Therein lies the rub: the "good" parents that go to the meetings and go on the outings will be participating in the classes, hands on, and the exercise, as well as manning the safety camp. The "bad" parents will drop their Scouts off at the meeting point before we head out to the woods and will be there to pick them up. But, I have yet to see them out in the boonies or at meetings, except for those meetings where the Troop Committee is talking about new policies. Coincidentally, their Scouts are the ones that have the toughest time on the hikes, the outings, get home sick, etc. But, I guess that's just the nature of the beast. That's why we have people that will survive in a bad situation, and those that will roll over and die in an equally bad situation.
I know a couple of parents that think I'm a "survivalist" and can't see the difference between a "survivalist" and someone who's prepared and, most important, wants his family prepared. This will sound corny as hell, but I practice and preach survival out of love for my family. I will do anything and everything to protect them and keep them safe. That includes survival kits in our vehicles, PSKs, training in the fundamentals, firearms training, etc. I'm not a conspiracy theorist, I don't think little green men are going to invade, and the chances of a meteor hitting my house are pretty remote. However, we've experienced our share of tornadoes, floods, and one really nasty ice storm. Not to mention the number of car wrecks we've come across where our 1st aid skills came in handy. I'm blessed with a wife that loves the outdoors, backpacking, and camping. Should could do without the firearms, but she knows how to shoot and, most important, hit what she aims at. She can start a fire faster with flint and steel than I can, and she catches more fish than I do. You'd think she was a backwoods country girl. Nope, she's got a Masters in communications and is a speech pathologist for autistic children. She also runs marathons for fun. My point being, in all of that rambling, is that we not only have high individual confidence in our preparedness, but we have high family confidence as well. And, in the end, that's what I think is so lacking in some of my Scouts. Parents that just don't care. That's just a small part of a much bigger issue, however.