I’m listening to a book as drive, Upheaval: Turning Points for Nations in Crisis, by Jared Diamond.[1] It started me thinking about what are my “core
values.” We all have them, and they can
range from fairly positive to extremely negative.
Although, if I think your core values are negative, you probably
disagree with me.[2] Humans are like that.
“Oaths” are quite common in my profession.
An oath I have taken many times really spells out my “core
values”:
"On my honor, I will do my best to do my duty to God and my
country, and to obey the Scout Law; to help other people at all times; to keep
myself physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight."
The “Scout Law” is different from most of what we consider “laws.” The Scout Law doesn’t tell you what you are
banned from doing. It consists of twelve
“is” statements:
A Scout is Trustworthy.
A Scout is Loyal.
A Scout is Helpful.
A Scout is Friendly.
A Scout is Courteous.
A Scout is Kind.
A Scout is Obedient.
A Scout is Cheerful.
A Scout is Thrifty.
A Scout is Brave.
A Scout is Clean.
A Scout is Reverent.
(No, I did not have to "Google" anything to remember the Oath & Law. Give me a break.)
I first took the Scout Oath when I was 11, at my first meeting of Troop 101 in Fairmont, WV. I have taken it a whole lot of times ever
since - as a Scout, a Scoutmaster, and in every other position I've held in Scouting. When I was president of the local
council, I started each meeting by leading the members in the Scout Oath. Some of them had been Scouts and many had not. But they were - at any age - now Scouts. It was important to focus us on what we were
there for. That continues for every meeting since, and I’m glad it does. (Mountaineer Area Council is MUCH larger now after a couple of mergers. It takes in north-central and northern West Virginia, and the several Ohio counties which are on the Ohio River for the first hundred miles.) A Scout can be a youth, and now we serve ALL
youth. (The inclusion of girls is going excellently!) And a Scout can be my age, having
taken that oath for more than 60 years.
I remember buying Girl Scout cookies in SoCal when I lived there for a
time. They were set up outside the
Albertson’s (that a grocery chain that serves mostly in the West), with lots of
Girl Scouts and lots of Moms. I remember
having had a delightful time talking to the Scouts and Moms about Scouting and
that it can be a lifetime commitment.
I have taken several oaths.
I was sworn into the West Virginia Bar on 15 May 1978, and that was my
first oath as a lawyer. In those days,
you had to take an oath in every Circuit
Court. I still thinks that’s a good
idea, even though it’s now considered passe.
It helps you to pause and it reminds you of your responsibilities. Along with the general oath, I’ve been a
witness a number of times (usually connected with EMS calls), and been sworn as
an assistant prosecutor and special assistant prosecutor in several counties. Let’s see, I’ve administered a number of
oaths. I remember the first oral oath I
administered, and it was to a witness before Judge J. Harper Meredith.[3] I was the sole notary public in my law school class (I had already worked in law offices for some few years) and I got to keeping my stamp/seal in my locker because there was always a student that needed something notarized, which is a form of a written oath.
But to me, nothing is more important than the Scout
Oath. Every other oath I’ve taken is
embraced within the Scout Oath.
[1] This
is a good book. I consider “books on
tape” as turning my car into a “university on wheels.”
[2]
Yes, that’s a sentence fragment. I know
that it is. Stay tuned and I’ll probably
end a sentence with a preposition. That’ll
be because I can’t think of anything else to end it with. Hmmm – Well, at least I’m proving that AI
didn’t write any part of this particular screed, only this one poor, ink-stained
wretch.
[3] He
was the second longest serving Judge in West Virginia, serving about 40
years. His successor, Judge Fred L. Fox,
II, beat his record by several months before he retired. They were both good judges, and good and
respected friends. I miss both of them.
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