Boys Nation emphasizes respect for others' values

At a once-in-a-lifetime experience like American Legion Boys State, Iowa’s Cole Patton figured why not run for governor?

When he had the opportunity to run for president at Boys Nation, he did it again.

“I ran for the office of governor because I figured I’ll never do Boys State again so I might as well go for the big one,” Patton said. “And it was really humbling when I did win because I felt this immense responsibility on me that I went for this position, now it’s time to make the best of it, and I think I really did do that.

“I also went out for Boys Nation (president) for the exact same reason I went out for (Boys State) governor, because I won’t be able to do this again, and that Boys Nation experience, that just sounds amazing. I’d love to be able to do that.”

Patton’s presidential battle at the 2015 Boys Nation was a close one; he lost 50-46 to Florida’s Aravind Byju. Still, Patton said the experience was a great one.

“When you go to Boys State, for Iowa you know there’s about 500-some kids from across your state that (you) are able to meet and encounter and work with for a week in this imaginary state. And not only is it incredibly fun with all the activities you get to do, you also get to learn so much about how your government works and why it’s set up the way it is, and how important it is to represent your people but also to represent the ideals you have and stay true to the ideals you have,” Patton said.

“My real selling point to (someone considering Boys State) is that, the brotherhood you leave Boys State with, and the brotherhood you leave Boys Nation with, it really teaches you the values of friendship and respect and loving one another for who we are; it’s just so important in these days especially when compromise is such a bad word. At those camps you’re able to learn that compromise is a good thing.”

Patton saw that at Iowa Boys State, where young men like him from cities like Des Moines and Iowa City interacted with those from much more rural backgrounds.

“Meeting these kids and working with them and working with their ideas that they have, and the values that they have, compromise just became the key feature of that entire camp, working together, doing what you want to do together,” he said.

Likewise at Boys Nation.

“Being at Boys Nation, there was a lot of conflicting ideals there and a lot of conflicting values. And if I learned anything it’s just how important it is to respect each other for the reasons why we have these values, whether it’s on social issues or economic or when it comes to your defense, or even something as simple as agriculture in Iowa, people have different ideas on solving these problems that we face, and we have different values to back up our ideas and it’s so important that we respect those values, and we don’t just deface each other. That’s not going to work,” he said.

Patton, who was sponsored by American Legion Baldwin Patterson Post 274 in Des Moines, will attend the U.S. Naval Academy after graduation.


Boys Nation

Boys Nation

At Boys State / Nation, participants learn the rights, privileges and responsibilities of franchised citizens. The training is objective and centers on the structure of city, county and state governments.

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