A Friend to Animals:
Discovering Reverence for Life in the World of the Scout
Otava Piha
The founder of the Scout Movement, Lord Robert Baden-Powell, was, like Albert Schweitzer, a white man in Africa. But he is known for a vastly different kind of philosophy: one of duty, bravery and loyalty to God and to the nation. These were the values that ‘B-P’ wished to bring from the siege of Mafeking to his home country, where he thought an attitude of self-interest had caused a moral degradation of the people. These are the values for which B-P is remembered, especially in the imagination of non-scouts. Yet, over his lifetime and as the Scout Movement spread around the world, B-P, like any philosopher, reviewed and reworked his philosophy, and at the time of his death, he was a man much changed from the time of his military career. B-P’s aim was to make good citizens, and in a globalising world, a good citizen needed to make friendships across national, cultural and religious boundaries. This is how respect for other people came to be the most important principle in scouting. This principle has, from the beginning, been reflected in B-P’s Scout Law: point four reads, “A scout is a friend to all, and a brother to every other scout, no matter what social class the other belongs to.” One could also add attributes other than social class – such as religion, sexuality or gender. Although a religious man, B-P emphasised inclusiveness over exclusiveness, and easily accepted both women and Muslims to his movement. So I would like to ask the Boy Scouts of America: why not homosexuals?
The fourth point in the Scout Law forms the first half of a philosophy of Reverence for Life in scouting. The essence of Reverence for Life, for me, is in the respect for all living things, simply because all creatures share a universal will-to-live. Implementing this principle starts with respect for other people, but it does not end there, and B-P also saw this. The sixth point in B-P’s Scout Law is “A scout is a friend to animals.” In his book Scouting for Boys, B-P described in detail the art of stalking animals, and concluded that “by continually watching animals in the open, one gets to like them too well to shoot them.” He presented stalking as an almost spiritual experience, similar to Schweitzer’s experience of becoming aware of the universal will-to-live. I believe that many scout groups, especially those that are distancing themselves from religion, would benefit from a revisit to spirituality, and a visit to Reverence for Life could guide them on the journey.
The Scout Law was never meant to be the Ten Commandments, and so national scouting organisations have modified the Law to reflect the ideals that make a good citizen in their cultural context, while staying broadly loyal to B-P. In Finland, the Scout Law has been changed to the Scout Ideals, which are presented as a goal to strive for, rather than a binding oath inviting punishment in the event of failure. After all, we are all human and liable to mistakes; something that both B-P and Schweitzer seem to forget. Occasionally social pressures, thoughtlessness or simply exhaustion may prevent us from acting according to our philosophy. However, in these situations, we must reflect back on why we failed, remind ourselves of Reverence for Life, and try again.