'Tis the season to be brave

Funny thing about Christmas; the best time seems to be Christmas Eve, with the actual day sometimes being a little anticlimactic. The newsmedia also gamely attempts to take a break from the usual non-stop fare of misery and malignancy which it normally peddles, to bring the odd, the curious and sometimes the uplifting to the light of day.

There's been the usual run of stabbings - one during a snowball fight, would you believe - and North Wales police revealed that they're taking a 'tough line' on so-called 'hate' crimes in the area, with more than 800 listed as Racial and 166 as homophobic.  Which does all make one wonder what sort of society we're breeding, when the mindless morons of mendacity still see fit to vent the consequences of their miserable, damaged and deprived childhoods on those who don't share their sexual preferences, or are simply born with a different skin colour or perhaps language or religion.  If they could read, they might well learn that just about every war ever fought has been about language or religion, and if we ever want a truly just society we should perhaps consider the abolition of all religion, particularly as the world continues its remorseless and accelerating move towards English as the international language.

But the really important news is that twelve Scouts have been honoured for their bravery, including a 13-year-old boy who risked his life to save a friend who fell through ice on a lake.  Damian Coles went into action after the other boy walked on to the ice to retrieve a bike which bullies had thrown on to the lake.

He said: "I saw him fall in through the ice and I knew I had to do something quickly or he could die. We got really cold and had to go to hospital but I'm really, really glad I was able to do something to help."

Hannah Walker, 14, from Sheerness, Kent, was recognised after she pushed another schoolgirl to safety when a vent fell from a school gym ceiling. She suffered head and back injuries in her rescue, but continued to care for her friends who were also hurt.

"I just acted out of instinct and I was determined to help my friends. I never realised until later that I was injured as well," she said.
Chief Scout Bear Grylls said all 12 Scouts were an "inspiration".

What he didn't say, however, was that this sort of selfless act is happening all the time, but is often unreported or unrecognised.  Scouting attracts those who think of others before themselves - it's the only youth organisation where every single member has to take a promise which makes that obligation manifest - but it's also an organisation which places an emphasis on self-reliance, training and competence. Congratulations to not only those 12, but to all those who think of others before themselves and who give of their time to help make our society the truly mature, just and decent culture it ought to be.
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