A Day To Remember

On this anniversary of Nine-Eleven,

On a day that is riddled in pain,

Before friends and my brethren and my God in heaven,

I give you these gifts to maintain.

A prayer for each innocent taken,

A lament for every hero lost,

A tear for the fragile peace forsaken,

Paid at their own family's cost.

A shoulder for every survivor's anguish,

A hand for those languid in fear,

A praise for each bravery distinquished,

By samaritans who happened by near.

A song for each fallen, remembered,

A clarion to answer their call,

A sword that is forged in its ember,

And a cross that no others may fall.

A warrior who offers his service,

A youth who now rise in defense,

A nation now given a purpose,

Knowing neglect's consequence.

A tempest for those who malign us,

A zephyr for those we call friend,

A candle for all who endures these dark times,

That this evil will one day soon end.

A hope that will be everlasting,

A peace that will one day remain,

A pride in just being American, seeing

That love of life is our sovereign domain.

So on this anniversary of Nine-Eleven,

And the ten years that has traveled on by,

I promise their children and our God in heaven,

that the memory of this day will not die.

Nine-Eleven - Ten Years Later

It saddens me when Americans cite our government's policies as propoganda and terrorist's policies as actions that are justifiable. America was not attacked because we got involved. America was attacked because we got involved and regularly failed to act. This lack of action made us seem as easy prey for those who seek any opportunity to kill that which is not them. The following are quotes from Osama Bin Laden:

“We love death. The US loves life. That is the difference between us two." - November 2001

"Hostility toward America is a religious duty, and we hope to be rewarded for it by God . . . . I am confident that Muslims will be able to end the legend of the so-called superpower that is America." - Time Magazine

"I tell you, freedom and human rights in America are doomed. The U.S. government will lead the American people in — and the West in general — into an unbearable hell and a choking life." - Al-Jazeera interview October 2001

Americans who declare that we need to learn to mind our own business so that the terrorist will stop attacking us needs to understand that terrorist have no desire to stop fighting us; it is their core purpose and everything else is justification to that purpose. Anyone, Muslim or otherwise, who disagree with them are enemies as well. American isolationism has never been the answer either. Up to World War I and World War II, aside from the Monroe Doctrine's desire to protect our weaker American neighbors from foreign colonization, America maintained an isolationist policy. Because of this, over 95 million souls were butchered during 10 years of war over a span of 31 years .

After World War II, we decided to enact policies that made world business our own business and as a result, in the last 60 years that have followed, only 8.5 million total has died in over 20 years of world conflicts such as Korea, Vietnam, Grenada, Libya, Panama, Somalia, Yugoslavia, Liberia, Haiti, Lebanon, Iraq, Kuwait, Pakistan, and Afghanistan where we have been directly involved, while a total of 133 independent nations have been freed to follow their own destinies. I would say that the cost of 8.5 million is a significant difference from the previous 95 million and though each life is precious, it is unfortunately not seen as such by our enemies. I would also say that if there is a fault in American policies, it is the expectation that any new democracies that we help establish is going to be friendly to us.

Unfortunately, this is not always the case as the indigenous population will always look to their own interest. Despite this, they generally become peaceful nations in the world with the desire to protect their own interest as well as their own independence. They do however, look forward to American support, although there is a reluctance in knowing that such support comes with strings. For the most part, the strings are not so hard a pill to swallow because it is also in their best interest but the few times when such support become more aggressive or even dangerous, these nations feel cornered by American actions in their region.

There has been many times when American actions have been a benefit to these friendly nations and yet, there has been far more times when we took too long to act or failed to act quickly or properly, and at their expense. History shows that we have failed the Kurds, Kuwaitis, Israelis, Afghans, Somalis, Lebanese and Saudis because we failed to act or acted too late or too little and when we did act, we failed our own troops because we bound their hands and withheld the tools and equipment that they knew was necessary to dispatch their duties. In doing such, we emboldened our enemies and made distant our allies; they rejected us not because we were in their business, but because they feared our lack of action while in their business.

Previous to Nine-Eleven, many Kurds were killed because we promised help and never delivered and when Iraq threatened Kuwait, we promise Kuwaitis safety while dragging out any threat at the Iraqis. We promised support to our Northern Guard Allies in Afghanistan and failed to follow through until after being hit by our enemies. We stood idly by when Ho Chi Minh asked for us to support independence of all Vietnam against the French (North and South), only to turn to communism for salvation, we stood idly by while the Cubans went into Grenada, when Manuel Noriega wrested control of Panama and we stood idly by while our Israeli friends stood vigil alone against the night.

