Criticizing Others Minute

This Minute is meant for Boy Scouts.

An American Indian saying goes: "Before you judge someone, walk a long distance in his moccasins."

Settlers changed that to "Before you judge a man, walk a mile in his shoes."

What does that mean to you?

When you notice someone doing a job poorly, maybe it's cooking a meal, or lashing a camp gadget, or leading a meeting, it's awful easy to point out their failures. It's easy to giggle when a scout forgets how the Scout Oath begins, or criticize another scout making mistakes in a skills instruction, or talk to your neighbor when you don't respect the leader of a meeting. It takes much more effort on your part to try to help the situation.

Before you make life difficult for that guy on the hotseat, try to imagine yourself there. Could you do better? Sure, you could, but how? Would you plan better? Would you talk more clearly? Would you make everyone pay better attention? Whatever ways you can see that scout might improve, those are the things you should help make happen.

I see this often in this troop. A young scout will timidly start to lead the troop in the Scout Law and an older scout's louder, deeper voice will support him. Two scouts will step in with a new game when the one responsible for the game doesn't show up. I even see scouts working to stay quiet and attentive while an old man drones on. :-)

Patience and understanding are two virtues each of us can work on.