Boy Scout Troop 325
Scoutmaster Minute
Derek Parker Eagle Court of Honor
The Character Of An American
January 10, 2001
George Denise, Scoutmaster

Earlier, I said that I often find myself characterizing new scouts in the troop, and that "I found Derek to be a little shy and somewhat lacking in self-confidence, manifesting itself in a kind of James Dean-Rebel Without A Cause personality."

I guess that's actually pretty appropriate in a young man, however; lacking in confidence and being somewhat shy. Quite frankly, I'm not really sure what I think about a young man who's too full of himself. After all, at the age of 10 or 11, what does a boy really have to be cocky about? If anything, it is more likely to be the achievements of his parents: the car they drive, the house they live in, the father's title, the school they send him to. But those are not his achievements; if anything, they are obstacles.

A lot has been written about the American character. I suppose there are really as many American characters as there are Americans. This is the great melting pot, after all. But I think one of the things that unites many of us is hope. Our ancestors came to this country hoping for a new chance. Not hoping to get rich like J. L. Mencken said. Their dreams were more modest than that. Just hoping for a chance to be left alone to try, individually, to live their lives as best they could, each in their own way.

I remember watching the opening ceremony to the Olympics a few years ago. The greatest athletes of each nation, each in their own turn, marched into the arena, in uniform, lined up in columns, rank and file, solemnly, at attention, proud and respectful. Then in came the Americans. As raucous a crowd as you would ever want to see. There were hundreds of them. There was no order, no columns, no rank and file. Just hundreds of individuals, walking together, talking, laughing, joking, having a good time.

At first I thought they were being disrespectful to the games and what they stand for. I was embarrassed for them. But then, as the cameras panned in and I saw their faces, I realized there was no arrogance or disrespect. Like all of the other players, they too were proud. You could see the excitement, the enthusiasm, and the awe on their faces. And yet, they did not feel the need to be pretentious, to put on airs and be something they were not. They did not need to goose-step for the rest of the world to show their pride. They remained true to themselves, as athletes and as individuals.

This is the American character: in cliche, "the strong silent type", "the rugged individual", someone who doesn't put on airs, who minds his own business and hopes others will mind theirs, slow to anger, but quicker to forgive and forget. Alan Ladd in the classic western, Shane. James Dean in Rebel Without a Cause. John Wayne, and Ronald Reagan, and Clint Eastwood and Sylvester Stallone, and Bruce Willis and so many others in God knows how many movies depicting the average guy rising to exceptional circumstances around him.

Even in war, our heros are not the loudmouth braggarts, but the quiet, hard-working men and women who, when called upon, lay down their tools, do their duty, and then quietly come home and resume their lives as best they can afterward. "No brag, just fact!"

Derek is like that. He's not full of himself (well, maybe a little right now, but that's understandable.) He has a modest opinion of himself. He doesn't brag. He doesn't show off.

As a young scout, he didn't perceive himself as one of the elite who would someday achieve Eagle. And then he did it. And in doing so, he became one of the elite, one of the two per cent who do achieve Eagle.

There are 3,326,565 Boy Scouts in America. There are over 29 million Scouts worldwide. Since it's founding in England in 1907, there have been close to 250 million Scouts worldwide, and some 100 million Scouts in America. Of those 100 million American Scouts, there have been approximately 2 million Eagle Scouts, just 2% of that total.

I have to share the following statistics at each Eagle Court of Honor, because while some of you already know these facts, some of you haven't been to an Eagle Court of Honor before and might enjoy hearing them, and the achievement of Eagle is so unique and special that it doesn't hurt for us all to hear them again, anyway.

Nationally, one in four boys, 25%, become Scouts. Of those who were Scouts, approximately 2% achieved Scouting's highest rank, Eagle. Yet a nation-wide survey of high schools a few years ago revealed that 89% of senior class presidents were Scouts, 85% of student council presidents were Scouts, 80% of junior class presidents were Scouts, 75% of school publication editors were Scouts, and 71% of football captains were Scouts.

Former Scouts make up 64% of Air Force Academy graduates, 65% of U.S. Congressmen, 68% of West Point graduates, 70% of Annapolis graduates, 70% of those who appear in Who's Who, 85% of FBI agents, and 75% of Rhodes Scholars.

In the general population, 83% have graduated from high school, yet of those who were Scouts, 98% have graduated from high school. While in the general population, 16% have graduated from college, of those who were Scouts, 40% have graduated from college.

Of the 214 former and present astronauts, 142 took part in Scouting and 33 achieved Eagle.

Of the twelve men who have walked on the surface of the moon, eleven were Scouts and two were Eagles.

Of the seven U.S. Presidents who were born recently enough to be in Scouting, three were Scouts and one was an Eagle.

Derek is that quiet, unassuming American icon who rose to the circumstances around him and achieved success. What circumstances moved him? I don't know, for sure. It might have been when he attended Bristlecone JLT and committed to working with the younger scouts as a troop guide. It might have been while he was actually working with those younger scouts. It might have been when he looked around and noticed that most of the other members of the Trez Patrol were Life and Eagle and he was still First Class. Maybe it was something his mother said. Somewhere along the way, Derek rose to the challenge. Quietly, without fanfare, he decided to become an Eagle, and he did it.

Another thing about Americans; General Douglas Macarthur said, "Americans never quit." The good ones don't, anyway. And Derek is a good one.

Congratulations, Derek, on achieving Eagle and on being a great American!

You are an Eagle from this day on. Conduct yourself accordingly: with integrity, with honor, and with humility. And go with God.