Call to Action for our Young Scouts to Protect Them from White House Authoritarian Overreach!

Summary

This is a call to action to prevent the Trump administration from forcing Scouting America (formally the Boy Scouts of America) to change DEI policy and their other values with financial and other pressures. It is also to stop what may be the first step in a plan to create an authoritarian regime youth organization to shape minds in ideology in a style like previous fascist authoritarian movements.

Prevent political pressure from reshaping Scouting America’s values

Scouting America is facing an alarming threat. A recently leaked memo published by NPR suggests that U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is considering cutting long-standing military partnerships with the organization. The memo criticizes Scouting America for embracing diversity, equity, and inclusion and describes it as “genderless” and no longer a merit-based program. It also claims that these policies conflict with the goal of “cultivating masculine values.”

Scouting America has relied on military partnerships for decades. These connections support financial aid, national events, and overnight educational programs at places like the USS Constitution and West Point. Earning Eagle Scout can even lead to higher military pay for new enlistees. If the proposal in this memo moves forward, Scouts could lose access to all of these opportunities. Some changes require Congress, but the memo hints that Hegseth may try to use “national security” exceptions to act on his own.

The leaked memo appears designed to pressure Scouting America to walk back its inclusive policies. It opens the door to demands such as reinstating the old Boy Scouts name, removing co-ed programs, or weakening core values that emphasize kindness, respect, helpfulness, and integrity. Anyone who has worked with Scouts knows that the program is merit-based and deeply focused on building leadership skills and character—values that have guided generations of young people.

Moments like this matter. They remind us that healthy democracies protect spaces where young people can learn responsibility, courage, and empathy. When authoritarian political leaders attempt to reshape youth organizations to fit narrow ideological goals, we risk losing the broad, civic-minded values that help communities thrive or worse.  Authoritarian regimes throughout history have created ideological youth organizations to push their goals and culture, like Germany did with their Hitler Youth program.  That could happen here if we don’t push back hard on this force.

NPR Article: Pentagon Considers Cutting Ties With Scouting America

CBS News Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nknr0R_wCRU

Why this matters for all of us

Scouting America teaches skills and principles that strengthen our youth and in turn our communities: service, leadership, honesty, and a willingness to work with others across differences. These are traditional American values, and they reflect the kind of society most of us want our kids to grow up in.

The organization has not taken any action in response to the memo. This is our moment to encourage them to stand strong before pressure intensifies. Supportive voices from families, community members, and advocates can help Scouting America stay true to its mission. Reminding them of the deep unpopularity of the current regime and scandals facing the Secretary of War on leaked classify chats and war crimes are not worth collaborating with vs. standing with the majority of the people

What you can do right now

Action 1) Reach out to Scouting America’s leadership. Encourage them to remain firm in their inclusive policies and remind them that many families value these principles. Let them know that short-term political pressure shouldn’t override the long-term health and integrity of the program. Point out that public backlash could follow any decision to weaken its values.

A template letter and addresses to send this to can be found by following this link to help you take action!

Action 2) Contact your members of Congress. Ask them to block attempts to cut military support for Scouts and to prevent political interference in Scouting policies. Congress can stop efforts to misuse legal exceptions to remove funding or access.

A template letter to send this and website to find your congressional reps can be found by following this link to help you take action!

Action 3) Mobilize your community. Share this issue with friends, family, and local groups. Encourage others to write letters, make calls, or reach out to Scouting leadership.

Action 4) Consider public visibility events. Indivisible groups might organize awareness actions at Scouting America’s headquarters in Irving, Texas, or at local councils. These events can express support for the organization’s long-standing values and encourage leadership to resist political pressure.

We can protect the values that shape future leaders

This is a moment for proactive support. By speaking up now, we can help ensure that Scouting America continues teaching courage, kindness, service, and integrity—values that help build a strong and inclusive democracy. Taking actions like this are important resistance firewalls to slow authoritarian progress ahead of the midterms.