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Baloo's Bugle


June 2002 Cub Scout Roundtable Issue

Volume 8, Issue 11
July Theme

Inside, Out and Backwards
Webelos Aquanaut & Geologist
  

   

OPENING

Inside-Out
Trapper Trails Council

 

Have signs that each boy can hold (3 that say inside, 3 that say outside, 1 that says inside-out)

Boy 1: (Inside sign) I am proud to live in the United States.

Boy 2: (Inside sign) I am happy to be free to say what I want and be what I want to be.

Boy 3: (Inside sign) I am grateful for those who fought and died so that we could enjoy our freedom.

Boy 4: (Outside sign) I will show respect for those who fight for our country.

Boy 5: (Outside sign) I will show respect for the flag by wearing my uniform tucked in during flag ceremonies.

Boy 6: (Outside sign) I will salute the flag or place my hand on my heart during the Pledge of Allegiance.

Boy 7: (Inside-Outside sign) Inside and Out, I will always be proud to be an American.  Please rise and repeat the Pledge of Allegiance with me.

Opening
Inland NW Council

Start this ceremony from the bottom do it backwards!

Cubmaster: Ladies and gentlemen, on behalf of the Cub Scouts and Leaders of Pack ___  Welcome to your Pack Meeting.

At this time, I will light the candle that represents the Spirit of Cub Scouting and will let it burn throughout our meeting to remind us of our overall purpose in the program of Cub Scouting.

I have here four candles.  With the "Spirit", let me ignite the first to represent the imagination of you the parents and you the adult leaders.  The second represents the material, the Cubs whom you have molded into masterpieces of art; good men of tomorrow.  The third and the fourth candles represent the various tools you use to build these men, let's call them citizenship training and character development.

May I remind you to work carefully but not slowly.  We have the material available and the world is in due need of the finished product.  If you make a mistake or if the material is not easily worked, be careful.  Make the corrections carefully and with patience. We cannot afford to lose a single product.

Boys, do your part by responding readily to these Imaginations.  When a builder sees progress, they are urged to build more.  We need the builders to be encouraged too.

From the Inside Looking Out
York Adams Area Council

Setup: Have the boys prepare their own pictures for each of the sets of lines, maybe even from the perspective presented.  (For example, for the Cub 1 lines, the picture might be someone looking longingly for freedom.)

Narrator: Have you ever imagined what it must be like seeing things from a different perspective?  Tonight, as we focus, or unfocus, on seeing things differently, let’s consider another perspective for some everyday things…

Cub 1: As it waves and unfurls in the breeze
There are many things that our flag sees
It sees those who upon it stare
And see the power and beauty there.

Cub 2: As our highway across the land
It’s awfully hard to understand
How someone could think himself better
To not obey the law when it comes to litter.

Cub 3: The air we breathe is all around
It also is there to carry sound
How strange it must feel to carry forth
Words that tear down—that have no worth.

Cub 4: So as this great country comes to be
The land that protects both you and me
Let’s all commit to a different view
Let’s all commit to goodness anew

Narrator: To seal our commitment, let’s begin our meeting with the Pledge of Allegiance.

 

A Backwards Pledge
York Adams Area Council

Note: The following is not meant to be disrespectful in any way.  In fact, it hopefully will be different enough that everyone will stand up and take note—it might keep us from saying the Pledge as rote. 

Setup:  Have the boys who will be reading their lines practice them ahead of time so that they can run through the ceremony smoothly and with full sincerity.  Give each boy a card with the lines for one Cub to read, in the order they are presented here.  If you are using a color guard to present the colors, have everyone stand for the posting and remain standing during the reading of the Pledge.

Leader: Tonight, as we enjoy our “Inside Out and Backwards” theme, we are opening with a different look at the Pledge of Allegiance the we say each month.  Our color guard will present the colors and all will please remain at attention as the Cubs from Den ___ recite the Pledge for us.

Cub #1: With liberty and justice for all—Freedom and fairness.  This is what every person in every land wants for him or herself.  Isn’t it only right that each of us work to make that happen for everyone else so that each of us has it?  Let’s work to make this real throughout the US and the world.

Cub #2: Indivisible—It cannot be broken apart.  Our country’s very short history has been tested time and time again, but we stand fast to this.  We cannot and will not be broken apart.

Cub #3: One nation under God—We are a community that as a community understands and recognizes that God is our strength and our protection.  We may have different names for God, but that does not change our basic understanding and belief.

Cub #4: And to the Republic for which it stands—We are a people united.  Although we are all different, when we combine the strengths of our differences, we are the strongest united people in the world.

Cub #5: To the flag of the United States of America—A symbol of a nation that stands for all we have just described.

Cub #6: I pledge allegiance—I am a part of all of this and I will do my part to keep it so.

Leader: Two.

 

Crossroads of America

Note: Since the theme is partially backwards, use the closing as the opening and the opening as the closing.

 

We have had a lot of fun with the theme in inside out and backwards today (or evening). But we also saw that even when viewed from a different angle, they remain the same. For example, a frown is a backwards smile. Just depends on how one looks at it. A frown may cause a person to stay away while a smile will cause a person to feel welcome and valued. A smile is a welcome as well as a goodbye. Tomorrow, lets each of us smile to not only those we know, but also to those we do not know so well. A smile is a wonderful thing to share. Please rise and join me in the Pledge of Allegiance. When done, have everyone sit down.

 

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