On my honor,
I will try,
to do my duty,
to God and my country,
to help other people
at all times,
and to obey the Girl Scout Laws.
We recited that promise before every meeting, yet I doubt if any of us truly knew the meaning of what we were saying.
Honor means to fulfill an obligation when used in this context, but to a kid it means squat. Kids hear about "Honor Roll," that certificate one gets when achieving high grades, or calling a judge "your honor," but what is "on my honor" to a kid? Is that like sitting on a high bench like a judge or meaning you promise to make high grades. Reciting "On my honor" could have been the same as talking about cadavers–beyond kid vocabulary.
When saying I'd do my duty, I always got a chuckle because it sounded like going doo doo. I wonder if any other Girl Scouts giggled over that one. I never even knew what my duty was, so why promise it?
Doing doo doo to God sounds ominous, whereas Doo doo to my country sounds like I'm gonna fight a war. Yep! Little innocent children carried bombs to soldiers during Vietnam. I'm glad us green skirted girly girls weren't called upon to "do our duty." If we're not talking war time, how does a little girl "do duty to her country?"
"Helping other people" sounds like a keeper phrase, but at all times? What if the adult doesn't want help? What if the little girls just get in the way? Is it really necessary to help other people at all times?
Finally, we promised to obey the Girl Scout laws. What the heck were those laws? I don't think I ever knew.
Since this little promise is pointless, I'm going to present my own.
I promise
to try
to listen to the troop leaders
and not be a brat at meetings,
to help other people when they want my help,
and to learn the Girl Scout Laws.
Then I'll find the lameness of them too and have more fun.
7 comments:
I didn't think it was pointless at the time, but see your point and wonder why I thought it meant something! I much preferred to sing the Daisy song and to work on badges. Course, I ended up quitting the scouts in junior high and taking up with 4-H instead--another pledge that is unclear and misunderstood:
"I pledge my head to clearer thinking,
my heart to greater loyalty,
my hands to larger service
and my health to better living,
for my club, my community, my country, and my world."
Now, as a Quaker, I do not pledge at all, and the world keeps turning.
Honor? You should see my friends writing business for students. These "honor roll" students are paying he and his staff on a regular basis.
Hiw much are scout cookies this year?
Children are brain washed all the time to say things they do not understand. As for the children in Vietnam, it wasn't any different in some ways for the young soldiers who fought that war... The new promise you wrote is a more likely one that might be kept... but I don't want my daughter reciting she won't be a brat. I hate that language from adults toward children. But I get you point!
I remember being in the Brownies for a short while and was so happy to wear that uniform and then we moved and I never joined again. We moved a lot and I think I felt that I would never get anywhere in the group. I probably made that pledge but was too young to understand any of it. Just another promise I probably would not have kept.
Love the humor about the Girl Scouts and the rewritten pledge. Thanks for another great Theme Thursday post.
God bless.
lol. Doo doo. My boys love nothing more that farting and pooping jokes so this would go over well in our house.
Too wonderful that you totally understand the thought process of those little girls! Thanks for the new pledge. This really made me grin.
What gorgeous pictures!
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