Would it Happen Here? Girl Scout Receives Award for Building Creationist Library

The decorated Girl Scout and her "Alternate Universe."

 A few weeks ago five Fullerton girls were awarded the Girl Scouts of America's highest honor, the prestigious Gold Award, for creating community service oriented projects -- food drives, photography workshops, mural paintings, you know the type.

"Earning the award reflects an extraordinary degree of leadership and citizenship skills," said Nancy Nygren, CEO of the Girl Scout Council of Orange County, in a press release that ran as an article on the OC Register's site. "It calls upon all the skills, confidence and values the girls have learned as Girl Scouts."

Hmm, it's no secret that the Girl Scouts come from the same bible-toting, gay-nervous family as the Boy Scouts, but you have to wonder, do those values also include working to better promote creationism in your community? Apparently so. Annie Wichman, a Wisconsin native, received the same fancy Gold Award for building an extensive "creationist library" which she named, "Alternate Universe." Wichman spent three years gathering creationism texts (mostly from creationist magazine Answer in Genesis, which first shared the good news of Annie's win -- and plugged themselves -- on their website), so that she could help others "defend their faith."

With her library in tow, she spent last summer teaching creationism to kids in first through sixth grades using the Answers in Genesis curriculum as her source. Were these fellow girl scouts? Public school kids? Let's hope her lessons were kept to the Sunday school bunch.

I can't help but wonder, what would Miss Nancy of the Orange County Girl Scouts Council have to say about Annie? And with such a pronounced and fervent creationist bent in our neck of the woods, would Annie have earned the Gold Award for the same project here without anyone so much as batting an eye?