tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29098144770988684402024-03-18T01:03:32.161-05:00The Midnight FreemasonsA group of Master Masons talk about topics of Masonic interest--each from their own unique perspective. You'll find a wide range of subjects including history, trivia, travel, book reviews, great quotes, and hopefully a little humor as well on topics of interest for Freemasons and those interested in the subject of Freemasonry.Todd E. Creasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12966451416841599132noreply@blogger.comBlogger2040125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2909814477098868440.post-2165817706117890752024-03-13T05:00:00.007-05:002024-03-13T05:00:00.163-05:00Disappointment, Burnout, and Knowing When to Walk Away <div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Roboto;">by Midnight Freemason Contributor</span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: Roboto;">Bro. Erik Geehern</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><br /></span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEeO_Fo-NrCwqfGlY9TASTkIkl9ArYaCHGoYWcQ0yo_bNEeOQsjn7GSWgXp-s4NPAHfAWyuO_iHZWCDF-g11F91RYXtkKsb-BdIrlCxvya0q2wIlmFVEzrcGBQmDvDTw2KqwIRh2J4rvyK8ty64uTk2Wa48QlTxAlzhgPGSBmHlyxvLzFqxk3OyEMV44Q/s5616/AdobeStock_504357814.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3744" data-original-width="5616" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEeO_Fo-NrCwqfGlY9TASTkIkl9ArYaCHGoYWcQ0yo_bNEeOQsjn7GSWgXp-s4NPAHfAWyuO_iHZWCDF-g11F91RYXtkKsb-BdIrlCxvya0q2wIlmFVEzrcGBQmDvDTw2KqwIRh2J4rvyK8ty64uTk2Wa48QlTxAlzhgPGSBmHlyxvLzFqxk3OyEMV44Q/w400-h266/AdobeStock_504357814.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-1541cd03-7fff-d829-036e-e71ce6125610"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">This past Wednesday, as I read WB Lahner's <a href="http://www.midnightfreemasons.org/2024/02/ch-ch-ch-ch-changes.html">“Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes”</a> post, it resonated with me on so many levels. Specifically, this; “However, the job of being the Blog's editor is time-consuming, thankless, and sometimes frustrating.”</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Two months into my year in the East I sat down and wrote down my thoughts, mostly as a way for me to vent. I was frustrated and disappointed in the participation levels in my Lodge at the time. As a new Master, I was trying to invigorate our small country Lodge and do things differently than they had been done before. In my eagerness to revitalize our Lodge, I might have set my expectations too high, hoping to see a surge of engagement and renewed enthusiasm. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I ended that written rant with this; “It may be time to humbly admit that my expectations might have been overly ambitious, and I am dedicated to working alongside all my Brothers to create an atmosphere of unity and purpose within our Lodge.”</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">It is now about seven months later, and sadly nothing has really changed. We all know Masonry is a volunteer organization, one that takes a back seat to family, faith, or work commitments. I agree wholeheartedly with that sentiment and have put things ahead of my attending a meeting or rehearsal many times myself. Still, I must admit that I find myself feeling disappointed in some of my Brothers. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Recently I called for a meeting to discuss our Lodges finances as well as a few other items I think could use a revision in our bylaws. It snowed the morning of the meeting and several Brothers reached out stating we should cancel due to the weather and the road conditions, even though the snow had stopped by 1 pm and the roads were perfectly clear well before our 6:30 pm meeting. In the interest of ensuring we had maximum participation, I postponed the meeting. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Several Brothers then reached out complaining about the postponement… To ensure we didn’t have a repeat I decided we would make the meeting virtual, that way if the weather interfered again, it would not be an issue. Not surprisingly several Brothers reached out to complain they are incapable of joining virtually. So, I made the meeting hybrid, I would meet at the Lodge and set it up on our big screen, everyone can come in person or attend online, whatever works for them. Including myself, seven Brothers participated. One of the Brothers who reached out to me three times to complain in one fashion or another about this meeting did not come.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Seven months ago, I wrote about how we had a toy drive to benefit the Shriner’s Hospital for Children in Philadelphia. This is something that our Lodge has done for about three years now. We have one toy drive in July for the Centurion “Christmas in July” event and another in December for the holidays. We have one Brother who takes all our donations down personally each year and supplies us with pictures for our newsletter. I’m not sure if it is even worth including in our next issue, we had two or three Brothers contribute, and that’s it. In total those few Brothers donated about ten full grocery bags filled with toys, so we should be proud that we were able to contribute to a very worthy cause. Our December toy drive fared even worse. I just can’t shake the knowledge that we could have and should have, done much more.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">We had three worthy Entered Apprentices we were preparing a Fellow Craft Degree for. In our Lodge, the Senior Warden leads that effort and sits in the East for the Degree. We had about six rehearsals in total, no more than three or four Brothers were able to attend any given rehearsal night for various reasons. Pretty hard to rehearse for a degree without the officers that have important roles. Eventually, we made a difficult decision to have our Brothers be passed in a Fellow Craft Degree at a neighboring Lodge, as we felt it was unfair to hold these Brothers back in their Masonic progress. We still have one EA we need to prepare a Degree for as he was unable to attend. I think it looks likely we will be asking for another Lodge’s assistance once again.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">In my usual vocation, I have managed small and large teams. I have had up to ninety direct reports and at one time was responsible for approximately seven hundred employees. I understand the struggles of motivation in the workforce. My usual tactics will not work in the Lodge, it's not like I can increase wages for increased performance or offer bonuses to top-performing units. Every member of our Lodge joined for the same core reasons, to be a part of something bigger than themselves, to become better men, to learn and grow. Why then is every Brother not giving it his all and holding himself to higher expectations?</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">But as I reflect on this, I am compelled to question whether my expectations are indeed too high. After all, Freemasonry is built upon the foundation of unity, friendship, and mutual support, and each Brother contributes according to his abilities and circumstances.