Rule No. 54 from Andy at Ask Andy :
The more logical and simple the Scouting procedure or policy, the more it will be ignored.
This isn’t simply a curmudgeonly observation – it’s true. True things ought to inspire us to think for a minute or two (at least).
I see a similarity to a quote I posted earlier this month from Edwin Armstrong :
It ain’t ignorance that causes all the trouble in this world. It’s the things people know that ain’t so.
If you are doing any job well there’s a slight edge of doubt in your mind that drives you to continuously check your performance; to innovate, to question, to refine, to expand your knowledge. To some extent good work is fighting complacency, challenging the way you do things, a continuous quest to do better, to become better.
I return to the simple, logical principles of Scouting again and again because systems of simplicity and logic tend to atrophy into complexity and disconnection if we don’t constantly reexamine them.
I highly recommend reading Andy’s columns – they will make you think, look at and learn more about the logical, simple, heart of Scouting.