Jim Tresner, 33°, Grand Cross
PO Box 70, Guthrie, Oklahoma 73044-0070

Unity is the "family value" most central to Freemasonry.

You probably remember the television series All in the Family. Most of us laughed at it, were irritated by it, made uncomfortable by it and, at unexpected moments, touched by it. Surprising, really, in that the program did not contain characters who, by the standards we usually profess, were very admirable.

There was the husband, Archie Bunker, outspoken, prejudiced, not always right, never uncertain, but who, nevertheless, had close friends among many racial and religious groups. Somehow, Archie understood personal honor, people as people, and never sensed any conflict between his diverse friendships and bigoted attitudes.

There was the wife, Edith, not an intelligent woman and with little identity outside her family. But if she were not intelligent, she was wise and sensitive and the emotional anchor for the entire family. She understood love and the forgiveness of others that love demands.

There was the daughter, Gloria, selfish, willing to reject the values of her family, even while living with them and off their generosity, and always inclined to adopt the "Cause of the Month." Yet, at bottom, she loved her family, including her father whose prejudices drove her wild. She cared for them all, and so they and the show's viewers cared for her.

Then, there was the son-in-law, Mike, "Meathead" as Archie called him. Always liberal for the sake of being liberal and annoying in his knee-jerk rejection of everything Archie thought and believed, he was forever contemptuous of those around him if they did not meet his current standards of "progressive" thinking. But, when the chips were down, he was family, and he was there.

Amazingly, although we thought the family would fly apart each week, although we could not understand what kept them from self-destructing, although they said painful and hurtful things to each other, somehow they hung together. Somehow their strengths were more important than their weaknesses, their similarities more important than their differences.

That may be the most important family value of all—hanging together, staying together with love in spite of everything.
That may also be the most important value—and lesson—for Masonry.

Not in recent history has Masonry been as tested from within as it is now. We have always represented diversity; that is one of our greatest strengths and most appropriate boasts. "Masonry allows good men to meet who would never have met otherwise," to paraphrase the ritual. But, in the past, that diversity has not led to divisiveness, as it seems, today, to do more and more. Forces for change too often evoke bitter response from the "old guard." And those representing change seem willing to discount and even destroy that old guard. Rather than accept the traditional Masonic virtue of toleration, we seem to witness more and more Brethren being intolerant of the ideas, rights, wishes, and thoughts of others. Some areas of the country are seeing an increase in withdrawals from Masonry as men decide to leave Masonry rather than strive to work out their differences.

Diversity is a source of strength; divisiveness most certainly is not.

Freemasonry is like a family in many ways. There is a fundamental acceptance of each other which the outside world finds hard to understand. There is instant respect, even among men who have never seen each other before and may never see each other again, a respect based in the shared experience of Masonry. As Masons, we think about other Masons and their families differently than we think about non-Masons. We sense a special responsibility for their well-being. We have always had liberals and conservatives, ritualists and non-ritualists, philosophers and followers, laborers and sideliners in the Masonic family. And we have always found a way, not just to remain together but to rejoice in each other.

Now, for some reason, it seems harder than ever to locate a middle ground and find a way of working together. Perhaps, in part, this is due to the speed of change elsewhere. When men and women can create virtual worlds on their computers and change anything about them they wish at the speed of electrons, the rate of change in the real world and, especially, the Masonic world seems unendurably slow.

Yet those of us who have been in Freemasonry for many years know that the rate of change in the past ten years has been breathtaking. Ideas are discussed and almost immediately implemented which, only a decade ago, would have been unthinkable and impossible. To many of us, change now seems to take place in Masonry at whirlwind speed. For that, some of us give thanks, others lament.

In contrast, to many of our younger Masons, change in the Craft seems as slow as the growth of stalactites.

Taking the two viewpoints together may mean the rate is just about right. But, whatever the causes for division, it is well to remember that the Bunkers—Archie, Edith, Gloria, and Mike—loved each other and managed to hold the family together. They kept it "All in the Family." They taught the great family value of unity, no matter how wide the diversity.

It is critical for Masonry as well.

Jim Tresner is Director of the Masonic Leadership Institute and Editor of The Oklahoma Mason. A frequent contributor to the Scottish Rite Journal and its book review editor, Illustrious Brother Tresner is also a volunteer writer for The Oklahoma Scottish Rite Mason and a video script consultant for the National Masonic Renewal Committee. He is the Director of the Thirty-third Degree Conferral Team and Director of Work at the Guthrie Scottish Rite Temple in Guthrie, Oklahoma, as well as a life member of the Scottish Rite Research Society, author of the popular anecdotal biography Albert Pike, The Man Beyond the Monument, and a member of the steering committee of the Masonic Information Center. Ill. Tresner was awarded the Grand Cross, the Scottish Rite's highest honor, during the Supreme Council's October 1997 Biennial Session.