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I remember early in my career being so frustrated with some of my employees and the condition in which they would leave the store at night. I would come in and have to re-sweep and mop the floors, clean the glass, empty trash, etc. Eventually, I learned it was completely unrealistic to expect some team members to care as much about the store as I did. I was a salaried manager, there fifty-plus hours a week, and ultimately, I was responsible for every aspect of the store. Why would a high school student, making minimum wage work ten or fifteen hours a week because he needs gas money care as much as I do about the condition of the store? On average, they won’t, and I really can’t blame them.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I guess Masonry has some of the same dichotomies. Not every Mason is willing or able to make Masonry a full-time commitment. My two children are a bit older and largely can take care of themselves. I highly doubt if I had an infant or a toddler, I would be able to participate at the level I do now. I’m sure when I am older and have grandchildren if I get a last-minute call on a meeting night to come watch the kids I would jump at that opportunity. I am sure some Brothers are in very different financial positions than I am, and simply may not be able to contribute to the myriad of fundraisers and donation requests that are put forth throughout the year. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I have no doubt that anyone who has sat in the East can relate to the feeling of frustration when you put so much effort into something and those efforts simply are not reciprocated, or even appreciated. I often discuss with one very close Brother, who participates in everything our Lodge does, the ongoing frustration I feel. Sometimes just being able to vent helps. Maybe it’s a bit of seasonal affective disorder, but I have thought maybe it is time to affiliate with a more active Lodge and move on. My Masonic District has thirteen Lodges. Most are in similar situations as my own, some better, some worse. A few stand out as active, growing in membership, and generally on the rise. However, our small Lodge is in a position where the loss of even one active Brother would be devastating. There is no way I can allow our Lodge which has existed and served our community for almost 170 years to fail. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">If seven Brothers could start this Lodge in 1855, surely seven can help get it back on track in 2024. So, am I disappointed? Yes. Am I burnt out? A little. Am I ready to walk away? Not a chance.</span></p><div><br /></div></span></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;">~EG</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: Roboto; font-size: x-small;"><b><span style="color: #e69138;">Bro. Erik M. Geehern</span></b> is currently Master of Goshen Masonic Lodge #365 in Goshen, NY under the Grand Lodge of New York. He was raised to the sublime degree of Master Mason in October of 2019 and since then has served in various progressive chairs along the road to the east. He writes and curates a newsletter for his Lodge quarterly which disseminates education, history, and esoterics. He is also a member of the Grand College of Rites, the American Lodge of Research, and the Kansas Lodge of Research. He works in restaurant operations & consulting, and when not engaged in his usual vocation, or laboring in the Craft, he loves spending time with his wife and two children.</span></span></p></div>Darinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08964995230169390735noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2909814477098868440.post-77130804880890989702024-03-06T05:00:00.001-06:002024-03-06T05:00:00.157-06:00Warily Unaware<div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Roboto;">by Midnight Freemason Guest Contributor</span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><b>Bro.Steve Leapman</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnR40vD54_6_QryxgYPtDh1lGSCAQH8kmFw8ASdHJAhyXU_OTmWx6MBLqQsEPT7gSsCNXSW4dOx8TaH2X3TYAj8XOBkSXbw_6uhw0DqJ7Pb60N90laheUzZjDc27IO0UZkY_W0M_6uu8zj8KeM_c-gFEJZNRLpnzEiwxg2r2MSv9rzcahlIN482ET2JN0/s4288/AdobeStock_228605334.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2848" data-original-width="4288" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnR40vD54_6_QryxgYPtDh1lGSCAQH8kmFw8ASdHJAhyXU_OTmWx6MBLqQsEPT7gSsCNXSW4dOx8TaH2X3TYAj8XOBkSXbw_6uhw0DqJ7Pb60N90laheUzZjDc27IO0UZkY_W0M_6uu8zj8KeM_c-gFEJZNRLpnzEiwxg2r2MSv9rzcahlIN482ET2JN0/w400-h266/AdobeStock_228605334.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-b2e7cebe-7fff-3b45-b400-4c7ceb4070d5"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Blessed art Thou, O Lord our God, Ruler of the Universe, Who has given us the mind and heart to distinguish between night and day! - taken from pp. 18-19 </span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The Complete Artscroll Siddur, </span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Mesorah Publications, 1984 / 2001 & with this writer’s adaptation</span></span></p></span><span><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">O wad some Power the giftie gie us / To see oursels as ithers see us! Such a power or ability would save us a lot of bother and foolish notions; … from “To a Louse by Brother Robert Burns </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/To_a_Louse" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="background-color: white; color: blue; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/To_a_Louse</span></a></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;">Sometimes we don’t realize the force of a moment until it is passed. I place my ego on the sidelines and acknowledge this happens far more often than I wish to admit. Yet, I also believe Masonry’s practices and principles hone my awareness. Through Masonry, I may live a life of response, not reaction. Each moment and every day awaits us as Masons for we actively attend those 24 hours. We honor them in our very first Degree through the Common Gauge. We are not to be workmen whose greatest load is the annual dues card carried in our wallets. </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;">The rough ashlar is an ample allusion in assisting our cultivation of skills for the journey from novice to artisan. An actively aware Mason studies his progress from Initiate to Mason; wakefulness of your years is not to trifle with your feelings but to fortify you for purpose with perspective. This acuity does not arise from a life devoid of curiosity. “Actively aware Masonry” is but a synonym for willful dedication. The actively aware Mason cannot evade a keen sense of duty which compels him to act to heal a fractured world. The obtuse life is not well suited to an actively aware Mason. </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;">The stone that needs shaping is a sufficient metaphor for those traits we polish to adorn character. I wish to speak on this gift of “awareness.” The well-honored passage by Brother Burns bespeaks the blessed knowledge of how we are seen. The ancient rabbinic petition praises God for gifts of intellect and soul allowing each of us to make distinctions in the natural domain and amidst those timeless realms of sanctity and morality. </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;">One is justified to assert Freemasonry’s call to Character mandates Duty. Such is the Faithful Breast obedient to the Attentive Ear. To hear the Word is to convert Speculative awareness to Life’s redemptive Labor. Inner qualifications now recommend external quantifications. Actively aware Masons acquire merits. They apply the Soul’s insights realized through action. </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;">Neither “intentions” nor “preoccupations” fit the bill. Masonry is after all a Craft. Each Brother daily turns to his Trestle-Board in search of that day’s revealed hence required service. “Required?” Really? Certainly so!