We live in a fly-by-night slideshow of memes, gifs, and TikTok videos. Our worlds have been shaped by TV and music that would make former generations haul us by the ear to Sunday School. The societal bar for decency has been lowered. It is common to hear foul language to describe our president, the person voted to the highest office in this country. Political opinions aside, things like that demean our great nation. There is a vague feeling of disrespect permeating amongst our youth.

This is how you know you have crossed the threshold into true adulthood. Real grown ups are appalled by “kids these days.”

I recently helped with an early-morning set up at Artesia’s wildly successful Main Event Car Show & Cruise. It was a mostly quiet affair, with an air of comradery as other early risers milled about or started their prep work. The food trucks cranked their generators to start pots of coffee as tents were reinforced against unpredictable, and highly likely, spring winds. As rays of sunlight streamed down through the trees of Texas Avenue, teenagers filed in. Many teenagers, smiling teenagers, teenagers that called me, “Ma’am,” and offered unsolicited assistance. They chatted amongst themselves while awaiting instruction, but of the conversations I could overhear, they were genial and remarkably void of profanity. Who were these kids? Where did they come from?

They were Boy Scouts. Of course, they were! A blast from the past (or so I incorrectly assumed). These kids were respectful and helpful, capable, and competent. They were not boisterous or oblivious with their eyes and ears glued to a phone.

The Boy Scouts’ oath is as follows: To do my duty to God and my country and to obey the Scout Law; To help other people at all times; To keep myself physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight. In the short time that I spent observing, I can say that our local scouts made good on that oath. The Boy Scouts seem like an anachronism, a throwback from a Norman Rockwell painting. The oath, the slogan, “Do a Good Turn Daily,” and the motto, “Be Prepared” are so logical, but are seldom seen put to good use in our lives today.

Scout law says that a scout is: Trustworthy, Loyal, Helpful, Friendly, Courteous, Kind, Obedient, Cheerful, Thrifty, Brave, Clean, and Reverent. We should all aspire to demonstrate those qualities and endeavor to teach our youth to do the same.

Scout Master Jeremy Kern considers Scouts the adventure of a lifetime for Artesia’s youth. Local Troop 228 is going on 43 years of adventure and learning. Our local Boy Scouts have committed time and energy to Artesia with service projects like cleaning up the MLK Recreation Complex. The kids spent the day picking up litter and working in conjunction with Artesia General Hospital Plant Operations Maintenance Techs, Steve Leaton, and Colby Hamilton, to paint over graffiti on the skate park. The Scouts also assembled the American Flag drop off boxes located at the Artesia Public Library and City Hall. Additionally, they collect the dropped off flags and submit them for retirement. Troop 228 recently hosted the first annual Swimming Campboree at the Artesia Aquatic Center. 40 Scouts from Ruidoso, Carlsbad, Hobbs, and Lovington joined the festivities and learning. The scouts learned valuable life skills such as assisting drowning swimmers, how to create makeshift floatation devices, swimming stroke techniques, and how to stay alive in freezing waters. Thirty-two kids even earned their Swimming Merit Badges that day!

Merit Badges are an integral part of what it means to be a Boy Scout. However, earning the badge is not the ultimate goal, it is the lesson in self-reliance, self-confidence, and personal growth. Scouts create leaders, self-starters, people who can rely on their own grit and integrity to get them through difficult times. Artesians need not worry about “Scouts these days.” Their wholesome and positive values are a beacon of light through these dusky times. Our youths have not been lost to indecency and irreverence. Scout’s honor.