The MPAA, much more media savvy, has figured out a way to deal with
the problem. Teaming up with the Boy Scouts in Los Angeles, the MPAA
has designed a merit badge for respecting copyrights (see picture of
the badge here).Scouts lusting after the badge participate in curriculum the MPAA has
produced, which includes creating a video public service announcement,
and visiting a video-sharing website to identify copyrighted
material.
We’ve heard plenty of talk about this elsewhere, and plenty of
corrections to the phrase "merit badge": this is an activity patch,
comparable to those for attending Philmont or Sea Base. But
I’ve another concern:
Scouts lusting after the badge…
I knew several boys during my time in Scouts who were driven by the
advancement system. One scene from Heinlein’s Space Cadet made an
impression on me then—the bit with the Patrol and Marine uniforms.
Some of the same differentiation seemed to show up among the scouts.
But even those following the path of the Space Marines never reached
to lust for badges.
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