</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Roboto; white-space-collapse: preserve;">There are certainties beyond our minds and opinions. Masonry enthusiastically welcomes each man’s explorations. Neither Operative nor Speculative Masons can build without absolutes and standards.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;">This has ramifications Mason's risk at grave peril. When or where, why, or how Masonry concedes God is limited to human “suggestions” or what we “feel” “comfortable with” a question arises to confront the intellectually honest Mason. Can such an Architect be “Grand?” If so, what of we who invoke such Grandeur? </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;">No! To abandon absolutes is to abandon Geometry itself let alone The Grand Geometrician honored in the Opening Prayer for the Fellowcraft Lodge. Contemporary Masons have no right to remove Deity from the Trestle-Board to which we turn if we evict a Deity why retain obligations? Eroding The Presence is the cost of such concessions. It is why many never return once Raised. They have not been aroused by Awe! They are bereft of Reverence. </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;">As each labors in community and toils in the care of kin we evolve within as men humbly but confidently aware of the Fatherhood of God. Granted, our semantics vary as they should in a Free Society. Our theology is personal. Our faith must be well-founded. No policy nor marketing scheme can promise this.</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;">A Freemasonry that deserves to endure as our lasting legacy is not about giving away this shiny pin, that ribbon, a badge, a hat, or a title. Imagine explaining to a Medieval Stone Mason, whose grandchildren might see a Cathedral begun by a great-grandparent, that in four or five centuries you only need to spend one day to become a Master Mason and pick up Scottish Rite to boot, breakfast and lunch included! Actively aware Masons are not first and foremost charity workers or case managers. We are not here to gather numbers but to gain the Numinous. The reward of truly Masonic Life is to live in Masonic Light. </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;">We dare not waste precious moments or material demeaning ourselves and our spirits amidst one-day classes. Our Operative Ancients honed the patience of centuries as they assembled Sanctuaries still inspirational today. Neither Wisdom nor Strength nor Beauty are overnighted to our doorsteps by Amazon Prime! Authentically aware Masonic workmanship exhibits an attention to detail we meagerly comprehend in our age of Internet and Instant Messages. </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;">Just as the fires of a well-tended domestic hearth comfort all therein, the glow of Divine Glory within man’s sacred privacies fosters healing. Thus, as actively aware Masons, we display resolve when Honor is called to step forward. An authentic Mason is a man aware of who he is and more so Whose he is! A man who is Masonically aware, is one whose behaviors are dignified and dignifying. </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;">One may know our ceremonies and esoteric forms letter, syllable, and word yet conduct himself so shamefully, belittle other men and Masons so shamelessly as to nullify all the nuances of our beautiful rituals and inspirational rites. Titles shall not hide truths daily demeanor depicts beyond doubt. Are we aware there must be little if any gap between word and deed? Our character marks our figure beyond equivocation or mental evasion. </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;"> A man must emulate that refined awareness of self and centeredness of soul Grand Master Hiram Abiff displayed. On the day he gave fully of himself he faced danger without warning nor hesitation. Those clarities which crisis coalesced in his soul were beyond doubt. GMHA would neither suffer degradation nor diminishment when conscience called out. </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;">No conscientious Mason sets to his labors in a frenzy. To do this would present a case study in passions run amok. Had our ancient Operative Brethren done so they would not have found ready steady employment. The Cathedrals we cherish today would have collapsed long ago. Lethargy nor shoddiness allow us to cement Living Stones. </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;">The Compasses serve to circumscribe zeal as they focus on productive ambition. Indeed, man's passions unrestrained breed destruction. Forceful barbarism would never have been able to destroy what could never been built had idleness forestalled Solomon’s plans and deterred King David’s dream. A life without purposeful awareness is the grip and word for entropy.</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;">It is the astutely aware Speculative worker whose edifices we enjoy and cherish. Once the heat of effect cools we find time, space, and place for the Grammar, Rhetoric, and Logic intrinsic to the Fellowcraft Degree, its mindset, and our way of life. We must abandon the woeful immaturity that St. Paul recognized as an encumbrance of growth. </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;">Those possessing such silliness are not sufficient to pass through our West Gate. Real men of worth, merit, nobility, and character disdain being “marketed!” One cannot sheep-steal souls! Those easily distracted or eventually disinterested will wander in and soon off. Talk about “off or from!” Watch for it! Wait for it! Masons and Masonry must be honest with and within ourselves. When we are unaware of our proximity to Truth we endanger this Grand Fraternity. </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;">Let us choose otherwise. Let us choose wisely. Let us be actively aware. As Masons we ask, seek, and knock to be molded and guided, taught and inspired by men of dignity, centeredness, and at peace with themselves for they are at peace with their God. As Traveling Men, we tread lightly yet confidently beyond denomination or dogma, unconcerned with political positions and polling. </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;">What then are our labors? Better question: How then, can we determine what tasks should earn our energy. As Masons, who are actively aware, we see our task beyond doubt is to focus on the soul’s maturity cut, squared, and valued over time. This is why men finally vocalize to a trusted friend or relative, “I think that I’d like to be a Mason! What do I do? Who do I talk to?” </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;">It is this passion, which we form as the clay from which each individually worthy and well-qualified Brother journeys towards his East. This is the work and worth of an actively aware Mason. We are not some puerile “frat” best suited to an adolescent’s nonage. Rather, Masons await a man’s nascent adulthood as acuity