I say this as an Eagle Scout, and someone who had a great time as a Boy Scout from around age ten to eighteen. The Scouts are a great organization on a local level, where there's little bureaucracy, and most decisions are made by or with the boys. You gain a good sense of responsibility when you're the one in charge of overseeing all the camping gear for your trip, or planning an outing over a weekend. There's also a lot to be said for the personal growth that comes from starting as a ten-year-old, learning from the older boys, and then realizing at age eighteen that you're one of those older boys who is looked up to by the young ones.
However, the BSA at a national level is a pretty awful organization. They routinely discriminate against atheists and homosexuals. I'm an atheist myself, as were many in my troop. Again, at the local level this was fine -- nobody cares, provided the other members of the troop are sensible people (which, in my case, they were). But at the national level, any atheist is treated as a Godless Communist.
The same goes for gay boys and leaders. The BSA takes the delightfully antiquated stance of equating homosexuality with pedophilia, with no shortage of moral indignation at the idea that people could feel affection for those of the same gender. Until they do a bit of soul-searching and come into the 21st century, I'll have nothing to do with the national level of the BSA.