Girl Scouts...

So earlier today the local Catholic church posted this article on their facebook page:  No Girl Scout Cookies: Group has Ties to Planned Parenthood.  It was followed immediately by a flurry of "Yes, it's true" and "No, its not" websites and comments, as evidenced below, with each report questioning the validity of the opposing view:
Snopes
http://speaknowgirlscouts.com/
Girl Scouts' leadership development is needed and valued
Girl Scouts, Why Not?

So, here are my thoughts ....

The Girl was a Girl Scout for several years, through her Catholic Elementary School, and I was one of the leaders.  I, in fact, was a Girl Scout until I was a Senior in High School, when, due to some bureaucracy, I decided I was done.  And that, I think it the problem with Girl Scouts today.  Not whether or not they support Planned Parenthood (or anywhere else, for that matter) but that the Scouts have become an organization led from "the top", nationally, perhaps even internationally, rather than locally.  When I was a Scout, and for most of the years The Girl was a Scout, the emphasis was on activities within our local troop. I don't remember overthinking every action and pondering my course in life, as suggested now in the Girl Scout "Journey" format.  I remember very few activities outside our local unit--perhaps some camps, but not much else.  I remember completing activities, usually something hands on, probably "leader-driven", possibly community service related, but often a craft, or a tool for camping, or a snack item.  The emphasis was on learning and having fun, building a community, learning new skills. I still see that format in the troops of girls that we know--they may follow some of the national curriculum as well, but the troops that appear to be successful and the girls who appear to stay invested are in groups that don't really pay a lot of attention to what politics the national Girl Scouts are into.They are focused on their community, on learning, on helping right where they are.  And on earning a little cookie money to go to camp.  Some of the curriculum is a little odd-ball...but that is part of what we should be teaching the girls--to look at all sides of the story, to question if the curriculum seems a little (or a lot) skewed toward one belief system. To make the best choices for themselves, based on what they learn at home and at church.

In addition, I really haven't been able to find any solid evidence either way on the Planned Parenthood issue--I was able to confirm when I was a leader that the local Denver-area Council (at that time) did not give any money to Planned Parenthood.  I never found any solid evidence that a single penny of my cookie money went to anyone other than the Girl Scout organization. And let's face it--this is a huge corporation in many ways--it takes a lot of money to run it and publish all their materials.  Ideally, more of the cookie money should stay with the troops (that was one of my biggest  complaints as a leader--"we stood outside for four hours for $50?"), but it does appear to stay within the Girl Scout organization. I did find that it is possible that WAGGS supports family planning clinics in developing countries, however, the ties between the local troop and WAGGS are not very tight (in fact, I had trouble figuring out how, it at all, they really are connected these days). So no matter your politics or beliefs on abortion and family planning, I don't think that should be the deciding factor in whether to buy Girl Scouts cookies or not.

So I will probably continue purchasing Girl Scout cookies (until they reach over $5 a box...egads...).  I will continue to hope that the troops I support are teaching girls good, moral values.  I will continue to believe that the girls aren't all tied up in politics--whether it be about where the money is going or about what the national curriculum is teaching--rather, I will pray that the clubs are led by women who teach the girls to be good citizens, who care for others, and make good choices.  After all, we are called to be in the world, while not of it.  Why shouldn't we as leaders and members be a part of Girl Scouts, where we can witness to others through our words and actions?  And why not buy a box of cookies to support that vision a tiny bit?

I'm sure this will drive some of you to applause and some of you to send hate mail, full of research like that above...have at it...my poor little blog hasn't had much attention lately.  In the meantime, I hope you are all enjoying yummy cookies and working to make this world a little better.

Friends are Friends forever... (Are you all singing the song yet?)

So I already wrote about this topic once--about two years ago ,but since it has been 3 weeks since I blogged, I thought I'd check in and say "hi", as well!

Today I was honored to be invited to a going away party for one of my friends.  Her husband has taken a fabulous promotion...in Chicago.  So this going away party twisted my heart a bit--it was (almost) the exact opposite of the  going I did twenty years ago.  We did smile that "it's only a 15 hour drive"  and "yay, another couch for me to sleep on in the midwest!".  There were some tears, partially because I had to hold a golf club for the first time in 20 some years....but a fun day and a nice way to see her off.  I sometimes think about how lucky we all are that we can keep in touch, and while Facebook, phone calls, emails, and quick visits aren't the same as living near each other,it is so different from a hundred-twenty years ago, when people moved and never went home again.

In other news, school, work, volleyball, guitar, and snowboarding are keeping us busy.  Oh, and Morrison... (see my last post for her daily activities). I also had to watch the entire season of Downton Abbey, six episodes of the X-Files 2016 and Agent Carter every Tuesday...so, yeah,.  Eventually, I'll post what I read in January (and perhaps in February at the rate I'm going...)