sharpens. As adolescence recedes Moral Geometry guides the emerging adult. The Speculative Astronomy of the Fellowcraft Degree presents stars to steer by. “Active awareness” expands. We navigate by the “G” not by impulsivity. </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;">Not everyone should seek that vaunted recommendation. As we have bemoaned a lack of readiness at Life’s earliest days, so too one impaired by an aged psyche, experiencing a dotage far less of years than of yearnings. Complacency has constricted one’s morality. The pulse of Life has slowed. Hearts and mentality harden. </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;">Such souls emulate Exodus’ Pharoah or the unfairly indicted “Pharisees!” No, these were hollow men who lost their mission. Such capitulations to compromise or kings besmirch every ethnicity, era, culture, and cause. It is fallacious anti-Semitism to assign this trait to any singular tribe, certainly not my own. Masonry will demean no man’s religion, dictate no man’s religiosity, and certainly not belittle any man’s faith. Actively aware Masons are Geometrically Correct. </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;">These “authorities” in truth were far less than valid nor reliable. They were far less sages than stultified minions of institutions collapsed by their betrayals of original intent. We see them vibrant and repugnant today as then! Pray God one’s own soul does not imitate their folly.</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;">Freemasonry’s enterprise is the development of a man’s finest essence. Freemasonry will not surrender to social correctness for we are neither primarily nor preferentially “social.” Masonry is about the man, the citizen, the adult member of his country and culture. </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;">Unaware and toting vices and superfluities of an image, business connections, pins, garlands, lapels, and letterheads, we might balloon numbers. However, these men are soon gone with the winds of disciplined commitment, vital proficiencies, Floor Schools, individual study, and personal prayer. Is this nothing other than a denial of Godliness if not God of which our teachings warn? One seeks Masonry as it appeals, promises profits, and promotes sales! How sorrowful. How blindly empty. How fatal a plague.</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;">The refusal to recognize or revere Our Creator deludes one. He anoints himself as the measure and maker of individual Destiny. Intentional? Probably not! Yet it is detrimental. This is to live as a libertine. Lusts seize tightly the helm aboard the ship of soul. One lives unaware moving hither and thither, helter-skelter through darkness derived the Light Masons revere to illuminate our travels. Such an unaware soul paves no trail. He stumbles upon it. </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;">Well, if “awareness” is crucial state it plainly! Did “awareness” as a virtue and trait get lost in the turmoil during those closing moments of Hiram’s life? Maybe! It was a heinous murder! Though wretched chaos was rampant Solomon ruled. Actively aware Masons buttress the narrative of our Grand Master’s death. As we study Masonry we are not literalists. Our search for Wise Awareness depicts a laudable pursuit. Hiram was a servant of his awareness. He told the assailants, “Better my mortality than your morality!” </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;">“Active awareness” redeems the atrocity of Hiram’s last moments. Did it tumble away dropped due to a “nerveless grasp? Where is “awareness” listed amongst our Tools? Why doesn’t it appear in the “Furniture of the Lodge?” Can a Mason be authentically Masonic lacking attention to detail, dull to curiosity, or decision-making? Can one be an evolved Mason when only reactive to circumstances? Our charges envision an educated, reflective, involved, and decisively participatory citizen. Such is one aware! Masonry fosters this!</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;">The Masons we wish to find and refine, retain, and become make “active awareness” a prized “internal qualification” one-day programs cannot guarantee. We must advance our capacity to do what our Lodge Secretary accomplishes when he makes a “correct record of all things proper to be written,” as he will “carefully observe the proceedings of the Lodge.” (Texas Monitor 2023, page 160). </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;">Post-Script: Now it applies to me and my duty to see! </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;">Two fine men and exemplary Masons have shown and taught me the impeccable wisdom of The Fellowcraft Lecture. PM Dave Wood of South Bend IN’s Council Oak #745 and JW Kirk Otto of San Antonio’s Perfect Union # 10 are these teachers. Though they have never met their passion for our Craft compels me. In their honor, I learned the Texas Fellowcraft Lecture. I gave it one evening at Triune # 15 here in San Antonio. </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;">Texas ritual places the delivery of that exquisite prose in the East. The Brother rendering this Lecture is expected to duly use and properly deploy The Gavel. At the point where the WM gathers The Lodge to rise to glorify Deity, I did my duty. I never until this moment “gaveled the Lodge up” as we say here in Southern Texas. So eager to enact the ritual respectfully I was obtuse to my own experience. </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;">An entire day passed before I realized I had never stood in the East in this fashion. I needed a few days for my ego to surrender to my mind and then onward to my soul. The significance those moments held for me linked me to my father and a man whose years in this life have passed yet his legacy reaches into my days and decisions. </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;">Once home I pondered the gavel owned and used by Dad’s best friend PM Jack Lawson who in 1977 stood in the East at Abraham C. Treichler # 682 in Elizabethtown, PA. This gavel now rests with esteem in my home. Brother Lawson and his Blue Lodge line are photographed as another heirloom preserved on the wall of the room where I type these words. </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;">Dad was a local merchant. Decades after Dad and PM Lawson entered the Celestial Lodge I learned a secret. It was my Dad who supplied and engraved the gavels many years ago for Abraham C. Treichler # 682 of the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania. </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;">I thank God for the gift of awareness. I thank God for a dawning sense of my ability to contribute. I thank God for how awareness evolves for our Masonry provides implements as metaphors to instruct our expansion of perception. </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;">I am observant of my time to serve. I am aware of Whom I ultimately serve. It may be in The East, yet I must be in The Lodge we each necessarily build daily. I humbly ponder the photo of Brother Jack. I consider the lessons of word and work he imparted to his officers, Dad, and me. </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-8bec4d38-7fff-758b-b3ed-a3085daa4ac7"></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;">Masonry helps me pay my finest attention. To “pay” is to render one’s due share. Masonry beckons me: Cultivate the best man I hope to be. Perhaps I will honor my father and PM Jack as they blessed me. Jack would not reveal any secrets but once he tried to share the Craft he loved so well and loyally! He smiled at me saying fondly, “Stevie, there’s a lot of the Bible in Masonry!”