With the Boy Scouts going bankrupt, we must examine what its founder, Lord Baden-Powell, had in mind for the Scouting movement, so we can resurrect its founding spirit… a patriotic pro-west movement that used boys longing for adventure to create strong citizens. THREAD. 
The genius of Baden Powell was that he understood what boys instinctively want: fun competition that utilizes their hunter instincts, and the opportunity to be heroic and useful to society. He recorded his philosophy in his 1908 book: Scouting for Boys.
Just look at the games BP wanted the scouts to play. These are the kind of games that boys LOVE. Variations of manhunt, wrestling, snowball fights. They involve cunning, physical fitness, and stealth.
Meetings included not only the teaching of camping skills, but also bouts of jujitsu and wrestling.
For BP scouting skills included not only hiking and first aid, as we teach today, but also things like sneaking around, or gathering evidence when you discover a dead body.
BP, spending time adventuring in Africa, admired Zulu culture, and would have boys start meetings with a Zulu wardance. This was done to appeal to energetic boys, and get them to unleash pent up energy so they could calm down before learning.
Powells idea was to attract boys to scouting through fun activities, and through it teach them about their duty to God and country, through showing rather than telling. Time in nature, doing good deeds, and small group leadership would naturally lead boys to revere God and county
Powell believed that if boys were allowed to pursue their natural spirit of adventure, that virtue would follow.
Today’s BSA lost its way from BP’s original vision. Even before the BSA appeased feminist and LGBT pressure, modern culture had corrupted them into being a more risk averse organization.
In the litigious modern society we have now, the idea of boys boxing, chasing each other through the mountains, and roaming the streets going on impromptu quests to help citizens in need, seems alien to us, yet these are things that boys want.
The other fault with modern scouting, is how they have neglected God. While early scouting didn’t want to force a particular religion on Scouts, being reverent was, rightly, viewed as key to moral development. Compare BP’s vision to weak vision that exists in the UK:
If you want to know more about Powell’s vision, read the 1908 version of Scouting for Boys. It’s NOT politically correct, it’s proudly pro-west, but also is a fascinating warm book by a man who truly loves boys and wants to foster peace amongst all men. thedump.scoutscan.com/yarns00-28.pdf
While critics called Powell militaristic, the truth is more complicated. Yes he was a military man & taught boys reconnaissance skills, and wanted scout to be modern knights. Yet, he felt that scouting could bring peace to the world, through scouts befriending foreign scouts.
The spirit of adventure calls out to young men, and the scouting program used to offer an incredible way to translate adventure into character. Hopefully with the collapse of the BSA new scouting organization can rise from the ashes and reclaim an exciting legacy.
If you want a physical copy of the book: amazon.com/Scouting-Boys-…
