The Quest for Community and The Arrow of Light

In Malcolm Gladwell's fascinating book Outliers, the author describes the community of Roseta, Pennsylvania, and offers up statistics as to the remarkable health and longevity of its residents.  In a considerably more difficult and scholarly work, Robert Nisbet chronicled a study of governmental institutions and our innate quest for community in his 1953 book, The Quest for Community.

A couple of weeks ago the front page of Brookfield Now carried a picture of the Arrow of Light Ceremony, held at Brookfield Elementary school.  This ceremony marks the point of transition from Cub Scouts to Boy Scouts, and Barb and I attended so as to participate with our son.  But we also went to express our appreciation to the men and women who have invested so much of themselves in him, and in the boys of our community.

The ceremony was steeped in Indian lore, capped by an archer dressed as a Chief firing an arrow into a target as the name of each boy was called.  During the ceremony all men in the audience who had achieved the level of Eagle Scout were called up on stage for recognition and comment.  The Eagle Scouts included our son's Pack Leader John Urban, Brookfield Central biology teacher Larry Hipp, Scott Teerlinck, and other community residents.  I fell well short of this distinction, but did enough Scouting to know what a tremendous accomplishment it is; certainly a lifetime achievement deserving of recognition.

I want to again say thank you to these leaders for so many things:  for showing the boys there is more to life than Wii's and PSP's and I-Pods, for showing them the world of Pinewood Derbys and rain-gutter regattas, the world of rope-bridges and camp fires.  Our technology is marvelous and certainly has its place in our lives.  But it cannot produce the joy that teaches, or create memories that imprint themselves upon one's very consciousness.  It cannot teach what tireless Cub Scout volunteer Kathy Otto described as "good old-fashioned skills".  And most of all, it cannot provide that most precious and vanishing of commodities - a sense of wonder in the mind and heart of a boy. 

And so I say a heartfelt THANK YOU to Kathy Otto, Jeff Heilman, and Mark and Kathy Kindler.  And to John and Kristin Urban, to George and Laurie Czechowski, to T.J. and Kate Roche, to Tony and Kristin Lillibridge, and to all the other Scout leaders and their families that were there that night.  I say thank you for your sacrifice of treasure, talent, and time on behalf of our community's boys and families.

In America today we have many needs and challenges. 

But there is no need as great as the one for more people like these.