I’ve often wondered about the twelve words Lord Baden Powell chose for the Scout Law – particularly words like Friendly, Courteous and Kind, which seem to be synonyms. Are they redundant?  Are they interconnected?  Has our modern English lost some details originally found in the words 100 years ago?  So, I decided to look into it. I couldn’t find an online dictionary with definitions from 100 years ago.  And when I looked in current online dictionaries, each word was often used used to describe the others. So, I moved on to Scouting resources.  In looking at the descriptions from Scouts BSA, we see these explanations: Friendly: A Scout is a…

A Scout is friendly. A Scout is a friend to all. He is a brother to other Scouts. He offers his friendship to people of all races and nations, and respects them even if their beliefs and customs are different from his own. If a Scout pre-judges someone on their skin color, language, clothes, looks, family name, or other superficial aspect, then he is not following the Scout Law. Friendship is a mirror. When you have a smile on your face as you greet someone, you will probably receive a smile in return. If you are willing to be a good friend, you will find friendship reflected back to you.…