Americanism

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March 2026

I’m sorry to say this will be my last article on Americanism. I appreciate the chance given

me to express some of my feelings on what Americanism is and stands for.

America was built on friendship, a sharing of beliefs and respecting and helping your

neighbors. It is allowing each of us to pursue our beliefs and worship God as we saw

fit. Our laws were modeled after this - we no longer had to follow the beliefs forced

upon us by a king. Today’s Elks are following the tradition of believing in God in a time

when so many people are drifting away from this belief. I believe this tradition of believing in God is a form of Americanism.

We are a brotherhood, a family, friends. The motto we took in part “The faults of our

members we write in the sand…”. I have repeated this phrase monthly for while as we

seem to have drifted away from this oath! It is an integral part of our oath, to me, integral

of Americanism. We need to stand together and stop tearing this lodge apart -

unite again as a true brotherhood.

We will be transitioning to a new group of officers hoping to once again be united in

friendship with a clean slate for everyone. Elkdom and Americanism - sharing ideals

and accepting that no one or thing is perfect (except I believe God is). Honoring

America and those who serve and have served in our military. Honoring first responders

and the medical professionals. Honoring our brothers and sisters Elks. Honoring

those not as fortunate as us. Help rebuild our lodge and America in forgiving, forgetting

and building trust in each other. Let us all eschew Americanism and unite once

again making Viera Elks lodge 2817 a place where we proudly want to spend time in

brotherhood and move forward, learning from our past and letting go of the bad

times and creating new good times for us all.

God Bless Viera Elks lodge 2817 and God Bless America.

Ken Roger

Esteemed Loyal Knight

Viera Elks Lodge 2817