Both the Northern and Southern Jurisdictions of the Scottish Rite are determined to defeat learning disorders, the cruelest of childhood's enemies.

Not many weeks ago, I was escorting a visiting Brother and his family to some of the great monuments here in Washington, D.C. We were on the Mall, visiting the Lincoln Memorial, and came upon two young children, looking up at some of the great man's words set in the stone walls. "What does it say?" the youngest asked her older sister. "I don't know," said the older child. "I never could learn to read."
It was more than the blustery wind that brought tears to my eyes.

That child is being robbed. There is a thief in the house of our body politic, a thief who steals from the young their heritage as surely as if he pointed a gun at their heads and stole their last possession. Indeed, it is worse. If someone steals your material wealth, you can at least earn more; but when a child cannot use language, not only is he or she impoverished, there is little chance of restitution in the future.

This thief in our house strikes often. Childhood language disorders strike more children than all other childhood problems combined-more than the total of birth defects, orthopedic problems, serious illnesses, and everything else added together. That is a staggering total.

But it is often silent and unnoticed. Children with language disorders don't limp or cry. You can't see the problem by looking, unless you see the loss and pain in their eyes. But little by little, these children are left behind. Little by little, their teachers expect less from them. Little by little, the world offers more pain and frustration. Little by little, others pass them by, leaving them isolated and alone.

I am proud of our Fraternity for many things, but nothing fills me with more pride than our determination that children with language disorders will not be alone, that we will be there to help, to open the doors others have closed, and to turn the thief out of the house.

The RiteCare Childhood Lan-guage Program is the name of the Southern Jurisdiction's main philanthropic outreach to the nation's children. And Rite care it is, for we do care. Proof of that is everywhere and growing. With expanding clinics, centers, and programs, both the Northern and Southern Jurisdictions of the Scottish Rite are determined to defeat this cruelest of childhood's enemies. The Southern Jurisdiction has 165 clinics, centers, or programs in 35 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. Starting its program just over a decade ago, the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction already has 42 facilities, named 32° Masonic Learning Centers for Children, in 13 states, with 18 more centers planned.

Speech Therapist, Kristi Blaiser, working through the Scottish Rite Language Disorders Center at The Children's Hospital in Denver, uses a combination of sign language and verbal communication in her speech and language therapy sessions with Hannah, age 2, who is learning to communicate with a cochlear implant. Photo courtesy The Children's Hospital in Denver

Together, our Jurisdictions are making a difference. Together, we are building the future. Together, we are assuring that the children of tomorrow will be able to read the words set in the walls of memorials, understand the day's newspapers, write letters and reports, or even compose plays and poems. These are goals worthy of a great institution, and I am proud that they have been embraced with such enthusiasm and impact by the Scottish Rite of Freemasonry in America. I invite you to join me in pursuing this mission. Support our clinics and help to start others. The task is formidable, but it is within our grasp.

In the early days of our nation, when a thief was discovered in the house, the neighbors rallied to hunt down the offender and cast him out. Join us in the hunt.