Oh. That's Awkward

The other day in my Albany office I pulled out my Park Service map of DC, knowing I'd be in town this week. I saw a little dot under the White House and Treasury buildings for a Boy Scout Memorial. "Wow," says I, never saw that there before. So I decided to check it out last night.

Walking around DC and not yet bumping into it, I asked a police officer if he knew where it was. He told me to go another block down and look for the really tall naked guy.

OK, thanks.

Uh, what?

I approached from behind (no mistaking that) and sure enough there's a scantily clad man and woman following a young Boy Scout around on a hike. It's the weirdest thing I think I've ever seen. From the NPS catalog:

The Boy Scout, aware of his fellowship with Scouts around the world, and symbolic of all Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, and Explorers striding into the future, represents their hope that all that is fine in our nation’s past will continue to live in future generations.

The male figure symbolizes love of country, citizenship, patriotism, loyalty, honor, integrity, courage, clean living, and physical development.

The female figure symbolizes the spiritual qualities of good citizenship: enlightenment with the light of faith, love of god, high ideals, liberty, freedom, democracy, love of humanity, lighting the way.

I get it — DC has a lot of statues of classical figures in the buff. But even in 1964 this one's an anachronistic mix with the Greeks alongside a Scout in uniform.

A couple weeks ago I watched a mandatory video for all adult Scout leaders on protecting youth from sexual abuse. Certainly the sight of a big naked man following a Boy Scout around was not what I was expecting as the statue.

Is this a soaring tribute that I'm just too base to appreciate?