The lives of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln provide moral landmarks for any leader.

Both President George Washington and President Abraham Lincoln were born in this month. What a study in contrast these men provide!

Washington was an aristocrat, a descendent of a distinguished family of landholders. He was educated, courtly in his manners, and formal in his deportment. His dignified appearance was a matter of common comment among his friends and their ladies. He was a good as well as a great man, as is attested to by the letters from his friends throughout Washington's life and by the dedication of his troops in the field under even the harshest of conditions. He was the embodiment of the noblest Roman virtues, and he oversaw the birth of our nation.

Lincoln was of humble origins. Largely self-educated, he had a natural kindness and graciousness which endeared him to others. Far from handsome, he grew his beard, some say, to help disguise his homeliness. He also was a good as well as a great man, and the contemporary records of his time show how deeply the people of his era loved him. He was the embodiment of the strengths and virtues of the common man, and he oversaw our nation's "new birth of freedom" during the Civil War.

For all the contrasts that can be drawn between them, Washington and Lincoln had much in common. Flexible enough to adapt to circumstances as they changed-often rapidly and radically-they had a core of honor and integrity which nothing could move. Clearly placing the needs of others first and willing to serve where needed, they were still true to themselves.

In a time when many political leaders take firm and vocal personal stands on whatever their polls suggest are popular points of view, and whose allegiance to an ideal cannot withstand a two-point shift in focus-group results, it is inspiring to think of these two men, who asked first and foremost, "Is it the right thing?" Each of them led us through a process of purification and new beginning. Each of them served our country well.

One of the great lessons of the Scottish Rite is that each Mason must, like Washington and Lincoln, embrace leadership. It may be that he will lead a nation. It may be that he will lead a family. It may be he will be responsible only for himself. But he must be prepared to face crisis and uncertainty with a set of values and ideals which will withstand the onslaught of a cynical and value-shattered world. Truth, honor, integrity, faith, compassion, a commitment to the well-being of others, a love of freedom, and a desire to extend its benefits to others--these and the other great virtues taught by the Scottish Rite are the moral landmarks of any leader, no matter the area of life in which he is called to lead.

Each of us must take advantage of the opportunity to improve his own life by reviewing and strengthening the lessons of the Rite. To do so will be to find a new beginning of service to self and, as importantly, to others. Doing so will not only assure the future of the Scottish Rite. It also will assure your own success and happiness.