Tonight, I have the best job in scouting: I get to charge you with your responsibilities as an Eagle Scout. There have been one million, four hundred thousand Eagles before you. These men have set a standard of Duty and of Honor that now becomes yours to uphold. I would like to take you through the Scout Oath, those words you have recited since you started scouting. Now you must look at them differently: Not as a boy, but as a man who accepts these responsibilities.

On My Honor,
Your personal honor is how you will be judged for the remainder of your life. The world knows what an Eagle scout stands for. You have shown us that you have the right to wear this badge. Now you must show the world that you can live up to their expectations: You are, quite literally, marked men. I think back to President Richard Nixon. He should be remembered as the great statesman that he was. Instead, he resigned from office and spent the rest of his life trying to regain his personal honor. What is your personal honor worth? It can be worth more than the Presidency of the United States of America. I charge you to guard that personal honor: Once lost, it is very difficult to recover.

I will do my best
The great artists and entertainers of our time all have one thing in common: They give the very best performance possible each time. We as a species always want to improve the things we do. I think one of the hardest parts of maintaining good mental health is to know that you are good, and still strive to be better . Learn to do a job well for the personal joy of doing that job well, not because of pay or praise. I charge you to find that personal fulfillment that comes from doing a job the very best that you can.

To do my Duty to God
No words in our organization have cost us more than these: Finally, the Supreme Court of the United States decided that we have the right to require an oath to god from young men. If a young man makes Eagle, he gets a blurb in his local paper. If he refuses it because of a non-belief in God, he gets nationwide headlines. First I thought this was simply ignorance: To think that we are the ultimate power in this universe is a truly frightening thought. Then I decided it is arrogance: How can anyone possibly think that we have any power in the universe? Do I believe in God? First, you have asked the wrong question. If you mean do I believe in this little wizened old white man on a throne in heaven counting the hairs on my head and waiting for me to mess up so he can forgive: no, I have no use for that god. If you mean sitting on a mountaintop at 10,000 feet at 1:00 AM, knowing you have to hike 6 or 10 miles the next day, and staying up watching in awe and amazement as the universal laws unfold in front of you: well, that is different. These concepts are from the great human being, Carl Sagan. I charge you to find your own spirituality, and enjoy the peace that comes with that search.

and My Country
There are Eagle Scouts buried in unmarked graves all over the world. These men did not die for their country; at least I hope they did not. A country is merely a piece of land or a government. These people felt that the ultimate sacrifice, their lives, were worth giving because of the ideals of freedom and democracy. Inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness were not just words from our Declaration of Independence. If any person does not have these rights, then none of us have them. Like every other adult present here tonight, I hope you will be the first generation of Eagle scouts that does not go to war.

However, man has a very short memory when it comes to war, and if we do not learn from history, by definition, we must relive it. Our last war was called low casualty : dont kid yourself. If it was one of yours, it was not low casualty. You will not be out welcoming the troops home. You will be home mourning, as we have mourned our war dead since the beginning of tribalism. I charge you, when that time comes (notice I do not say if, but when) , to make your decision based on your principles, not someone else telling you right from wrong.

To Obey the Scout Law We all know the twelve parts of the scout law: trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, and reverent. We may disagree with some of these. I challenge any parent to price sneakers at $140.00 a pair and tell me about thrifty. Drive any freeway for 10 minutes and talk about friendly. Work for a company for 23 years, be informed about losing your job at 62 and tell me about loyal. These words are not my charge to you tonight, for the scout law is not twelve words : It is fifteen. It starts A Scout is. These three words are the key. It doesnt say you will try to be, that you might be: It states that you will. Why ? Because it is the law, and we are a society of laws. Let us change society tonight: Let us accept responsibility for our actions. Let us learn to act on our principles, not react to others actions . Do not blame society for your wrongs. I charge you to act on the principles your scouting and your family have taught you.

To help other people at all times This is the price we owe for the space we occupy on this planet. I was amazed to hear that a certain school now requires 60 hours of community service before the student can progress through their system. A scout will have that many hours of community service before he even starts his Eagle project. You are now atop a tall mountain you climbed to reach eagle. No one can push a person up a mountain from the top (Well, Mothers can !). You can reach down a helping hand with your knowledge and leadership and help those scouts climbing the mountain behind you . I charge you to reach out that helping hand and help lead those other scouts to join you in this magnificent honor.

To keep myself physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight
I pondered these words for many years while developing this charge: Where are they from, what do they mean? While at Philmont, the scout ranch in New Mexico, I saw them on the wall. They are in the charter given by the Congress of the United States to the Boy Scouts of America. Adults, this is your job. Look around you tonight, and realize that you have produced a young man that no other organization in the world can equal. Scouts, there is a great deal of talk today about role models, and the failure of some people to fulfill that role. Give me a break ! Because a person has a particular talent does not make him or her a role model. Look at those people with you tonight: They are giving you their most precious possession : Their time. They believe, as I do, that you are the future of our species and our world. You want role models: They are present. I charge you tonight to grasp the realization of what real role models, real heroes, actually stand for. Thank your adult leaders, kiss your Mother and Father, and thank your god that you have them.

The last part of my charge to you is the hardest: We are approaching a time (if it is not already here), where decisions will be made that will affect the existence of our species for the time we have left on this lovely planet, this spaceship we call Earth. Decisions about long term goals for the good of mankind, or short-term profits for the greed of a few must be made if we are to continue to live. Jacques Cousteau was 50 years ahead of time: Imagine an entire planet dedicated to the preservation of only one species. This is absurd, yet that is what we have. We dont care what happens to anything else as long as we have our wants met. Notice I did not say our needs: I said our wants. My generation is leaving you quite a mess: Too many people, too few resources, too little food. The world is going to be looking for leaders, and they are going to come where they have come since 1912. They are coming for proven young men with an understanding of nature and our planet: They are coming for you. I charge you to use the scout motto Be Prepared: More than two words, it is a way of life for those who can think and plan ahead for whatever happens.

This is a most difficult charge, but I have the feeling you are up to it. After all, you are all
Eagle Scouts.

I hope for two things for you : Your journey through life will be as exciting and fun as you make it. Never find yourself wishing I wish I had done.... : Do It ! The Movie Auntie Mame said it best: Life is a banquet, and most poor suckers are starving to death. You have the beginnings of what it takes: A family and a sense of who and what you are. Secondly, I hope that someday a young man comes to you and asks you to give his Eagle charge, as you have tonight given me the highest honor to which I can ever aspire. Thank you.
{Mr. Ned Place - January 9, 1988}