I appreciate your zeal for equality in Masonry and your efforts to secure Freemasonry’s future. However, I cannot agree with anything in your last two paragraphs and do not find them pertinent to this issue.

But back to the original subject–racism in Freemasonry–I must ask those who say “Let’s wait and see what the Grand Lodge does,” why do we have to wait for their ruling to purge Masonry of racism? Is the lack of desire to take a stand on this issue and actively combat such intolerance the result of Masons that are afraid of challenging the Masonic establishment? If so, then we have serious problems in our fraternity that need to be fixed so that men are no longer afraid of raising their voices against the imperfections within the Craft.

Basically, it was about a half- page article filled with my own personal ruminations about whether the organization (will survive long enough for my now-six-year-old son to join and enjoy.

Here are some of the questions I asked:

“Will we ever welcome men of color into our lodge rooms, or will we hold true to ancient prejudices, bigotries and intolerances that have no room in the Masonic conscience whatsoever?;

“Will we at last choose forward, progressive thinking Grand Lodge officers, or will this line of dedicated and selfless Masonic devotees continue adhering to cobwebbed philosophies of the past that would crack and fracture into dust if shown the light of day?;”

And, “In a fraternity so obsessed with antiquated rituals of the past and so intolerant of the future, who will ensure that our lodges survive for our sons? Or will anyone even care to do so?”

I’ve been in journalism for more than 20 years, and I’ve lost count of the numbers of articles I’ve written and where they’ve appeared. But I can say no sense of uncertainty that nothing I’ve ever written or had published generated such an overwhelming response.

Numerous letters to the editor were published in the Masonic Messenger, with statements such as “[The author] is not considered a Brother by our Brethren and would never be allowed to sit in our Lodge…”

“If it is left up to people like [the author] then Freemasonry will have NOTHING to offer the next generation.”

And “The MAJORITY of Masons in Georgia do not live in Atlanta, DC, and one thing is for certain, if the DEMENTED views of this individual were ever put in place in the Grand Lodge of Georgia, many, many Lodges will CLOSE!”

As a writer, you always want to hit a nerve, and it seems I certainly did so with this piece that appeared in the July 2003 edition of the Messenger. Today, one of the issues I raised back then has come to a head, and the financial future of our organization rests in the balance.

I’ve met the brother at the center of this issue; indeed, I’ve sat in lodge with him, and am proud to have him join our organization. I also respect our own W. Bro. David Herman, who resigned his position as district deputy to the Grand Master in order to lend his support to Gate City Lodge’s brethren in their effort to revitalize their lodge, and our fraternity as a whole.

But now the courts – and the media – is involved in this issue, we have allowed our own institutional racism to seriously jeopardize our survival. Every political scientist and researcher, with any reputation for inpartiality whatsoever, will tell you that the current electoral majority which elected this administration into power, isn’t going to fade away. Indeed, this demographic may likely rule the nation’s political scene for countless generations to come. If that’s true, our organization is facing a national government that will remain desperate for funds to enable more and more social programs, entitlements and reparations.

In 1314, the Knights Templars were destroyed by a national government similarly desperate for money in order to finance its own goals and aspirations. Unless we, as Masons, make this issue right and proper, history is bound to repeat itself.

Tim Darnell
Past Master, Chamblee Lodge # 444 F&AM
32nd degree Scottish Rite
DeMolay Legion of Honor

There once was a viper that lived in a hole in a man’s front yard, where his children played. The man knew that the viper lived there, but hoped that it would never come out of the hole and hurt his children.

One day, the viper stuck its head out of the hole and the man had to make a decision: he could cut off its head or hope that it went back in the hole. Cutting off its head was the more difficult road. It would be easier to hope that the viper would go back into its hole and then the man could tell his children that it never even existed.

Once the Grand Master has ruled, then appropriate actions can be taken: either congratulating our Georgia Brethren on rejecting racism, or considering withdrawal of recognition.

Bro. Chris Hansen