Teaching for the Future: Silent Post: Boy Scouts and Copyright

According to a post on BoingBoing.net the LA County Council of the Boy Scouts of America are working on a merit patch with the MPAA called "Respect Copyrights". As an Eagle Scout myself I find this really troubling for four reasons. First, However you feel about the BSA or current copyright laws, it seems strange that a organization like the MPAA is targeting young minds so directly and blatantly. The Boy Scouts is a group that focuses on teaching skills and values to boys and by creating this patch the MPAA is masking their message as one of those values. Secondly, the Boy Scouts of America is an organization that has taught values and skills since 1910 by passing on information from leader to scout, scout to scout, generation to generation. However the MPAA by it's very nature is about protecting information from it's audience and has the potential to stifle this tradition of learning and teaching. Finally, I'm concerned that the Boy Scouts of America is so quick to be influenced by an outside organization that may not share its values. Though many could argue that the BSA has been influenced by many organizations over the years, I feel like this is a line in the sand that I'm totally uncomfortable with. Finally, this patch is just plain ugly. Though this is just another patch in a long tradition of ugly patches, I feel like it would be interesting if the BSA had an open call for designs and then, in MPAA fashion, copyright the image and protect it from person who creates it and the boys who will wear it.

If you're a former Boy Scout or Eagle Scout who is interested in getting involved please contact the Boy Scouts of America Concerned About Copyright by emailing them at BSACAC [at] gmail [dot] com.