The Empty Sky

At first, I wasn't sure what was wrong. As I walked up the long flight of stairs to the main door of the national headquarters of the Scottish Rite of Freemasonry, I glanced up at the building's imposing façade (photo below). Something was missing, but it took a moment to realize what it was. The flags were gone. We have two, one at either end of the front of the building. They are illuminated at night, and during the day they often furl smartly in the wind that sweeps up and down Sixteenth Street in Washington, D.C.

After a while, I accepted the building's flags as a part of the scenery, something always there. But that morning they were gone, and there was only empty sky. The realization came as something of a shock. The flags were back that afternoon. By coincidence, I had looked at the front of the building while the flags were being replaced. But it makes one think.

How many standards of how many peoples have filled the empty sky since mankind invented the idea of nationhood? How many men and women have gazed at those standards and been sure that their nation would endure forever? And how many of those nations are now gone? More than one can count!

To build a great nation is not enough. That has been done often. Witness, among so many others, Persia, Macedonia, Judea, and Rome. To build a great technology is not enough either. That has also been done before in ancient China, India, and Egypt. No, building a nation is like building a house—after it is built, it must be carefully maintained, or it begins to fall into ruin. A window breaks, the roof starts to leak, the paint begins to peel. In time, it moves past repair. Then it falls to the ground, and where it was, there is only empty sky.

It is important to care for and about our nation. As Masons, we are dedicated to that. Part of caring for our nation is caring for its symbols. I am proud of the Masonic involvement in preserving and restoring our monuments. In projects all over the United States, from the Statue of Liberty to the cannon in the local courthouse square, Masons have given time and money to assure those icons are there for the next generation.

Caring for the flag is a part of the same process. Obviously, we do not show our care for it by repairing brick and mortar or by a fresh coat of paint. We care for the flag by the respect we give it.

We care by realizing that it is not just cloth and colored dye, but a powerful symbol of our hopes and dreams—and of a nation which encourages those hopes and dreams and makes them possible.

We care for it by knowing it symbolizes both unity and diversity. You can dream one dream and I another, and the nation which the flag represents will protect us both, no matter how different our dreams and hopes may be.

We care for it by teaching our children that there are great American values—and that great Americans may have values very different from each other.

We care for it by passing on our great myths to our children—Johnny Appleseed, Paul Bunyan, John Henry, and so many others who have helped us define ourselves as a people.

We care for it by insisting on high quality public education, knowing that only an educated electorate can make wise decisions at the ballot box and that effective government, military, economic, and civic life requires an unending supply of the best and brightest minds we can produce.

We care for the flag—and I am especially proud of this—in our Scottish Rite Masonic Centers and our Childhood Language Disorders Clinics. In our centers, we honor the flag by preserving America's highest ideals of patriotism and service. In our clinics, we pay tribute to the flag by creating the citizenry of tomorrow, children who are able to read and to function fully in the world over which the flag will fly in the next decades.

We care for it by caring for others who are ill or in poverty, for no nation can remain great if it is built on pain and suffering. It has been truly said that the test of a nation is not how it honors the wealthy and powerful but of how it cares for the poor and distressed.

We care for the flag by displaying it proudly and by remembering, as we display it, all that it truly means.
We care for it when we drape it over the coffins of those who have lived or died in the service of the nation it represents. Here it reminds us that there are issues greater than any one individual.

We care for it when we explain its meaning to others, and we care for it when we learn more about it ourselves.
We care for the flag when we realize that the "new birth of freedom" of which Lincoln spoke at Gettysburg is something which must happen every day, for every day men and women must renew their dedication to personal freedom and to freedom for others.

We care for it each time we refuse to become petty tyrants, enforcing our will on others just because it is our will, whether as parents, as teachers, as employers, or in civic or religious life. Remember, the words of the "Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag" are "liberty and justice for all."

Truly, caring for our flag is not just a matter of laws or powerful speeches. It is a matter of living and acting in a way which honors the things the flag represents. It is a matter of personal determination that our nation will remain strong and vital, and that we will be a strong and vital part of it.

It is a matter of deciding that the "Stars and Stripes" will continue to fill the empty sky.

During World War II, he served his country in the U.S. Navy. Currently he continues his service to America by publishing and distributing periodicals dealing with good citizenship and Americanism. Additionally, he awards scholarships honoring outstanding teachers and students and works with The George Washington University, in Washington, D.C., to provide scholarships to deserving students. For these contributions, Mr. Kleinknecht received The George Washington University President's Medal in 1996. He has a Commendation from President Ronald Reagan for outstanding charitable work in the private sector; the George Washington Honor Medal for excellence in the category of individual achievement from the Freedoms Foundation at Valley Forge; a certificate of appreciation from the American Speech Language Hearing Association; and a membership in the Omicron Delta Kappa Society, of the University of Minnesota.