Raised in central Texas in the 1940s and '50s, among the formal influences on my developing moral values were the New Testament and the Boy Scout Manual. I thought it might be interesting to reflect back on these important, seminal resources from the perspective of these 70 years or so.
1
Paul wrote to the Corinthian Christians that the most abiding values are Faith, Hope, and what was called "Charity" by the King James committee of scholars. What do I have to say now about these concepts?
a. Faith
Well, to be frank, before I'd graduated from high school I'd already outgrown what Paul apparently expected here of the Corinthians et al.: i.e. belief in Jesus, God the Father, and all that. I'm glad to have learned early on what all this was about, because of its long historical influence on the community into which I had been fortunate enough to be born. But "having faith" in this basic sense has never been of much value to me personally, since high school days.
Still, I can't help thinking that Paul was pointing to something genuinely significant when he said "faith": especially including it as one-third of the most enduring three fundamental values for us to carry with us if we were lucky.
When he listed faith, hope, and charity, Paul was not telling the chosen ones how to behave or what mission to pursue, not telling them what to do or not do. He was telling them that living as Christians was better than living as anything else, by listing the blessings that he thought "only" Christians could count on. He was saying, If you stick with me you can expect to have in your heart (soul, mind...) these three wonderful qualities. I would say there is in fact a blessing, which is like "faith" in Paul's sense, that I think we can all wish to have.
I'd call it Trust or Confidence, the opposite of Anxiety or Anguish. I agree with the saint that it is of inestimable value to live with such a more or less solid base, rather than to approach every day, everyone, and every project with a quiet dread that everything you depend on as part of your life or even yourself is liable to fall away or fade out or be taken from you. That would be awful, in fact. He was onto something, I might say.
b. Hope
These three qualities are intimately intertwined. If the opposite of "Faith" is Anxiety or in the extreme Despair, then the opposite of "Hope" is Fear. Being able to live without enduring fear - of loneliness or melancholia, of poverty or illness or infirmity, of failure, or whatever - is indeed a profound blessing.
Living in hope, by the way, need not mean ignoring the real risks one naturally faces; it just means characteristically looking on challenges allowing for the possibility they may be overcome, if not overcome easily or quickly at least overcome eventually with enough effort. So, yes: Faith and Hope and...
c. "Charity"
This quality is not rich people giving to the poor or to art museums, symphony orchestras, public radio or tv stations, or historical societies. Paul's "Charity" is not exactly translated "Love" either, since love is so easily infused with passion. The quality referred to here, both by Paul himself and by the old guy I have become looking back on what Paul wrote, is a generalized benevolent feeling toward each and all human beings. It's the basic Love-your-neighbor-as-yourself and Love-your-enemies and so on.
To instinctively feel compassion, or empathy or at least sympathy, or to look kindly upon others - in general - is said to be the "greatest" of the three basic blessings that Paul's Christians should count on. In other words, the benefit to the individual who has this quality of the three mentioned is the most profound.
Love in this sense may be necessary in order for one to feel grounded or secure ("faith"), as well as for one to look ahead optimistically ("hope"); and at the same time this characteristic Benevolence ("charity") toward others might not be possible without confidence in oneself and hope for the future. The three blessings recreate and reinforce each other.
The opposite of "Charity," I would say incidentally, is contempt.
But those who move through life with trust and confidence in their hearts, a positive attitude in their minds, and fellow-feeling in their nature are lucky and good and happy. They are not "better" (not better morally, for example), but are better off. These three characteristics may indeed be the most important blessings one could have.
2
The basic official values of the Boy Scouts - that other important moral force - are articulated in the Oath and Laws. The Oath ("or Promise," they say now) is this -
On my honor, I promise to do my best to do my duty to God and my country, and to obey the Scout Laws. To help other people at all times. To keep myself physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight.
That was from memory all these years later. I checked it, and it's correct.
The Oath is recited orally, in small phrases:
a. On my honor
Especially when you think of an eleven-year-old boy saying this phrase, it doesn't mean more than -"really and truly" or "cross my heart and hope to die" or "honestly."
b. I promise to do my best to do my duty
Doing one's duty means doing what is owed to others, so this phrase acknowledges that a person has social responsibilities and is not free to just do whatever she or he wants at any time. That sense of responsibility is indeed a characteristic of a mature, civilized person. Good.
c. to God and my country
Sounds impressive. I guess I would preferably say just "duty to others." Actually, I guess I feel a duty to myself too, a responsibility to respect my relation with others, my sense of who I am, what I have done and what I could do in the future... So I would think of saying "duty to my self and others." Cross my heart.
d. and to obey the Scout Laws
[This is discussed below in Section 3.]
e. To help other people at all times
What could be bad about making this commitment?
f. To keep myself physically strong [and] mentally awake
Yes [and] yes. It is important to keep oneself healthy and vigorous, as well as alert and engaged.
g. [to keep myself] morally straight
1. Doing one's duty is a basic moral imperative. Trying to help others is too. So listing this commitment to "keep oneself" morally upright, coming later in the oath along with keeping healthy and alert, seems to mean something else. Is it simply "In addition to doing my duty and helping others, I will do some other good things"? Or is it instead a general promise not to do "naughty" things? It seems this promise is to "keep to the straight and narrow," i.e. maintaining proper conduct: telling the truth, respecting others' rights and property, keeping your word, not assaulting others, not driving drunk, and so on.
2. Considering the word "straight" in the context of discussing the Boy Scouts today makes us think this promise may be to remain heterosexual. Even as late as the 1980s, however, long after the boy I was in the '50s going through Scouting, "straight" did not have the homophobic connotations it has now. "Morally straight" meant very broadly morally upright, including honesty, integrity, and all that. In the 1970s, "straight" in everyday speech started to contrast with more specific behaviors such as being high on drugs, and only eventually came to contrast particularly with homosexuality. So in the Scout Oath, this phrase is no more than the young scouts' promise to be good little boys.
And indeed we should commit ourselves to being aware of the moral dimensions of what we and others do and don't do, shouldn't we?
3
The Scout Laws are phrased in terms of characteristics that a good Scout - or we might say, a good person - will maintain:
A Scout is --
trustworthy
loyal
Features of responsible citizens
helpful
friendly
courteous
kind
Features of people who care about others and their feelings
obedient
Uninterpreted, this quality may justifiably give us pause: but I would
go so far as to say it is true that showing respect for women and
men in leadership positions is a good thing
cheerful
thrifty
brave
Each an excellent character trait, valuable for anyone
clean
Combined with "reverent" below, this may seem like another promise
to be a good little boy; but I think it also means simply the healthy
habit of keeping one's body clean... And it's worth saying.
reverent
I would not allow my ideal old Scoutmaster to tell me (and
others) to believe in the supernatural, but I agree with him
(if you will permit me to speak that way) that it is proper
for a person to exhibit reverence for especially significant
things (like the Grand Canyon, the Jupiter Symphony,
or the Queen of England).
4
So sure enough, surprising as it may be, one can find some wisdom in these two incongruously paired sources.
All of us may hope to have hearts and minds free of permanent anguish, fear, and instinctive contempt of others and to feel instead a sense of security, a positive attitude, and an instinctive empathy for other folks. And we would do well to honestly strive to do our duty to ourselves and others, to help others, to do what we can to stay healthy physically and to be engaged mentally, to pay attention to the moral dimensions of all we do and to pursue moral integrity.
We can promise ourselves to manage our lives prudently, to conduct ourselves cheerfully and bravely, and to maintain the qualities of good citizens of society.
And even just saying so is worth doing, isn't it?
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