NOT YOUR MOTHER'S
WorldNetDaily Exclusive
NOT YOUR
MOTHER'S
Girl Scouts exposed: Lessons in lesbianism
Communists, radical feminists cited as role models for
troops
Posted: May 17,
2009
7:57 pm Eastern
By Chelsea Schilling
© 2009 WorldNetDaily
When many
parents think of Girl Scouts, they imagine young girls in uniform selling Thin Mints and
Tagalong cookies not learning about stone labyrinths, world peace, global warming,
yoga, avatars, smudging incense, Zen gardens and feminist, communist and
lesbian role models.
But that's
exactly what many of 2.7 million Girl Scouts will learn about with a new curriculum called "Journeys"
released last year.
Patti Garibay spent nearly two decades in Girl Scouts six years
as a girl member and 13 years as a volunteer. She was also a
recruiter, camp coordinator and area delegate winning outstanding leader and
volunteer in both councils in which she served. In Garibay's
words, she "bled green."
But in 1993 when
Girl Scouts USA decided to make God optional in its program at the national
convention in Minneapolis, an idea known as "Proposal 3: Flexibility in
Spiritual Wording," Garibay chose to leave the
organization.
"I had
always used Girl Scouts as part of my life's ministry, modeling my faith while
serving girls," she told WND. "However as this change became policy,
mandates were made against Christmas caroling, praying at meetings and singing
hymns. I had a true moral dilemma and felt that I could not uphold the GSUSA's rules and remain a Christian never denying my
Lord."
In the Girl
Scout curriculum, the organization's promise now includes an
asterisk with the following disclaimer:
Girl Scouts of
the
Garibay said it appears that Girl
Scouts has taken a stance toward religion the religion of the New Age
despite its proclaimed secular scouting program. WND asked Girl Scouts USA
spokeswoman Michelle Tompkins if the organization is shifting its focus toward
a New Age agenda.
"No, Girl
Scouts isn't headed into a New Age direction," she said. "We're just
looking for new ways to get through to girls."
WND reviewed the
following books in the Girl Scouts' new "Journeys" curriculum:
'Amaze:
The Twists and Turns of Getting Along'
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In "Amaze:
The Twists and Turns of Getting Along," girls from the sixth to the eighth
grade will read a quote from Buddha and be encouraged to explore mazes and
stone or dirt labyrinths symbols rooted in pagan mythology and popular within
the New Age movement as meditation tools.
They will be
briefly introduced to Polish poet Anna Swir, known for her feminist and erotic poems, and Jane
Addams, an ardent feminist and pacifist who received a Nobel Peace Prize.
The text
features a quote from Harriet Woods, former president of the National Women's
Political Caucus a bipartisan group that endorses pro-abortion female
candidates who run for public office.
To cope with
bullying, girls as young as 11 are encouraged to "take a peace
break," make a Zen garden, take martial arts, do yoga and visit a website to
learn the sun salutation poses.
The book
features a strong emphasis on feminism and world peace, concluding with the
following message:
Life is a maze.
Navigate its twists and turns and you'll find true friendships, meaningful
relationships, and lots of confidence to boot. So, go ahead, enter the maze.
The goal is peace for you, your world, and the planet, too.
Garibay said, "Placing an
asterisk by the word 'God' in the Girl Scout promise in an effort to be
tolerant, yet promoting Eastern mysticism through Zen gardens and Buddha
writings hardly seems tolerant to those who believe in Christianity."
'Girltopia'
In the next age
group, for teens in the ninth and tenth grades, girls are taught about wage
disparities between the sexes, and a lack of assets and senior management
positions held by women.
"Girltopia" poses the questions, "When women don't
earn enough, what happens to their children?" and "How could everyone
help create a Girltopia?"
Asked what the
purpose of including a message of inequality served in the Girl Scout
curriculum, Tompkins explained:
It's to show
girls what's going on in the country and have them be part of the dialogue. A
lot of girls just aren't aware of what's going on. I think that specific topic
might be new this year, but in the broader scheme of things, it's not that new.
I'm sure it's something that came up in the 1920s as well. Girls Scouting has
been around since before women had the right to vote, so I'm sure these
discussions were always part of this.
The text praises
Renaissance author Sir Thomas More for his book "Utopia," Mary
Cavendish for her book "A New World: The Blazing World" about a
utopian kingdom and 24-year Executive Director of Rocky Mountain
Planned Parenthood and feminist author Sheri S. Tepper
for her novel, "The Gate to Women's Country."
"Girltopia" encourages girls to "let songs inspire
you," and as some examples, it provides lyrics to songs such as
"Independent Women, part 1" by Destiny's Child; "Hammer and a
Nail" by the Indigo Girls an "out" lesbian rock band; and
"Imagine" by John Lennon. The curriculum also asks girls to create an
avatar "to represent the ideal you in Girltopia"
and features "Wild Geese," a short poem by lesbian poet Mary Oliver.
