Make Me Proud

This year Evelyn and I joined Girl Scouts together. I am her troop leader. So far we've only had two meetings, but we have so many plans for the year already!

"What?!" you might be asking yourself. "Nichole wouldn't let Brody join Boy Scouts, so why let Evelyn be a Girl Scout?"

Here's the thing: at the national level, the Boy Scouts do not allow kids who are gay or kids who won't espouse a religious belief be a part of a troop. Girl Scouts, however, allow all girls to join. Period. I think women have a greater understanding of what it is to be excluded, and Girl Scouts promotes with great fervor the ideas of sisterhood, inclusion, and community service. How can you serve a community when you exclude people from that community who are different than you? You can't.

I read this story today, and it hit home. Here's the story of a transgendered child who was at first denied membership into a troop because he's got boy parts but he's a girl in his mind. This troop leader didn't want to get in trouble for allowing a boy into the girls-only club. However, instead of Girl Scouts telling the child he can't join, Girl Scouts has actually welcomed him to join. Whether or not the child joins is his parents' decision, but I think Girl Scouts needs more scouts who are strong in the face of adversity.

Heck, we could all use a little strength in the face of adversity.