</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;">~SC</span></span></p></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span><span style="color: black;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="background-color: transparent; clear: both; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-align: center; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span><span style="color: black;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg180GoHA3Q8MBweIlWtCS7LqYXIH_KIA2G3skz1_GJp2TaoHHPjzD-HR9w66i6xxFIwXrC-rDVLzOEDUW15Gr9YpT3F2sXu5WuL5GCop1UsHM8H8QYJ7ItJDiTbEXLgacgqHD1-UCIDP8k1QXOy-1fcYIoiZwAiDDuj0UgeCvBGUocKK0-aXtF_WVgEL8/s320/IMG_3557.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="320" data-original-width="240" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg180GoHA3Q8MBweIlWtCS7LqYXIH_KIA2G3skz1_GJp2TaoHHPjzD-HR9w66i6xxFIwXrC-rDVLzOEDUW15Gr9YpT3F2sXu5WuL5GCop1UsHM8H8QYJ7ItJDiTbEXLgacgqHD1-UCIDP8k1QXOy-1fcYIoiZwAiDDuj0UgeCvBGUocKK0-aXtF_WVgEL8/s1600/IMG_3557.JPG" width="240" /></a></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Roboto; font-size: x-small;"><b><span style="color: #e69138;">Steven M. Leapman</span></b> was raised in 1996 at what was then Blackmer # 442 in San Diego, CA when serving as a Navy Chaplain. He sees himself as a “returned Mason” come home to active participation in Masonry through MW John R. Heisner Lodge #442. He joined Council Oak Lodge # 745 in South Bend, IN serving as Junior Warden when in 2021 he and his wife moved to San Antonio, TX. There he was warmly welcomed into the Masonic community once again and has become a member of Davy Crockett # 1225 where he serves as Lodge Chaplain. He also serves as Senior Deacon at Antonio’s Triune # 15. He is a member of Northern Masonic Jurisdiction and Southern Masonic Jurisdiction as a 32d Degree Mason. As a member of the San Antonio Scottish Rite community has served as Degree Master for Prince of The Tabernacle 24th Degree and supports the presentation of other degrees during Reunions. He actively attends monthly Continuing Masonic Education Zoom sessions and hopes to write deserving reflections on our beloved Craft. Brother Steve attended American University in Washington, DC in 1981 and 1984 earning degrees in Literature. He attended Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion where in 1990 he graduated with a Master’s in Hebrew Letters (MHL) and was ordained a Rabbi in Cincinnati, OH in 1991. Brother Steve served in the US Navy/ USMC Chaplaincy from 1993-2000. Later he returned to the military community as a mental health professional with the Veterans Administration in Indiana and Texas. He graduated from Indiana University South Bend in 2008. He has been involved with Civilian and Military/Veterans’ Care since then.</span></div><p></p></div>Darinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08964995230169390735noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2909814477098868440.post-56301356342810234572024-02-28T05:00:00.001-06:002024-02-28T05:00:00.249-06:00Lightning Strike, or How Symbols Play Tricks on Us - Part 3 of a series<div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Roboto;">by Midnight Freemason Contributor</span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><b>Patrick Dey</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuCnzlbnq1XVMCZcgC8LQiww3WSIwn7oOF04IN8zN68bQrJ7uZU_CJV8vPsJqq_maD1mixFjFRd-LTlM44Nnz9FWTsLyfBkP9gV6v4PxBiaUta7Mm_SrQ7dT_ENFI0mxhXnFg3OcwOBIo1bAWRZaIY_5vvgAN8JN5mQaiU7Qj2zXaktXXYCQTQjCGabSk/s8000/AdobeStock_504770428.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5000" data-original-width="8000" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuCnzlbnq1XVMCZcgC8LQiww3WSIwn7oOF04IN8zN68bQrJ7uZU_CJV8vPsJqq_maD1mixFjFRd-LTlM44Nnz9FWTsLyfBkP9gV6v4PxBiaUta7Mm_SrQ7dT_ENFI0mxhXnFg3OcwOBIo1bAWRZaIY_5vvgAN8JN5mQaiU7Qj2zXaktXXYCQTQjCGabSk/w400-h250/AdobeStock_504770428.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-8cd89b1f-7fff-54e7-2568-dc9e396f6a7d"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Very often in esoteric Masonic research papers and books, we will find instances of Masons relating Freemasonry back to some ancient mystery cult or another. They will take the few artifacts and written accounts if there are any, of these cults and spin them into something that resembles Freemasonry. Such writings were barely acceptable in the late 19</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-size: 0.6em; vertical-align: super;">th</span></span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> and early 20th centuries, but this really is no longer acceptable, at least academically. Their agenda appears to be that they want Freemasonry to be the inheritors of an ancient lineage of initiation rites. Albert Pike does this. Albert Mackey does this. Manly P. Hall does this. It would be nauseating to survey every Masonic author who is guilty of such parallelomania — the phenomenon of someone seeing similarities between two or more religions or cultures, in which they begin to force more similarities than are really there, sometimes completely fabricating information to push their agenda of making these things appear similar.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">In many instances, they suggest that all the ancient mystery cults were the same thing, with only minor variations from region to region. Such was presumed before World War I and II, and during the time of the Great Wars, universities were largely concerned with the sciences to support the war effort. However, after World War II, many academics and funding was opened back up for research into these ancient cults. What we now understand about these cults is less certain than previously presented, and that they are all very different from each other. We call them “mystery cults” because it is a mystery what went on in their rites. It is a mystery, hence, a “mystery cult.” That is why we call them that, and there is nothing deeper than that. We know a great deal more about these groups today than we did a century ago, and what we know from archaeology has yielded many things that do appear to resemble something like Freemasonry, but just as much is totally different.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I think of Nietzsche’s example of a “lightning strike” (</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">On the Genealogy of Morals</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">, §13). It is two words, but one thing. Nietzsche uses this to illustrate how language plays tricks on us. We take the two words of “lightning strike” to presume that the “doer” does the “doing,” but really a lightning strike is simply one thing: an action, a doing, and we let our language trick us into viewing this term otherwise.