"This book
was so depressing that I don't know what I would have done as a teen reading
it," Garibay said. "The sense of
hopelessness abounds in 'Girltopia.' The positivity, the enthusiasm and the vigor of youth is
completely destroyed by data found to further the Girl Scout USA's feminist
agenda. It plants seeds of despair and hopelessness in today's girls."
"Girltopia" also features a section on ethics and asks,
"What are your ethical standards based on?" Girls must check all of
the following answers that apply:
Whatever does
the most good and least harm
Whatever treats
everyone as fairly and equally as possible
Whatever is best for most people in the community
Whatever is consistent with your character
"Although
not everyone shares the same sense of personal ethics, most people in the world
have many ethical principles in common," it states.
"The hollow
toll of moral relativism is throughout these books," Garibay
said. "The girls are left up to their own 'feelings' in making decisions.
This is not age appropriate for girls, nor is it what girls want to be forced
to do. They want to know right from wrong."
'Your
Voice Your World: The Power of Advocacy'
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When teens reach
their junior and senior years in high school, they begin a Girl Scouts
curriculum called "Your Voice Your World: The Power of Advocacy." It
encourages young women to begin "raising their voices as advocates"
and follow the examples of other young people who are speaking out on causes
such as global warming, universal health care, racism
and child poverty.
One question
asks, "What policies is our city putting in place to combat global
warming?"
Teens are then
asked to generate a list of causes they are passionate about. One example
suggests girls "propose new environmental protection laws for waterways in
your state."
The text
encourages Girl Scouts to take their ideas and list steps necessary to
accomplish goals on advocacy charts. It provides the following suggestion for a
cause:
I worry about
all the waste in using plastic bags and how their use in my community
contributes to global warming. One example is the supermarket do we really
need to be using all those plastic bags?
Girls are
encouraged to read the bottom of each page to discover a "Voice for
Good," or female advocates who are meant to be role models. Of more than
50 women listed, only three are women who are known for their faith: Sojourner
Truth, Harriet Tubman and Mother Teresa. Their religions are only briefly
mentioned, if at all.
Many of the
female role models mentioned are feminists, lesbians, existentialists,
communists and Marxists. Examples include:
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Elizabeth
Gurley Flynn: labor leader, activist, feminist, founding member
of ACLU and chairwoman of the American Communist Party
Luisa
Moreno: labor leader, social activist,
member of the Communist Party, married to delegate of the Socialist Party of
America
Simone de
Beauvoir: existentialist, French author of feminist books
including "The Second Sex," key player in
Rigoberta Menchu:
Guatemalan activist and Nobel Peace Prize winner who joined Marxist guerrilla
movement
Emily
Greene Balch: writer, feminist, recipient of Nobel Peace Prize,
pacifist who campaigned against U.S. involvement in World War I, former editor
of The Nation
Billie
Jean King: retired tennis champion, sued for palimony by
lesbian girlfriend while she was still married, first prominent professional
athlete to come out as homosexual
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Ethel
Mary Smyth: English composer, lesbian, leader of the women's
suffrage movement, member of Women's Social and Political Union
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Jeanette
Rankin: first woman elected to the House of Representatives,
R-Montana, pacifist who voted against
Carrie
Chapman Catt: feminist politician, president of the National
American Woman Suffrage Association, founded the League of Women Voters,
anti-war activist
Frances
Perkins: teacher and U.S. secretary of labor from 1933 to 1945,
first woman appointed to the U.S. Cabinet, helped write New Deal legislation
including minimum-wage laws, allegedly had lesbian relationship with Mary
Harriman Rumsey
Rachel
Carson: marine biologist and nature writer, author of
"Silent Spring" (1962), spurring a nationwide ban on DDT, inspiration
from book led to the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency, reported
to have had lesbian relationship with Dorothy Freeman
Barbara
Jordan: member of House of Representatives from 1973 to 1979,
first black woman to deliver keynote address at the Democratic National
Convention in 1976, supported Community Reinvestment Act of 1977 requiring
banks to lend to poor and minority communities. The Houston Chronicle reported
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Martina
Navratilova: former World No. 1 women's
tennis champion from
Shirley
Chisholm: member of the House of Representatives from 1969 to
1983, feminist, first black woman elected to Congress, first major-party black
candidate for president of the United States, founding member of the National
Organization of Women, helped pass Title IX, homosexual advocate
Pauli
Murray: feminist, lawyer, writer, poet, teacher, ordained
priest, author of the 1950 book "States' Laws on Race and Color,"
founder of the Women's Rights Law Reporter, co-founder
of the National Organization for Women.
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Betty
Friedan: feminist writer on Girl Scouts' board of directors, best
remembered for 1963 book "The Feminine Mystique," primary founder and
first president of the National Organization for Women, founder of the National
Women's Political Caucus, strong opponent of abortion laws, founder of the
National Abortion Rights Action League, or NARAL, active in Marxist circles,
spoke in favor of homosexual "rights"
Dolores
Huerta: co-founder of the United Farm Workers of America, co-founder
of the National Farm Workers Association with Cesar Chαvez,
directed the UFW's national grape boycott, serves on
boards of People for the
Bette
Midler: singer, actress, self-proclaimed advocate for "gay
liberation movement"
Other
"Voices for Good" include Secretary of State Hillary Clinton a
former Brownie and Girl Scout and TV talk show host Oprah Winfrey.
