LEST WE FORGET
        The recent actions by one of the General Grand Bodies of our beloved York Rite have invited, indeed incited, our careful attention to maintaining a basic precept of our operations, a precept without which our whole functional structure may well collapse. We refer to the necessity of having Local Bodies that are able and willing to perform the Work of our Fraternity in an effective manner, a task that is absolutely vital to our existence, and is theirs alone to perform.
We have long enjoyed the performance of our Work in the Local Bodies of our Chapters, Councils, and Commanderies. Our Grand Bodies and General Grand Bodies have contributed much to our overall posture, but the basic function of initiating candidates has remained the sole responsibility of our Local Bodies. Our whole operational structure is based on this arrangement and capability. When actions are taken that jeopardize our ability to perform this essential Work in our Local Bodies, we must examine each such action very closely and ensure that we carry out a response capable of resolving each misstep before it contributes to our demise.
Maintaining strong Local Bodies is a continuing necessity, just as eternal vigilance is the price of freedom. We all strive to keep our Local Body capabilities sharp and effective, but often insidious forces seem to impact our best intentions. Those of us who have participated in York Rite Masonry for the past half-century or so have seen a small but steady migration of our more capable Companions and Sir Knights toward the perceived importance and glitter of our Grand Bodies, and occasionally toward our General Grand Bodies. Their departure seriously reduces the Local Body population of the more able ritualists, managers, and leaders, because many of those leaving simply do not have the time and energy to meet both demands and so opt in favor of the Grand Body experience. Our "best" is lost to the Grand Body or the General Grand Body arena.
"So what!", you might say. Well, let us consider "so what" in plain language. Local Bodies can operate effectively without Grand Bodies or General Grand Bodies. It is nice to have a Grand Body that maintains uniformity throughout the jurisdiction and assists in filling the common needs of the constituency, but if push comes to shove the Local Bodies can operate by themselves. On the other hand, Grand Bodies and General Grand Bodies simply cannot exist without their constituents, each one of whom just happens to be a member of a Local Body. There is hardly any comparison between the unvarnished need for Local Bodies and the authentic need for Grand Bodies and General Grand Bodies: the former is absolutely essential; the latter is a nicety that may, or may not, be noticed to pull on the common rope. It follows that when a Grand Body or a General Grand Body - either of which depends for its financial viability on the taxes paid by their constituents in the Local Bodies - takes an action contrary to the common good, or fails to take an action that contributes positively to the common good, we are presented with a problem that demands our most sincere and careful attention. That is where we find ourselves right now!
We can take a lesson from our Forefathers who founded our Country, which we now know as a democracy called the United States of America. Many of them were Masons, and many of their far-sighted actions clearly reflect our timeless Masonic teachings. They made a major point throughout the voluminous documents that they created for organizing and directing our governmental operations. In the Constitution they wrote: "We the People of the United States …". In the Declaration of Independence they wrote: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.-That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, .." Lincoln's Gettysburg Address of 1863 hopes: "that government of the people…by the people…for the people…shall not perish from the earth." Clearly, the people rule!
The analogy to our Masonic situation is quite clear. The term people corresponds directly with the title of Companion or Sir Knight in our York Rite experience. We, the members of the Local Bodies - which includes each and every member of our Grand Bodies and General Grand Bodies - are the people who should decide matters at all levels when our collective future depends on the outcome. We cannot default those actions to those who serve in the high offices of our Grand Bodies and General Grand Bodies just because they are there. Our individual voting rights must be preserved, especially when those rights are not warmly recognized by those in Grand and General Grand positions.
The next step, then, is to ensure that the voice of the people - a majority of the members of the Local Bodies who are qualified as legal voting members of the Grand Bodies and General Grand Bodies - is heard, recognized, and followed by those leading our Grand Bodies and General Grand Bodies. For then, and only then, can we hope that the vital interests of our Local Bodies will be satisfied. We must avoid cases where a small minority of loud voices in high places can decide our fate. We must refuse to allow the officers of the Grand Bodies or General Grand Bodies to determine our destiny all by themselves. This tenet would abdicate our own responsibility to ourselves and to our Local Bodies, and would result in a biased system where the interests of the Local Bodies are neither heard nor followed. There is an old adage that a tree dies first at the top. We do NOT want that to happen to us!
The power of the people cannot be denied in York Rite Masonry, any more than in our democratic way of governing our Country. This principle is essential to the well-being of our future endeavors in the York Rite. Let us hope that this voice is heard and prevails before we find ourselves with the colossal problem of trying to recover from a massive disruption. Each of us must decide who we are, and how we can best contribute to the scheme of things. Let us not forget that we are, first and foremost, Companions and Sir Knights of Local Bodies, and that Local Body interests are paramount. Once we make that reality known to those around us, we will be on our way to a successful future. If we fail to identify ourselves with our Local Bodies, and if we fail to remain true to the interests of our Local Bodies, we will simply have no future. Let us have the courage to stand firm in the face of criticism and disparagement. Our reward will be our own future. RAR