A
Lesson In Trust
It seems that before the first man
walked on the moon, NASA found an area of New Mexico where the topography
was similar to the surface of the moon. They decided that it would
be a good idea to take the astronauts and the lunar lander there
to check out the equipment. They arrived at the area and unloaded
all their gear. During the second day while working with the equipment
they noticed a flock of sheep on the horizon. As it drew closer
they could see several dogs herding the flock and two Navaho Indians
walking behind. The Scientists knew that they were Navaho because
the reservation was near by. The Two Navaho Indians set down on
the ridge and watched them work for several hours.
Seeing the Navahos watching them, two
of the scientist decided to go talk to them. After walking up the
ridge they soon discovered that the old Navaho could only speak
in his native tongue but his son could speak English. The old man
said several things and his son translated, "he says, what
are those things down there?" The scientist explained that
they were men in space suits and that they would be traveling to
the moon by rocket and once there they would get out and be the
first men to walk upon the moon. The old man nodded and said a few
more words that the son translated "so, they will walk upon
the moon?" And the scientist confirmed. The old man nodded
and said a few more words. The son said, "he wants to know
if he can send a message to the moon with these astronauts."
At this the scientist became very excited and searched their gear
until they found a tape recorder. The old Navaho recorded his message.
The scientist asked the boy to translate but he wouldn't.
They worked about a month next to the
reservation but every time they asked someone to translate the message
they would listen to it, smile and shake their head no. Finally
they found a Professor of Native American studies that agreed to
translate the message in exchange for some funding on a research
project. He listened to the tape and smiled. He said, "this
message is a warning, it says, Look out for these guys, they are
coming to steal your land."
You may wonder why I told this story
as my Scoutmasters Minute. Our program element this month is Leadership
and the reason the old Navaho sent this message was because he did
not trust the white man. Trust is a very important part of Leadership.
If you cannot trust your leader or he cannot trust you, your patrol
will not be very effective. Trust is also very fragile, it takes
only one action on your part to destroy the trust others have in
you. Often times when trust is breached it can never be rebuilt.
A Scout is Trustworthy. And now may the Master of all Scouts be
with us till we meet again. Goodnight Scouts! |
