Abraham Lincoln's Reactions To The Boy Scouts Of America

Abraham Lincoln once said, “In this age, in this country, public sentiment is everything. With it, nothing can fail; against it, nothing can succeed. Whoever molds public sentiment goes deeper than he who enacts statutes, or pronounces judicial decisions.” President Lincoln demonstrated great foresight in this statement. The overall attitude of the public is more important than the statues and laws that govern the public. The Boy Scouts of America has recently demonstrated many discriminatory injunctions against the rights of homosexuals. They have deemed it necessary to ban homosexuals from becoming leaders and members of their private organization. Leaders of the Boy Scouts of America have declared that homosexuals are incapable of living
Private and public companies as well as private individuals and governmental entities have discontinued ties to the Boy Scouts of America because of their ongoing anti-gay discrimination. “Companies such as Chase Manhattan Bank, Levi Strauss, Wells Fargo, Fleet Bank and CVS have all terminated corporate contributions to the Boy Scouts” (Lambda Legal). We must stand together with these other companies that will not tolerate the Boy Scouts of America’s beliefs and practices. There have been 360 school districts encompassing over 4,500 schools spanning 10 states that have stopped sponsoring the Boy Scouts because of their anti-gay beliefs. Many law enforcement agencies and fire departments in such cities as Los Angeles, San Diego, Santa Clara, Chicago, have also cut ties to the Boys Scouts. Perhaps the largest and most publicized donation cut was that of the United Way. The United Way was once one of the largest contributors to the Scouts, however over 50 chapters withdrew funding after learning of anti-gay discrimination. World renowned director Steven Spielberg who is himself an Eagle Scout, and was on the organization’s advisory board for over 10 years, severed ties with the group saying, “I thought the Boy Scouts stood for equal opportunity, and I have consistently spoken out publicly and privately against intolerance and discrimination based on ethnic, religious, racial and sexual orientation…” (Lambda Legal). We do not stand alone in our decision to terminate contributions, and reinstatement would clearly send the message that we support and condone the fact that the Boy Scout discriminate against homosexuals. There are many other public and private organizations that we are in agreement with on this