The Working Tools Magazine “Light” Version - Hawthorne-Fortitude ...

“Freemasonry: A Better Way Of Being” - Shirley and Creason
(Continued from page 11)
. . . compassion for the unfortunate . . .
Washington’s love for his men, and his concern for the wounded,
sick, and dying among them, was one of the things that made him
a great leader. As we see suffering in the world, our duty as
Masons compels us to relieve it if possible, for compassion is not
only a feeling: it is an action, and we are called to right action in
every circumstance. If we see someone down on his luck,
standing in the unemployment line, or using food stamps to feed
his children, our response cannot be a superior sort of contempt,
because none of us know what tomorrow may bring, nor do we
know the other’s story. We have to feel and express compassion,
if only to offer up a prayer for the other person, who is as beloved
in God’s eyes as we are.
good of the whole, and to accept the results with equanimity. We
are to work for the good of Freemasonry in general and for our
Lodges in particular. If we could remember that in the larger
political world, how much better would society be?
. . . support for public education . . .
The American experiment with opening access to education for
all people began early, and it's most enthusiastic proponents
thought of education as a way to reconcile differences among
citizens with a common culture of arts and sciences and practical
crafts, enabling ordinary people to improve their lives in ways
hitherto unseen. As children of the Enlightenment, our lives
rooted in the seven liberal arts and sciences, Masons then and
now have embraced the ideal of public education, however
delivered, as a means to improve the world.
. . . resistance to evil . . .
Both good and evil were most evident in the 18 th century. Then
and now, most people know the difference between good and evil,
but in today’s world, all too often, we tend to worry more about
ourselves and less about what other people do. But resisting evil
doesn’t just mean resisting it ourselves; we have to fight against it
wherever we see it. We just don’t want to get involved when we
know the liquor store is selling to underage drinkers so we do
nothing even though it could prevent a tragedy. When we see the
bruises on a co-worker and suspect abuse in the home, and say
nothing and do nothing to help, we make that abuse possible.
When we see a friend spiraling into the clutches of drug abuse
and fail to reach out, we let him fall. As Freemasons, we must
strive to always resist evil in our own lives, and wherever we may
find it in the world.
. . . help for the weak . . .
George Washington’s overriding sense of duty would never have
allowed him to do anything other than help the weak. A man who
hasn’t the strength to raise himself cannot be expected to do so,
and our central ritual has us raised as if from the dead, not of our
own power, but by King Solomon himself. We were helpless, and
a Mason’s hand reached out in aid. And so we reach out to others
weaker than ourselves, to give of our strength as we embrace
them.
. . . concern for good government . . .
In the brawling arena of politics, has always been hard to
remember that people with whom we disagree are not our
enemies. This was as true in Washington’s day as our own. In the
charge to the candidate in the First Degree, the new Mason is
admonished to be exemplary in his duties as a citizen, and not to
have anything to do with subverting the peace and good order of
society. We are to run our Lodges in keeping with the principles
of that charge. As Masons, we are to participate in the affairs of
our Lodges with respect and intelligence, to vote based on the
. . . and above all, a life-practicing reverence for God and love
of fellow man.
Masons in Washington’s day and in ours have worked to adore
their Great Creator in ways connected to the everyday world of
work, family, and community. We are cemented, if we live
rightly, by moral and social virtues, which keep our eyes on both
heaven and earth. If we look only to heaven, we cannot love our
fellow man, as we cannot see him; if we look only to earth, we
forget who made it. With reverence and love, we seen man as the
likeness of God, and treat him accordingly.
Freemasonry, in George Washington’s time and ours, calls men to
a better way of being in this world, where behavior rather than
birth determines a man’s nobility. And if the world today looks
markedly different now than then (and it does!), Freemasonry’s
values have never changed. We apply them a little differently
because our society has changed. We have different challenges
today. We have new technologies that make many things easier,
but other things much harder. Freemasonry has even changed.
We have websites, blogs, automatic calling systems, email, twitter
accounts, and even iPhone applications that tell us, turn-by-turn,
how to guide us right to the front door of a lodge, in a city we’ve
never visited before, just in time for the meeting—and we’ll
likely know at least a few of the members from Facebook.
But even considering all that—what inspired men like George
Washington more than two hundred years ago still applies.
Nothing fundamental has changed. The definition is exactly the
same. We’re on the same mission today we were then. And the
mission is simple: to make good men better according to constant
principles and changing circumstances. We are called to be better
husbands, better fathers, and better citizens. We are called,
simply, to be ever-better human beings in the society in which we
live. As the Washington Masonic Memorial tells what
Freemasonry is, Washington himself might have described the
mission of our Craft when he said, “Let us raise a standard to
which the wise and honest can repair; the rest is in the hands of
God.” Amen.
“The fact that we are each representative of the Craft of Freemasonry is not
something most Freemasons think about very much”
12 T W T
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