MAGLOGuinn
OSCAR ALLEN GUINN, JR.
Grand Chaplain; Masonic Speaker
REMARKS
At the September 10, 1975, Quarterly Communication, beginning on Page 1975-175, following the presentation of a Joseph Warren Medal:
"Most Worshipful The Grand Master, Most Worshipful Sirs, Right Worshipful Brethren, Worshipful Brethren and Brethren All:
"The Grand Master has just honored me in such a way that I do not know what to say. My heart is too full to adequately express my thanks. I sincerely hope that I may be able to sewe in some way to show my appreciation to Masonry. Next to my family, and my Church, Masonry has meant more to me than anything I have known. Wherever I have gone, the bonds of Brotherhood made in the Masonic Fraternity have been beyond words. My deepest appreciation for the honor you have given me.
"The Grand Master has asked that I share with you a summary of what I said at a Service in Old North Church, on April 19, 1975, in which we honored the men of the pre-Revolutionary and Paul Revere Lodges.
"At that time I asked the question, For what are you willing to Die?
"A few months ago, I drove up to a stop light, and while waiting for it to change noticed the license plate on the car in front. It was from New Hampshire, and as you know, the motto on it is - Live Free or Die. This started me to thinking, and as I drove down the road I thought of Patrick Henry, my fellow Virginian, who once said, 'Give me Liberty or give me death.' Nathan Hale came into my mind. I know some historians doubt the event, but I like to think he said just before being hanged by the enemy, 'I regret that I have but one life to give for my country.'
"Later I read in the paper, that opposition had arisen in New Hampshire to that motto. One man went so far as to say, 'There is nothing in New Hampshire for which I would give my life.' I began to ask myself, Why? Why had we lost this attitude that was so evident among our forefathers?
"To have this sense of dedication, one must have respect for ; admiration for; love for someone or something. It requires a sense of the Holy in Someone (God) . . . in Something (Country, Society, Church, Family, Fraternity), that demands my BEST... my ALL.
"The attitude today is not so much an antagonism to ideals, goals, and purposesl as it is a spirit of 'I couldn't care less.' It is a neutrality that is neither hot, nor cold; and a great Prophet said, it would be 'spewed out of the mouth.'
"But, what is the solution? How can we build again this dedication?
"It cannot be bought. We have come to the place, where we feel that if the proper amount of money is available, then nothing wili be impossible. We have tried to by friendship, loyalty) respect and love. But, we have failed completely. Some parents ask me, 'What is wrong? I have given my children everything. Why don't they love and respect me?' I asked a young man once, "Your parents gave you everything you ever desired. They went without and gave to you. What is wrong? Why do you feel as you do?' He replied, 'They gave me evirything but themselves.' Their money had not bought respect and love. It cannot gain dedication to anything!
"I believe that respect, admiration and love are SPIRITUAL. You can say that respect for my nation is materialistic. This is true, when we pay our income tax, when we answer the call to the Armed Services, and in many other ways show our submission to the State. But, that is NOT respect and admiration in the deepest sense. I might become angry at many of the physical aspects of my Nation. I 'boil' at tax time; I can resent actions and words of executives, legisiators, or judges. But, they are only outward symbols of our Nation. Our Nation is an Ideal. It is what God wants us to be! It is not what the Nation does, but what she can do, and be!
"Joan of Arc did not die for a spineless and corrupt Charles VII. She did not die for the French noblemen, nor for the corrupt Government. She died for France - a dream she had of what France could be and should be. This is true for us today, whether we talk about the Nation, the Church, the Family, or our great Fraternity. I am not always happy with what my family does, nor what my Church does; but I am willing to die for what they should be, and for what I hope them to be.
"This concerns the spiritual loss of Trust and Faith. We must find some way in which we can rebuild this foundation of Trust . . . Faith . . . Respect . . . Love. For if we are must know for what we are willing to give our BEST, our ALL . . . that for which we are willing to die."