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">This sort of trick that language plays on us, I think, is being played on us when we use the term “religion.” Hinduism, Buddhism, Daoism, Christianity, Roman paganism, indigenous American religions, Satanism, et al, are all examples of what we call “religion.” But are they? They are very different things, and there is no solid definition of “religion” that totally encapsulates these “religions.” Satanists do not believe in God. Daoism does not necessarily believe in the personification of Deity, but more of an all-pervading energy or animus that endows the nature of all things. Is belief in a god or gods necessary to be a religion? Buddhists do not necessarily believe this world is real, but an illusion we have created for ourselves and that we must escape by extinguishing our being (nirvana). What even is religion? It is complicated, and the more we truly survey the different examples of religion, the more we may begin to ask ourselves: are these all examples of “religion”? or are they all different things that we only have one word to describe them?</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">This is what Nietzsche is saying with “lightning strike.” Do not let language play tricks on you. “Our who science is still, in spite of all its coldness, of all its freedom from passion, a dupe of the tricks of language…” thus spake Nietzsche.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Mystery cults, their artifacts, symbols, and the vague descriptions that survive of their rites, et al, makes this problem so much worse, because herein we have entered the same problem of language tricking us, but the language is not a simple signified-signifier relationship, but something much more vague and open to interpretation: symbols, allegory, myth, and legend. “Lightning” is a signifier for a very specific idea (the signified idea of lightning), and “strike” is another signifier for another very specific idea (that of striking). But introduce a symbol like a point within a circle, and we open up a world of complex and interrelating and differing ideas represented in an image that acknowledges that these ideas cannot be fully expressed in a single sign.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Let us quickly recap the conceptions of symbols as being used here and previously explored in the first post of this series, “What Even are Symbols?” published on this blog on December 20, 2023. I believe Jean Baudrillard best understood the use and conception of symbols, namely that they are a system of signs and signifiers, but that they deny that the complete totality of all it expresses can be represented in an image. This is unlike a simulacrum, a copy of something, such as a portrait of a person. We know it is not that person, but a good representation of their likeness. A symbol, on the other hand, essentially denies that the entire reality of something can be fully represented, and thus denies reality and creates a sign to stand in for a reality that cannot be represented.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">If that seems vague, you are on the right page, because symbols are vague and multifaceted. They are not as simple as a nice portrait of a famous person. You do not look at a portrait of George Washington and say to yourself, “Well, the complexity of his life and beliefs are so grand and magnanimous that this cannot be a portrait of George Washington.” But if you show the image of a point within a circle, and someone says, “That is the symbol for the sun!” they will be immediately met by numerous voices declaring other things, like the duad, the image of unity, the first principle of Euclidean geometry, et al. Symbols tend to be so vague and multifaceted that they become much more open to interpretation and speculation than, say, what the words “lightning strike” mean.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">There is the notion of “omnism” or “religious pluralism,” or that all religions are essentially true and can be respected. Yet, we know that Hinduism and Daoism and Christianity and Islam et al are not the same thing. Personally, I believe that God speaks more than one language, and therefore speaks more than one religion. Yet, these “religions” are not inherently the same thing, and they differ greatly, sometimes not resembling each other in any way whatsoever. In fact, some religions are so different, it is hard to comprehend how they can essentially be the same thing.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Thus, why would we expect anything different in the ancient world? The Cult of Isis was a Greco-Roman cult that appropriated an Egyptian goddess into a Roman cult via Greece. The Cult at Samothrace is a Chthonic religious cult, similar to the Cult at Lemnos, but essentially different, and probably both rooted in some neo-Hittite cult. These differ from the numerous cults of Mithras, a vast number of different civic associations of Roman soldiers that worshipped the Romanization of a minor Persian god, Mithras. These differ still from the various cults of Jesus Christ. When talking about the different forms of Christianity in the early centuries, we will call unorthodox cults as being “heresy,” coming from the Latin </span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">haeresis</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">, literally meaning “choice [of belief].” These Christian cults can be very wild, such as the various “gnostic” sects, which were not a singular Christian movement, but rather a catch-all category of Christian heretics.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Let us clear something up before proceeding. When I say “cult,” I do not mean it in its current derogatory conception, but rather the sociological conception of a religious group that is very new, in which the vast majority of its members were not born into this religious group. The group is usually formed in protest of a particular institutional religion, and then as more members join it, it becomes a cult, and as more people are born into this cult, it becomes a denomination of an institutional religion. (See the work of Howard P. Becker).</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Understanding how cults arise, how different religions can be, and questioning whether or not these are all religions or if we have no other word to describe all these different spiritual movements, we return to how Masons can presume all these different cults can be the same thing, of which Freemasonry is an inheritor thereof.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">When dealing with the complex and vague language of symbols, which do not establish a particular reality, but rather deny reality, we can read whatever we want into them. This is why we can find anything from any mystery cult of the ancient world and point to it, saying, “That’s Masonic!” But is it?</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I believe the cults of Mithras are the best case study for this phenomenon. The reason is that the Mithraic cults are the mystery cults of the ancient world that we know the most about. St. Jerome, Porphyry, Origen, and others write about this cult. We have graffiti and sculptural representations of their rites and myth cycle. Of all the ancient mystery cults, the cults of Mithras are the ones that we know the most about. Contrast this to the Cult at Eleusis, in which the best we can describe their rites is that there were “things done,” “things shown,” and “things said.” That is, like, super duper clear. Thanks, archaeologists!