President Trump's Boy Scout Blunder | The Odyssey Online
Start writing a post
Politics and Activism

President Trump's Boy Scout Blunder

President Trump had the opportunity to inspire young minds, but once again his arrogant attitude got the best of him.

5
President Trump's Boy Scout Blunder

At the 2017 Boy Scouts of America National Jamboree, President Donald Trump gave a speech. True to himself this speech has gotten a lot of scrutiny. He had the opportunity to leave a lasting impression of hope and inspiration on these young minds, but instead the only thing being remembered is his arrogant account of how he won the election in November. I am not here to defend Trump's actions, but I am here to say that he did say some good things, some of which should be remembered.

Working with scouts for the past four summers, I will be the first to tell you they are some of the best people I have ever met. I have never felt so welcomed or accepted as I have here at camp. I have never met such hard workers, people willing to do anything to make a scout smile. These are the most dedicated group of people I know. This all being said I think it is appropriate to take a good look at the things Trump said. Trump began his speech by saying he was not going to talk about policy or what is going on in Washington, but this was not the case. I believe if he would have stuck to this thought, the reactions from the speech would be much more positive.

"...I'll tell you the reason I love this, and the reason to be here, it is because as president, I rely on former Boy Scouts every single day. And so do the American people. It's amazing how many Boy Scouts we have at the highest level of our great government. Many of my top advisers in the White House were Scouts." This paragraph was one that stood out to me the most. Here, President Trump is trying to show the scouts that with the skills and values they are learning from scouting, they too can do great things. But this thought was quickly forgotten when he began to make a comment about how the media would down play the number of people in the crowd and criticized fake news.

"Boy Scout values are American values. And great Boy Scouts become great, great Americans. (Applause) As the Scout law says, a scout is trustworthy, loyal -- we could use some more loyalty I will tell you that. (Crowd Chanting) That was very impressive. You've heard that before. But here you learn the rewards of hard work and perseverance, never, ever give up. Never quit. Persevere. Never, ever quit. You learn the satisfaction of building a roaring campfire, reaching a mountain summit or earning a merit badge after mastering a certain skill. There's no better feeling than an achievement that you've earned with your own sweat, tears, resolve, hard work. There's nothing like it. Do you agree with that?"

Once again this great point of how scouting turns you into a hard worker and how to appreciate what you have done, President Trump lost the impact he could have made by mentioning fake news.

"Through scouting you also learned to believe in yourself -- so important-- to have confidence in your ability and to take responsibility for your own life. When you face down new challenges -- and you will have plenty of them -- develop talents you never thought possible and lead your teammates through daring trials, you discover that you can handle anything. And you learn it by being a Scout. It's great. (Applause) You can do anything. You can be anything you want to be. But in order to succeed, you must find out what you love to do. You have to find your passion, no matter what they tell you." I believe this would have been the best way to end this speech, by igniting a spark inside the hearts of the scouts. Helping them know they can change the world and help make it a better place. But the speech did not end there he went on to speak about how President Obama was never at a Jamboree. Why does that matter. He should have taken the opportunity to inspire others and just do that, not criticize the events of the past.

President Trump then shared the story of William Levitt and how he built his company, which showed the scouts with hard work they can accomplish their goals.

The end of the speech is what left a sour taste in my mouth and of the rest of America. The election happened in November, it is now July. Eight months have past and still in every speech President Trump finds a way to bring up his upset victory. In my opinion there was no need to recount the events of November 8th. He broke his promise at the beginning of his speech of not bringing up politics. This was an event to bring together the youth of America and to inspire them, not to gloat. I think it is time for President Trump to ditch the arrogant attitude and begin working to unite America instead of further dividing it with events like this.

Report this Content
This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
campus
CampusExplorer

New year, new semester, not the same old thing. This semester will be a semester to redeem all the mistakes made in the previous five months.

1. I will wake up (sorta) on time for class.

Let's face it, last semester you woke up with enough time to brush your teeth and get to class and even then you were about 10 minutes late and rollin' in with some pretty unfortunate bed head. This semester we will set our alarms, wake up with time to get ready, and get to class on time!

Keep Reading...Show less
Student Life

The 5 Painfully True Stages Of Camping Out At The Library

For those long nights that turn into mornings when the struggle is real.

1852
woman reading a book while sitting on black leather 3-seat couch
Photo by Seven Shooter on Unsplash

And so it begins.

1. Walk in motivated and ready to rock

Camping out at the library is not for the faint of heart. You need to go in as a warrior. You usually have brought supplies (laptop, chargers, and textbooks) and sustenance (water, snacks, and blanket/sweatpants) since the battle will be for an undetermined length of time. Perhaps it is one assignment or perhaps it's four. You are motivated and prepared; you don’t doubt the assignment(s) will take time, but you know it couldn’t be that long.

Keep Reading...Show less
Student Life

The 14 Stages Of The Last Week Of Class

You need sleep, but also have 13 things due in the span of 4 days.

1183
black marker on notebook

December... it's full of finals, due dates, Mariah Carey, and the holidays. It's the worst time of the year, but the best because after finals, you get to not think about classes for a month and catch up on all the sleep you lost throughout the semester. But what's worse than finals week is the last week of classes, when all the due dates you've put off can no longer be put off anymore.

Keep Reading...Show less
Student Life

Top 20 Thoughts College Students Have During Finals

The ultimate list and gif guide to a college student's brain during finals.

352
winter

Thanksgiving break is over and Christmas is just around the corner and that means, for most college students, one hellish thing — finals week. It's the one time of year in which the library becomes over populated and mental breakdowns are most frequent. There is no way to avoid it or a cure for the pain that it brings. All we can do is hunker down with our books, order some Dominos, and pray that it will all be over soon. Luckily, we are not alone in this suffering. To prove it, here are just a few of the many deranged thoughts that go through a college student's mind during finals week.

Keep Reading...Show less
Student Life

28 Daily Thoughts of College Students

"I want to thank Google, Wikipedia, and whoever else invented copy and paste. Thank you."

1767
group of people sitting on bench near trees duting daytime

I know every college student has daily thoughts throughout their day. Whether you're walking on campus or attending class, we always have thoughts running a mile a minute through our heads. We may be wondering why we even showed up to class because we'd rather be sleeping, or when the professor announces that we have a test and you have an immediate panic attack.

Keep Reading...Show less

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Facebook Comments