Walking into a room full of scouts one of the first things you'll notice are the vibes. There is a tremendous amount of positive energy in one place. There is joy, laughter, great conversation, and new friendships forming. It's an awesome place to be.
The reason it's such a great place to be is because everyone is welcome. Scouting welcomes everyone regardless of religion, gender, race, orientation, or nationality. Scouting is made better by the diversity each of us brings. We all have something valuable and worthy to offer scouting.
Mr. Rogers said, "As human beings, our job in life is to help people realize how rare and valuable each one of us really is, that each of us has something that no one else has- or ever will have- something inside that is unique to all time. It's our job to encourage each other to discover that uniqueness and to provide ways of developing its expression"
It's your duty as scouts to help people at all times. As you grow in your leadership it's imperative that your actions and words create an environment that is open and welcoming to everyone. The longer you are in the troop and higher rank you achieve others look to you as a leader. All of you are leaders in the troop.
As a leader you set the standard for language and behavior in the troop. You are responsible for creating an environment that is welcoming for everyone regardless of religion, gender, race, orientation, or nationality.
As a leader it is incumbent upon you to be brave to speak up and speak out when a Scout's words and actions are not inline with the Scout Oath and Scout Law.
A scout is kind in their words, courteous in their actions, and brave to speak up.