WND asked
Tompkins why Girl Scouts USA has chosen to focus on lesbians, radical feminists
and controversial figures as role models instead of other significant female
pioneers.
"There was
a council of people who worked on the 'Journeys.' They tried to figure out who
would be profiled," she said. "It came out from lots of discussions.
I think the change the world message has been part of Girl Scouts since the
beginning. It's not a radical agenda at all."
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She continued,
"I think the concept of change is incredibly radical, but it's about
making the world better and being conscious and respecting authority. There was
a wide cross-section of women mentioned in the 'Journeys' that came about from
the discussions."
Readers will
find very few men in the book, with the exception of a brief mention of Kofi Annan, former
secretary-general of the United Nations.
"Men are not
seen favorably but, rather a force to diminish and avoid," Garibay said. "It alarmed me that women of faith were
only mentioned in these few cases despite their many contributions. Not one
pro-life woman was mentioned, nor was a missionary or conservative public
figure."
Tompkins said
she doesn't know why there are only three women of faith mentioned, but she
said, "Girl Scouts isn't a religious organization, so that could be part
of it."
She continued,
"I would imagine we keep everything open when it comes to faith. I know no
doors are ever shut with us. It's sort of like the way that God can never be
taken out of the Girl Scout promise and law in writing."
"Your Voice
Your World" finishes by encouraging teens who are
bitten by the "advocacy bug" to pursue some of the following careers:
ambassador,
congressperson, artist, filmmaker, labor union organizer, fund raiser/grant
writer, lawyer, lobbyist, mediator, professor, public affairs officer,
researcher, religious leader, senator, web master, blogger,
journalist
Tompkins told
WND a new "Journeys" book will be arriving this month called
"It's Your Planet, Love It." She said the text has a strong
environmental focus.
Other
controversy
As WND columnist Jane Chastain reported, at
the 51st Girl Scout National Council Session and Convention last year, the
organization did away with its traditional flag ceremony and the playing of the
National Anthem. Flags of all nations were brought in to the tune of
"September" by Earth, Wind and Fire.
The Girl Scouts
also made headlines in recent years after it refused to adopt what it called
"a discrimination policy" against homosexual leaders.
In a 2000
National Review Online editorial titled "The Cookie Crumbles," author Kathryn Jean
Lopez cites the 1997 book "On My Honor: Lesbians Reflect on Their Scouting
Experience." She said it is "filled with coming-of-age stories
sparked by gay encounters in the Girl Scouts."
"On My
Honor" includes an essay titled "All I Really Need to Know About Being a Lesbian I Learned at Girl Scout Camp."
Lopez reported that "staffers writing in the book claim that roughly one
in three of the Girls Scouts' paid professional staff is lesbian."
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According to news reports, Planned Parenthood has also had
some involvement with Girl Scouts in recent years.
In
On NBC's Today
Show in 2004, Kathy Cloninger, CEO of Girls Scouts
USA, admitted that it "partners with Planned Parenthood across the country
to bring information based sex education programs to girls."
In response to
the interview, American Life League's STOPP International surveyed 350 councils
to ask if they had any involvement with Planned Parenthood. While 80 percent
refused to answer, 17 councils reportedly admitted to associating with Planned
Parenthood, and 49 said they don't.
Garibay told WND Girl Scouts USA is
not the same program most women remember.
"Originally
scouting was about citizenship, service and life skills," she said.
"The founder, Juliette Lowe, wanted girls to do their duty to God and
their country. She encouraged girls to activate, not meditate. Now the Girl
Scouts want to move into self-discovery and lobbyist training."
An
alternative to Girl Scouts
Garibay said she had enough after she heard about sexuality
camps for Girl Scouts.
"I realized
it was no longer my mom's Girl Scouts," she said. "We thought we
would have a little alternate scouting group for our daughters here in
Garibay founded a group called American Heritage Girls in 1995, and she has
encouraging news for families who do not want to participate in the Girl
Scouts' new direction:
"Do not
despair. There are still some scouting organizations holding onto traditional
values," she said.
Now the
organization has 8,000 members and is growing rapidly by more than 20 percent
in the last year. American Heritage Girls has also started a Trailblazer
program that allows girls who are not in troop areas to be members and work on
establishing their own troops. American Heritage Girls has expanded
internationally, with troops in
American
Heritage Girls' mission is to build women of integrity through dedication to
service, spiritual growth, servant leadership, goal
setting through merit badge and advancement opportunities and teamwork through
its outdoor program.
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Parents won't
find an emphasis on New Age spirituality, radical feminism, homosexual role
models and combatting global warming at American
Heritage Girls. Garibay said she has a higher goal
for her troops.
Instead, she
said, "Girls in AHG learn about their God-given gifts, their identity in
Christ and the importance of seeking His will for their life."