8月4日VOA聽力：美國孺子軍接收同性戀首腦
OTTAWA, ILLINOIS— For years, Boy Scouts fromacross the country made an annual pilgrimage toOttawa, Illinois, which proudly promotes itself as the“Home of the Founder” of the Boy Scouts ofAmerica, William Dickson Boyce.
“He lived here during the formative years of the Boy Scouts, and he is buried here.”Mollie Perrotis the executive director of the Ottawa Historical and Scouting Heritage Museum, where thehistory of the Scouting movement worldwide is on display.
Perrot knows about change: She was once a Boy Scout leader at a time when women were justbeing accepted into the organization.
“And it was still pretty much a men's club," she said. "But there are a lot of women leaderstoday, and that’s changed. Initially, it was 'getting over the humps,' you might say.”
Perrot believes the Boy Scouts will also get over the humps expected following theorganization's decision to accept gay leaders.
"They may experience the same thing the women experienced, ostensibly, some little bit ofostracism, and then acceptance," she said.
"Move beyond the political and social side of it, and come back to what Scouting is all about,and that’s the young men and women it serves — to make them better as citizens of ourcountry and the world.”
The decision in Skelly’s view, was inevitable. Involved with Boy Scouts since he was 7 yearsold, Skelly says Scouting’s focus has never been, and never should be, on its leaders' sexualorientation.
“Ideally, the lifestyles of the leaders should not come into play, but that’s an ideal world,” hesaid.
Mollie Perrot says she believes the changes won't end there.
“Boy Scouts does not embrace atheists either, and there’s pressure from externals，I thinkit’s going to force a lot of changes in that regard.”
Boyce died in 1929. Perrot says she can't speak for how Boyce would feel about the decision,but she has spoken to his family.
“Part of his family has said that he would accept, and I have contact with another family memberwho said he would not,” she said.
But whether Boyce would accept it or not, it is now the official policy of the Boy Scouts ofAmerica.
點擊下一頁檢察譯文
市場價：HK$ 110