</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The great central image of the Mithraic cults, the Tauroctony, is probably one of the best examples. This image depicts Mithras slaying the bull. Here Mithras represents the sun conquering the dark (the bull’s crescent horns being associated with the moon). Flanking each side of this scene are two figures, Cautes and Cautopates, the former with a raised torch and the other with a lower torch, representing the winter and summer solstices, respectively. They represent the extremes of the sun, being low and cold, and being high and hot. But Mithras is in the middle, representing a balance between the extremes (for more on the astrological interpretation of this image, I recommend the works of the Mithraic scholar Roger Beck). If an interpretation of that image sounds familiar to something in Masonry, you are on the right page: this is the interpretation of the circumpunct bounded by two perpendicular parallel lines. The point within the circle is the classic symbol of the sun, while the parallel lines represent the Holy Saints John, who represent the extremes of the summer and winter solstices, and that we should seek a balance between.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">So, do we presume the Mithraic cults are a precursor to Freemasonry? I do not see how we could. The cults of Mithras were stomped out by Theodosius I in the 4</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-size: 0.6em; vertical-align: super;">th</span></span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> century. The European economy would not become sophisticated enough to support the guild system until the 9</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-size: 0.6em; vertical-align: super;">th</span></span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> and 10</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-size: 0.6em; vertical-align: super;">th</span></span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> centuries, and even then, we do not see the earliest stonemason guilds until the 11</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-size: 0.6em; vertical-align: super;">th</span></span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> century. How could there be a connection over a seven-hundred-year gap? Esoteric speculations of these groups hiding out in secret are more on brand for conspiracy theorists than anything academically tenable. But the similarity of the symbols of the Tauroctony and the circumpunct is quite strong — and I will admit that they are strikingly similar, if not astoundingly similar in conception and interpretation. However, we are letting the language of symbols cloud our judgment when we presume that just because two different groups thought up the same thing, then they must be linked, when in fact there is no solid (or even flimsy) evidence to support such.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Years ago I gave a lecture at a Masonic symposium on the subject of the similarities between the cults of Mithras and Freemasonry, and I prefaced the talk with the firm assertion that there is no link between the two. They have a lot of similarities, but just as many differences. To illustrate my point of how two cultures can have something very similar and be so remote in time and geography that there is no way to connect the two, I used the example of Yggdrasil and the contemporary Navajo sandpainting “The Healing Way,” both of which have striking similarities. They have three roots, three levels, three branches or ears of corn, a rainbow bridge, and a bird on top. However, the Norse could not have had any contact with the Navajo. That is preposterous. Yet several Masons in the room started speculating how Vikings could have come across the Atlantic and transmitted across indigenous American tribes to eventually get to the American Southwest. And I just put my face in my hands. I was just trying to illustrate how crazy it would be to presume that there could be a link between the two groups, and here you all are trying to connect them!</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">If even simple language can deceive us, then symbols are like a trickster god. Symbols as a language are the chief deceivers of esoteric exploration. When we find two or more similar symbols, we are compelled to find links, even making up links, to try and force a connection that is not there. It is fun to explore such things, and even enjoyable to speculate, but at the end of the day, we need to reel ourselves back in and consider the reality of a reasonable connection or just wishful thinking.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Seeker beware.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></p><div><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">~PD</span></div><div><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></div><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"></span></p><div><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-small; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: Roboto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline;"><b><span style="color: #f1c232;">Patrick M. Dey</span></b> is a Past Master of Nevada Lodge No. 4 in the ghost town of Nevadaville, Colorado, and currently serves as their Secretary, and is also a Past Master of Research Lodge of Colorado. He is a Past High Priest of Keystone Chapter No. 8, Past Illustrious Master of Hiram Council No. 7, Past Commander of Flatirons Commandery No. 7. He currently serves as the Exponent (Suffragan) of Colorado College, SRICF of which he is VIII Grade (Magister). He is the Editor of the </span><span style="font-family: Roboto; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline;">Rocky Mountain Mason</span><span style="font-family: Roboto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline;"> magazine, serves on the Board of Directors of the Grand Lodge of Colorado’s Library and Museum Association, and is the Deputy Grand Bartender of the Grand Lodge of Colorado (an ad hoc, joke position he is very proud to hold). He holds a Masters of Architecture degree from the University of Colorado, Denver, and works in the field of architecture in Denver, where he resides with wife and son.</span></span></div></span></div></span></div>Darinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08964995230169390735noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2909814477098868440.post-81297096199348093802024-02-21T12:33:00.008-06:002024-02-21T12:33:57.966-06:00Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;">by Midnight Freemason Managing Editor</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i><span style="font-family: Roboto;">WB Darin A. Lahners</span></i></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><br /></span></i></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjqxvEqlnfhxiHxZEASfwKl-pICYW00zG2WSix1-1ctIXtcpi_8RjtVgQ2R0TnrWvw6njfM0tI6sNiQ5HQdoiun5nkzrA2uiMpbzfH-RHPiqxMEm1B7Khn6GgeB7r4OoO5fU8vKaS_lO3pB8n8PgyKZpw6bKQ9WGXHnlakVnZxzHICsaB9lADwKGLvvEGs" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="480" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjqxvEqlnfhxiHxZEASfwKl-pICYW00zG2WSix1-1ctIXtcpi_8RjtVgQ2R0TnrWvw6njfM0tI6sNiQ5HQdoiun5nkzrA2uiMpbzfH-RHPiqxMEm1B7Khn6GgeB7r4OoO5fU8vKaS_lO3pB8n8PgyKZpw6bKQ9WGXHnlakVnZxzHICsaB9lADwKGLvvEGs" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-size: x-large;">SEND MORE ARTICLES!!!!!!!!