Nine-Eleven has changed all that, our policy is now to act; to deliver a message and stand by that message. There are fewer places in this world that is a threat to world peace, thanks to American policies and those Americans who claim that U.S. involvement in the world is the cause of Nine-Eleven do not understand that terrorist do not need our involvement as justification for their actions, but rather this excuse is merely one of many weapons in their arsenal that can be easily tossed for another. Proof of our success is that post war Iraq is a nation again standing on its own and has as much news being reported as any other democracy in that region, and the people are making their own destiny. Yes, it is a fragile government, but for now it is fending for itself despite all the nay-sayers.

Ten years after Nine-Eleven, there is still much to do, but remember, so much has already been done. God Bless America.

Fredericksburg Masons honor Eagle Scouts from four local troops

Fredericksburg.com - Fredericksburg Masons honor Eagle Scouts from four troops

Freemasonry & Scouting; A Common Heritage

This past Saturday, August 6th, Fredericksburg Lodge No. 4 AF&AM[i], invited local Eagle Scouts to their Masonic Temple to recognize their achievements in Scouting. The event coordinator was Dr. Bruce “Ziggy” Hollmann, who is a Past Master[ii] and Freemason, and has supported the Boy Scouts of America since 1958. Dr. Hollmann managed to bring together four local troops for this event, along with their parents and he then introduced the attending Scouts and their families to Mr. Shelby Chandler, who as the Worshipful Master[iii] of the Fredericksburg Masonic Lodge welcomed them.

They were next introduced to Mr. Freeman Shupe, who as the District Deputy Grand Master[iv] of this area was present to welcome them on behalf of the Grand Master of Masons in Virginia. Other Masonic organizations supporting this event were the International Order of Job’s Daughter[v], the Heroes of ’76 of the National Sojourners[vi], and the Fredericksburg Commandery of Knights Templar[vii].

The Eagle Scouts and Troops that were present for this event are as follows:

Fredericksburg Troop 72 - Timothy Louis & Michael Louis.

Hartwood Troop 1717 - Karl Ast & Charlie Brown.

Fredericksburg Troop 1889 - Thomas Rebbert.

Stafford Troop 907 - Zachary Patterson, Jeffrey Virga, Michael Vance & Alexander Van Curen.

Following a dinner banquet at 6:30 pm sponsored by Fredericksburg Bethel No. 16 of the International Order of Job’s Daughters and the Pledge of Allegiance, the Scouts, Scout Masters and Families were introduced to MSG Jeff St.Onge and CDR Heath Thomas of the National Sojourners’ Heroes of ’76, who presented them with a program on the American Flag. Following this program, Sir Knight Daniel Thompson, a Past Master of Fredericksburg Lodge and a Knight Templar, spoke of the many organizations within Freemasonry and how similar the tenets and standards of Scouting has been to the Masonic obligations. He further explains that the Founder of Scouting in the United States, Daniel Carter Beard[viii], was a Freemason who laid out the close relationship that is now shared between these two organizations.

Following this program, Dr. Hollmann requested that each Eagle Scout step forward and report what Eagle Scout project they took on to earn this prestigious recognition and following this, they were congratulated by the Fredericksburg Master and received their certificate of achievement from the Grand Lodge of Virginia by the District Deputy Grand Master for their contributions to both Scouting and this our community. Dr. Hollmann then closed the evening with a Prayer circle and an admonishment to each Eagle Scouts to remember their obligation.

Dr. Hollmann was Scout Master for Dahlgren Troop 1404 from 1973 to 1995 and has overseen the Grand Lodge of Virginia’s Eagle Scout program in the Spotsylvania, Stafford and King George area since 2000. Fredericksburg Masonic Lodge has supported the Boy Scouts, and has worked to bridge the common history between them by their attendance at the 2005 and 2010 National Jamboree at Ft. A.P. Hill and the 2009 and 2011 Eagle Scout Banquet. As a result of Fredericksburg Masonic Lodge’s support to the 2005 National Jamboree, a new organization within the Boy Scouts of America was established in 2008 known as NAMS[ix] (National Association of Masonic Scouters) which has already registered a few thousand members.

---

[i] AF&AM - Ancient, Free & Accepted Masons or Freemaons

[ii] Past Master – A Master Mason who have served as Worshipful Master of a Masonic Lodge

[iii] Worshipful Master – Freemasonry is over 400 years old and their titles reflect this heritage

[iv] District Deputy Grand Master – One of fifty four representatives of the Grand Master of Masons in Virginia

[v] Job’s Daughter – An International Masonic Youth Organization for Girls teaching Masonic principles

[vi] National Sojourners – A Masonic organization of Officers & Senior NCOs of the Armed Forces (past & present)

[vii] Knights Templar – A Masonic Chivalric Order tied to Freemasons who profess Christianity.

[viii] Daniel Carter Beard – along with Ernest Thomas Seton and Robert Baden-Powell were all Freemasons

[ix] NAMS = National Association of Masonic Scouters. See http://www.nams-bsa.org/

From Fredericksburg.com