Saving Santa...and themselves

This is a Norman Rockwell painting that graced the cover of Boys' Life, a magazine published for the Boy Scouts of America. For the past 7 years, I have had the opportunity to work with Boy Scouts of all ages. While I'm pretty sure none of them have ever saved Christmas by pulling the big fella out of the snow, they have all taken steps in saving themselves in this topsy-turvy world we have created for them.

You've seen them, they're the annoying boys who constantly knock on your door to get the ball they threw over your fence. They're the ones who spend way too long filling up their sodas in fast food restaurants. They're the ones that are too loud in the library or at church.

But they are also the ones who get up early on holidays to put up American flags. They are the ones who spend countless hours collecting food for the less fortunate. They are the ones who put their fears aside and climb to the tops of mountains. Yes, they are indeed the very essence of what is good about America.

While others of their age bracket fill the air with foul and degrading language, Boy Scouts work on merit badges like communications and public speaking. While others pollute the world with graffiti and litter, Boy Scouts earn badges like painting and environmental science. Others participate in gangs and neglect schoolwork, but Boy Scouts participate in merit badges including family life and scholarship.

Make no mistake: today's young men are buried in the snows of negative influences. They can, however, pull themselves out if given the chance. I credit the Boy Scouts for leading the way in rescuing every young man from the snowy mountains of a misdirected adolescence.