BY showing us views of different subcultures, our contributors this month teach us that beyond appearances, we are much more alike than we are different.

In his description of the Freemasons, “Mystical Rites, Fraternal Bonds,” Rev. Jesse Jennings dispels the many myths around who the Masons are and their purpose as an organization. Bound by a shared value system and a desire to make the world a better place, the Masons attract members from all religious backgrounds—Christians, Jews and Hindus. Jennings tells us that Masonry “stands for regarding ‘the whole human species as one family—the high and the low, rich and poor— who as created by One Almighty Parent and inhabitants of the same planet, are to aid, support and protect each other.’”

Rev. Ron Fox, in “Freedom Redefined: Inmates’ Insights,” introduces us to three convicted criminals whom he has befriended. Fox teaches us that all people, including those deemed unfit to live in society, are an integral part of the human family. John, one of the inmates, shared with Fox that through incarceration, he “learned to see God in every human being, no matter how clever the disguise.”

To see God in every human being is an idea frequently encouraged by Ernest Holmes. I particularly love this month’s excerpt from his work; it is such a simple, inspired selection. In “How to Attract Friends,” Holmes’s belief that we must refuse to see anyone as “other” is stated thus: “From selfish motives alone, if for no loftier reason, we cannot afford to find fault or to hate or even to hold in mind anything against any living soul. The God who is love cannot hear the prayer of the man who is not love. Love and cooperation will yet be found to be the greatest business principle on Earth, ‘God is Love.’

“We will make our unity with all people, with all life. We will affirm that God in us is unified with God in all.”