Neglected Virtue        

    Has it been a half-century since Peter, Paul and Mary sang, Where have all the flowers gone? The Kingston Trio also sang this somber song, one of its lines, Where have all the young men gone? It was a lament over the tragedy of war.

   We wonder, where have all the adult men gone? Is manliness limited to combat soldiers, football players, farmers and construction crews? Do financial giants and male politicians have it? 

   Oh, there are many who know what it means to raise a family, to take responsibility at home and at work. But not all. 

   Role models. Athletes, rock stars and actors replace those who fought and sacrificed on grounds far more important than stages and football fields. 

   A code for men isn't etched in cement, but "a man with a code cannot break it without compromising his soul," writes Jeff Minick, a teacher. 

   Professor Waller Newell offers a Western code: Honor tempered by prudence, ambition tempered by compassion, love restrained by delicacy, and honor toward the beloved. He says men need honor, courage and virtue, and that power and money mean nothing, that good triumphs over evil, and true love never dies.  

   Soldiers, athletes and others can have these traits. But not all. Men in many professions, including Mr. Moms, may live by a code. But not all. 

   Can a guy who tapped typewriter or keyboard keys be manly? 

   As a Boy Scout, we may have repeated the Scout Law more than 100 times. 

   A Scout is trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, reverent. That's my code...though imperfectly followed. 

   Now, Scouting has been bankrupted by immoral leaders, men not manly. 

   We wonder, where have all the old scoutmasters gone? 

        Jimmy