his uniform that it is currently hanging on the wall in his room. After he returned he worked at a church campout. The staff was required to pitch their own tents. He was the only one that knew how to pitch a tent and his tent was the only one standing after two thunderstorms came through the camp.
A scout in our area rescued a sibling in a housefire a few years back. I think he got an award from National.
Scouting is awesome!! It has literally changed the lives of my two sons in so many positive ways.
He’s stressing out Mom now and he doesn’t turn 18 until March? My son turned in his completed Eagle Rank application with a whole 36 hours to spare before he turned 18. Hey, “close” only matters with horseshoes, hand grenades and nuclear weapons.
Nothing like being Life for over two years now and still working on the Eagle rank.
Two of the last three Eagles in our troop waited until the very last minute to finish their project and/or turn in their paperwork. Both mothers almost lost their mind.
I have heard of horror stories about those that didn’t earn the rank because of some last minute detail that prevented them from getting their paperwork approved. When it is that late in the game you had better have your ducks in a row or the project may have been completed for the good of the community without the benefit of the rank going to the scout. Last minute submissions don’t have time to fix errors in paperwork or get a chance for a re-do.
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