New Britain herald., 1929-02-25

to me, there is no place in America for any sort of 8 brotherhood which h not earnestly and intelligently pa- triotic as there Is no place for an egotistical. jingoistic patriotism which has no concern for the cons mon interests of humanity and dis dains to get down from noble alof- ness into the muddy stream of con- crete interests ....
 'I praise, without reservation, the lofty ideals of brotherhood which have ever actuated the members of the Masonic fraternity. But these ideals must be extended beyond the confines of a lodge room and be made to embrace. in their beneficent purpose, the sordid. perplexed mass of humanity. l praise the pure pa- triotism of George Washington. him. l self a Mason, charter member of Alexandria lodge in Virginia. But let us be warned lest this pure pas- sion of his shall be allowed to de- generate into ignoble selfishness and the denial of the privilege of other nationals to express a similar devo- tion. Why not merge these two splendid ideals into the form of a brotherly, loyal citizenry whose love of country could never be questioned. but whose determination to under- stand other peoples and willingness to promote their peaceful well-beiug should be equally clear?
 Tt seems about time for me to announce a text. I take it from the Apocryphal Book of Ecclesiasti- GUS: He that taketh vengeance shall find vengeance from the Lord; and He will surely make firm his sins. Forgive thy neighbor the hurt that he hath done thee. and then thy sins shall be pardoned when thou pray est If thou blow spark, it shall burn; and if thou spit upon it, it shall be quenched, and both these shall come out of thy mouth.'
 "The ancient writer was evidently dealing with the eternal problem of the clash between man and man. Even if these words are not con- tained in the canon of the Scripture. they have certain freshness of tone which may help in making our thought more vivid and arresting.
 ''For the last ten years the eyes and ears of the whole world have been strained to catch some sign of a better world order-some indica- ton that the nations of the earth were really putting forth sincere ef- forts for 8 truer understanding Of one another. We have been disap- pointed that among the great Chris tian nations there has been such hesitancy in acknowledging the com- mon interests of Christian civiliza- ton. Here and there have occurred encouraging events, such as the treaty negotiations of Secretary kel- logg. But the trouble lies deeper than treaties and disarmament pacts. It is the failure of Christian peoples to proceed on the basis of brotherly , ideals.
 Both patriotism and Christian thought are influenced by local pre- judices and passions to such an ex- tent that the fundamental consid- erations of rotherly procedure are jeopardized. am persuaded that this old world desperately needs to regain a point of view upon political and social questions which is based, first and foremost, upon the Chris tian concept of the essential broth- erhood of all men. Who, in Ameri- ca. is better situated to insist upoh such a point of view. than the great body of Masons, men who are ln- spired and actuated by brotherly ideals? If the Christian churches and fraternal orders should once seriously unite in such an effort, it might even be possible to put to flight the armies of vociferous jim goes and braggarts who so per siSently wave the flag of their coun- try in affront to the felicities and amenities of international life.
 But to such an extent has the self-centered idea of patriotism de- veloped, that any man who dares to suggest some liberal ideas on the subject is directly a target for all sorts of 'anathemas,' ranging from | 'pacifiSt' and 'bolshevist' to common, ordinary traitor Now l am not a pacifist, nor do I harbor traitorous motives, but l do get enormously im- patient with the tendency of this age of jazz and 'whoopee' to de- liver itself of it's absurd nostrums about one hundred per cent patrio- tism.' Patriotism, rightly under stood. is one of the purest and noblest virtues of mankind. Let us make it our real business to see that braggarts or shrewd egotists who parade under its banner for the sole purpose of self-interest. Patriotism has had to bear all these years the unfair partnership with militarisrn It has characterized all periods ol history and all nations. It is more or less common practice today. Why pray, must the cause of peace anc brotherhood be perpetually labelled as unpatriotic? One of the tasks O a patriotic brotherhood is to deliver the fair name of patriotism from #! false identification with the plan and mechaniSms of military pro 1 cedure. We have too long allowed patriotism to be played upon b. emotions only. Let us substitute al intelligent, loyal interpretation 0 what this high and noble sentimen means for our country and for th'