Yesterday was my youngest son’s 1st Cub Scout meeting. The Pack has to write their own rules. This is their code of conduct. Overall, they have the general rules of conduct and decorum, but the testosterone factor got some play. The boys came up with this list and I think it bodes well as a list of male conduct.
 
I cannot stop laughing about this.
How is it that keeping their clothes on needs to be on the list? Likewise, if so important, how is that it is not their #1 rule. Picking the nose (and apparently all other body emissions) are acceptable, but just no FLICKING. Some thought went into this list as a collaborative effort. You can see the impulsivity of the male brain. The best insight is that the boys are aware that they are impulsive and they know they need brakes: no running off, keep clothes on, no yelling, be safe. Testosterone just wires them differently. Those brain cells get ramped up on the testosterone and they are flat out different and…I think it is fantastic! It is fascinating. I love my guys. They are very different than girls. Women are complicated, but men are very misunderstood…even from themselves. I believe boys need places to be male. And men needs places to be boys again.
Go Boys!
12/12/2007 @ 12:48 am
You are absolutely right! In hindsight, these rules were a precursor to come… the rest of the meeting. It all makes sense now. But how does one redirect all of this into something productive? If you notice #11, #12, #13 were added sometime later by an un-known scout. This evidently was prompted by me telling several boys to stop playing the piano and to share. I guess they felt it needed to be ‘added’ to the rules.