C. Fred Kleinknecht, 33°
Sovereign Grand Commander

"There is a beauty and a glory in Humanity, in man, answering ... to the wondrous glory of the starry heavens."

Albert Pike, Morals and Dogma, p. 214

This second-year anniversary of 9/11 reminds us that there is a hero within us all.

I used to wonder about that line from Pike's Morals and Dogma. What kind of glory could there be in humanity? Glory was something I associate with God, not with man. I have seen men and women act with dignity, with nobility, with charity, with wisdom, and with compassion. But glory?

And then came September 11th, and the skies burned with the fires of hatred and fanaticism. Then I saw the glory of humanity. We were a mighty people that day.

The book review section of this issue includes note of Above Hallowed Ground. This book tells the story of that day in powerful photographs. It is well worth owning. Its photographs remind us of that tragic day and the sacrifices made by firefighters, law enforcement officers, and military men and women. Their heroism was great, and my chest swells with pride whenever I think of it.

But as great a glory was shown by ordinary citizens, everyday heroes, men and women just like you and me, who suddenly found the world they had known dissolving in flames. And they rose to the new challenge by the thousands, risking themselves to help others, setting aside in half a heartbeat the routine concerns of daily life. They stopped in their flight from the collapsing buildings to help total strangers who were injured or handicapped. They dug in the rubble with bare hands, trying to free others. They labored past human endurance and still would not stop.

Thousands of volunteers came from all over the nation to help in any way they could, bringing special skills or just sheer muscle power. Millions gave money to help the victims. The very day after the disaster, the Southern Jurisdiction pledged $1,000,000 to 9/11 disaster relief. The first annual $50,000 installment on that pledge was handed to former U.S. Senator Bob Dole, 33°, Grand Cross, on September 12, 2002 (See Scottish Rite Journal, Nov. 2002, p. 33). Illustrious Dole is co-chair of the fund-raising campaign of the Families of Freedom Scholarship Fund® which provides educational assistance to children and spouses of the victims of 9/11. Each year, for 20 years, the Scottish Rite Masons of the Southern Jurisdiction will provide this installment so that there is long-term support for these families.

Virtually every man, woman, and child in the United States tried to find some way to help, something they could do. We discovered, then, the hero within us all. It is, I think, important that we not lose sight of that glory in humanity. I know I cannot ever look at any man or woman in quite the same way I did before that day. Whether it is a person of power in the political or economic life of our nation, the Brother I meet in our Lodges and Temples, or the homeless person on the streets of Washington, D.C., I know, now, that there is a hero in each of us. Any of us, called to heroism, will respond. Each of us has that divine spark within, that spark which mirrors the starry heavens of which Pike spoke.