One week ago, a day before the U.S. launched a major military strike on Iran, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth posted a video announcement: He was putting Scouting America (formerly known as the Boy Scouts of America) on notice. In the Middle East, U.S. and Israeli forces were preparing a highly sensitive joint operation. In the video, Hegseth asserted that he had “a department to protect,” and as such, “was very seriously considering ending [the War Department’s] support of Scouting altogether.”
Why? Because the “once great organization” had lost its way, he said. “Diversity, equity, and inclusion — DEI — crept in. The name was changed to ‘Scouting America.’ Girls,” he said, raising his eyebrows, “were accepted.” Hegseth lamented the fact that trans kids had been allowed, in some cases, to join the group. And he said that whereas Scouts had once had to earn their badges, over the course of the past decade or so, “standards were lowered and merit destroyed in favor of an insidious, radical, woke ideology that is anti-America and anti-American.”
X video by @SecWar / screengrab by NPR
I, personally, was shocked to hear all of this. After all, in my day, the Boy Scouts were a sort of beacon of anti-inclusion. (Exclusion, if you will.) They famously had a ban against gay children becoming scouts until 2013, and a blanket ban on gay adult leadership until 2015. That ban had been affirmed by the U.S. Supreme Court, by the way, when they ruled in a 2000 case that the organization should not be forced to, “send a message, both to the young members and the world, that the Boy Scouts accepts homosexual conduct as a legitimate form of behavior.”
Times, it would seem, have changed.
Still, I find it the *tiniest* bit ludicrous to suggest that today, the Department of Defense (or the “Department of War,” as the Trump administration has tried to brand it,) needs to “protect” itself from associating with children who are striving to earn badges in things like basketry, coin collecting, and pets.
But don’t worry — it’s not just the Scouts who are being called out. The same day that he put the kids who sit outside of grocery stores selling popcorn as a fundraiser on notice, Secretary Hegseth also sought to end the dangers posed to the U.S. military by the Ivy League and other elite universities. In a video posted to X, he criticized those institutions, alleging that they indoctrinate the country’s warriors with a curriculum of “wokeness and weakness,” and announced that “Today, just like we did with Harvard, I am ordering the complete and immediate cancellation of all Department of War attendance at institutions like Princeton, Columbia, MIT, Brown, Yale, and many others, starting next academic year, 2026-2027.”
So as war ramps up overseas, the culture war over DEI continues here at home. Dulce et decorum est.
Newsletter continues after sponsor message
ON THE POD
Photographer/Source
We know that Iran is on everyone's minds right now — and rightfully so. So tomorrow, we're dropping an episode with Sina Toossi, a senior fellow at the Center for International Policy, about his recent reporting around the Iranian voices that Americans aren't hearing right now.
And earlier this week, we spoke to the author Jessa Lingel about her book, The Gentrification of the Internet. You can find that episode below.
Support discussions that matter - try a subscription to Code Switch+. Dive deep into the conversation with none of the sponsor interruptions, and know that you’re making this all possible with your support. Learn more at plus.npr.org/codeswitch and start with 30 days free by using the code "freemonth".
Fam, I want to hear from you: Were you all Scouts back in the day? Are you current Scouts, or Scout leaders? Why, or why not? Tell me your stories! What was it like? And how do you feel about the ways the Scouts have changed over the years? And what else is on your mind. Email me at CodeSwitch@npr.org with all your thoughts and opinions.
In the meantime, I'll be looking into getting my traffic safety badge. By which I mean, traversing one of the most chaotic intersections in Los Angeles trying to pick my kid up from childcare.
See you next time,
Leah Donnella, senior editor
Written by Leah Donnella and editedby Dalia Mortada
Stream your local NPR station.
Visit NPR.org to find your local station stream.
Subscribe to Code Switch+. Your support helps make our show possible and unlocks access to our sponsor-free episodes.
What do you think of today's email? We'd love to hear your thoughts, questions and feedback:codeswitch@npr.org
Enjoying this newsletter? Forward to a friend! They cansign up here.
You received this message because you're subscribed to Code Switch emails. This email was sent by National Public Radio, Inc., 1111 North Capitol Street NE, Washington, DC 20002
