I remember being a 16 year old Scout in Mobile, AL in the 90s. I drove to my Scout meetings, but didn't wear the uniform for fear that a girl or a cool guy from my high school might see me in the uniform. It wasn't cool to wear the uniform in the 90s. It still isn't cool. I often find myself wondering, as a professional, whether the uniform is really necessary. I wonder if I could recruit more kids if they weren't required to wear a uniform.
There are professionals that don't like to wear the uniform. They're mostly the unmarried guys in our council, in their 20s. It might prevent them from meeting a girl (you never know when you might meet a cute girl out and about). It's not cool to be a grown man in the Scout uniform. And you gotta be cool to meet a girl.
Maybe the girls care less than the guys do. But you can't discount the power of confidence. And it's hard to be confident in your coolness while wearing a Scout uniform.
When I first started working for the Scouts, I heard that the uniform was one of the "methods of Scouting." We have some lofty aims and methods. You can google them, if you want. I could probably remember about half of them off the top of my head. There are so many things to remember as a professional: Boy Scout Law, Motto, Promise, Slogan, Cub Scout Promise, Law, Venturing Oath, Aims and Methods of Scouting, Mission and Vision of the council, etc, etc.
You know, when I interviewed for my job at the Boy Scouts, I was only looking for a "community-serving non-profit job." I soon found out that it wasn't just another non-profit. It was a "movement." Being part of a movement sounds grander than saying I work for the Boy Scouts. Being part of a "movement" implies that I'm part of something than is bigger than a "job."
These days I wear the uniform anywhere. I tell people that I have a wife and a baby. Who am I trying to impress? I'm not trying to meet any girls. I go grocery shopping in my uniform. I go out to eat. I'll go to community events and parades. It's a good way to meet people. Everyone has a Scouting story.
I also say that I wear the uniform out of convenience, but I wonder if I've also become more comfortable with what the uniform stands for. The uniform debate's always couched in a debate of what's cool and not cool. But Scouting has always maintained that the uniform is some lofty method that they use to accomplish its aims (which are also lofty). You can talk about what the uniform stands for--even maybe come up with some inspiring metaphors about Scouting. But when a Scout wears his uniform he is quite literally enveloping himself in the Scouts.
This might seem like a bit of a ramble, but I started thinking about the uniform for a reason. Our hardworking District Chairman, Hal Hagemeier, recently suffered a mild stroke and will be taking a break from some of his Scouting duties as our district's volunteer leader. He is expected to make a full recovery and I know many Scouters and me and my family will be praying for him.
Life has a way of throwing these sorts of wake-up calls at you. When you least expect it, a loved one has a health scare, the head of the household loses her job, a war errupts and Dad must deploy. The sorts of reminders that our life is precious and fleeting. It is at times like these that we look for meaning. We go to back to our religions, we let go of family greivances, and we want our lives to stand for something. The whole debate about the uniform being cool or uncool seems suddenly trite and silly.
Hal wears the uniform even when he's not wearing it. He worked hard to grow the Scouting movement in our area. And he has had considerable success during his tenure as our District Chairman. His leadership helped make the Patriot District a Quality District. With his recent health scare, I hope he finds strength in the volunteer work that he has done. Work that stood for something meaningful in the lives of so many of our district's youth.
