To The Reader’s Forum:

I am saddened to hear a report that the Boy Scouts of America may soon be filing for bankruptcy. Like the Catholic Church, it seems the BSA has been a magnet for pedophiles for decades and an explosion of lawsuits over leaders abusing young boys will probably mean the end of the BSA.

Growing up, I loved the Boy Scouts. My dad was an Eagle Scout and he lived his life as a good scout. As a boy, I have many great memories of camp, working on merit badges and going up through the ranks to become a Life Scout. I learned so much in scouting about so many life skills like cooking, forestry, nature, canoeing, soil and water conservation, astronomy and so much more. As an adult, I became a scoutmaster to pass on all these things to boys because scouting meant so much to me. Like his grandfather, my son rose through the ranks to become an Eagle Scout. I have no doubt that my daughter, who wanted so much to be in the Boy Scouts, would have earned the top rank of Eagle. She was a driven little girl who was a natural born, true-blue scout!

The fact that an organization as large as the BSA can be brought down because so many leaders have abused boys over the years is alarming on many levels. To me, it is proof of the depth of moral decay that has gradually overtaken this country and it seems most apparent in “men” these days. So many young boys are not learning basic life skills like what it means to be trustworthy, loyal, helpful, courteous, kind, cheerful, brave, clean and reverent. society is producing men of low self-esteem, poor moral compass and general worthlessness. I will undoubtedly see examples of this tonight while at a restaurant enjoying a Valentine dinner. I predict seeing the ladies dressed to perfection with their hair groomed and matching accessories — looking like a million dollars, while their men sit there in their best ball cap, dirty bluejeans, T-shirt with both elbows on the dinner table. We need organizations like the BSA — and don’t even get me started about what to do with the pedophiles.

Tim Stockman

South Dayton