</span></span></i></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><br /></span></i></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;">I have recently been faced with a dilemma. As the managing editor of the Midnight Freemasons blog for the past several years, I have been trying to keep the blog afloat by either recycling old material, writing my own material for the blog, or begging for contributions. When Todd Creason started the blog on October 7, 2009, I don't think he knew that it would grow into what it is today, which is a blog that gets over 40000 hits a month (not that numbers matter), and has served as one of, if not the premier Masonic blogs on the internet. However, the job of being the Blog's editor is time-consuming, thankless, and sometimes frustrating. Todd did this job for a long time, Robert Johnson took over from Todd and served as well, and I came on as an assistant editor, and then graduated to become the Managing Editor. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;">However, a blog is only as good as the material it is providing. I had tried to keep the blog on a regular schedule of its Monday/Wednesday/Friday publication. However, unfortunately, contributions to the blog started to dry up, so I started to recycle old material on the blog. I switched to publishing on Wednesday, thinking that would help keep the blog fresh and that I wouldn't encounter the issue the blog is currently facing, which is, a lack of contributions. I began to think that it was time to say goodbye, and maybe it still is, I don't know. What I do know is that I sent an email to Todd basically saying that we're not getting new material and we should probably just stop the whole thing. Something happened shortly after I sent the email to Todd. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;">I was at Villa Grove High School in Villa Grove, Illinois to support Heritage High School's Scholastic Bowl team in the Masonic Academic Bowl when I was introduced to a Mason from Tuscola, Illinois who asked if I was the guy who wrote for the Midnight Freemasons blog. I said that I was, and he commented about how much he liked the blog. So, I took it as a sign from the Great Architect that I still needed to labor in the quarry of this blog. However, I also need to make better use of my 24-inch gauge. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;">I recognize that the blog is a repository of great articles, all of which can be used for Masonic Education. However, I also recognize that the blog isn't getting contributors to contribute like it once did. I don't want to be forever known as the guy who killed the Midnight Freemasons blog, but I also have to recognize that the blog doesn't need to have an article every week to still serve its purpose as a repository for Masonic Educational material. So, henceforth, when I have a new contribution, we will publish it. I don't know when that will be. But if something happens in the world of Freemasonry and spurs articles, we will be here. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;">To help make the dissemination of information on the blog easier, I will be trying to find a new theme that will allow better search or indexing, so please be patient as you may see the blog look different in the coming days as I look into this. To quote one of the articles here: "We're not dying, we're refining". </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;">I'd like to thank all of the men and women who have contributed to the blog up to this point. I'd also like to thank the readers. If you are interested in helping refine the blog, please submit your material to: </span><span style="background-color: #e9eef6; color: #1f1f1f; font-family: "Google Sans", Roboto; text-align: center;"><a href="mailto:editormidnightfreemasons@gmail.com"><span style="font-size: medium;">editormidnightfreemasons@gmail.com</span></a></span><span style="font-family: Roboto; font-size: large;"> </span></div>Darinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08964995230169390735noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2909814477098868440.post-71466124727191588472024-02-14T05:00:00.008-06:002024-02-14T05:00:00.165-06:00Are the so-called “Higher” Degrees actually Symbolic? or Sorcery? Part 2 of a series<div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Roboto;">by Midnight Freemason Contributor</span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><b>Patrick Dey</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoNrINTW2o2RtlVQhUi2gsQkUaiqksnLzfQw2v5YBN3LDloKGBOFQ7HeiKs1PR-fgpy-Z7rAl_U7NyncDJGq3-Dzboz8Aj4-A-bYdLoCINjvyImhNFnVAFLGfndhWYAYRjzOL8fYDLaSKOxgQnWxipFNsBpZ8Jc6zb6H7aDkAWiMTlxMwKkbhW9fNpe14/s391/solomon.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="391" data-original-width="294" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoNrINTW2o2RtlVQhUi2gsQkUaiqksnLzfQw2v5YBN3LDloKGBOFQ7HeiKs1PR-fgpy-Z7rAl_U7NyncDJGq3-Dzboz8Aj4-A-bYdLoCINjvyImhNFnVAFLGfndhWYAYRjzOL8fYDLaSKOxgQnWxipFNsBpZ8Jc6zb6H7aDkAWiMTlxMwKkbhW9fNpe14/s320/solomon.jpeg" width="241" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-d03b8450-7fff-b5bf-6284-248c538de4a8"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">In the first part to this essay, we looked at what symbols are from a philosophical point of view, largely relying on Jean Baudrillard’s conception of them as a simulacrum, a distortion that conceals reality, because symbols deny that reality can ever be faithfully expressed and thus must generate a signifier that stands in owing to this absence. I personally favor Baudrillard’s conception of what symbols are, and I find his system of the four orders of simulacra to be helpful in understanding Symbolic Craft Masonry as it transitions into the so-called “higher” degrees.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">As was discussed in the conclusion of Part I, we looked at how we as Free and Accepted Masons are symbolic craftsmen, symbolic stonemasons building symbolic temples, which at once conceals the reality of the stonemason guild heritage we have inherited and denies that the reality of the stonemasons of old can be fully expressed as a reflection in ourselves. But the so-called higher degrees in Masonry — Scottish Rite, York Rite, Shrine, et cetera — are a different problem. Royal Arch Masons are not a real thing. Nor are Select Masters, or the Order of the Red Cross, or the Knight of the East, or the Knight of the Sword, et cetera. These never existed. These are not real things. The only degrees of the appendant bodies that is based on something real are the Order of Malta and the Order of the Temple — the Knights Hospitallers and the Knights Templar. Sure, there are some things based on real orders, such as Saint Thomas of Acon. Then there are some weird ones, like the Masonic Rosicrucians, which did not really exist, but rather was a sort of literary fiction of millenarianism and a call for a greater reformation that the Protestant Reformation failed to achieve. Rosicrucians were believed to have been real for a long time, but today we know historically they did not actually exist.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">This is no longer symbolic in the way the Blue Lodge Degrees are symbolic. In fact, they fall specifically into what Baudrillard designates as the third order of simulacra, one that “masks the absence of a profound reality.” He calls this order the “order of sorcery,” as it merely “plays being an appearance.” It conjures a reality that never actually existed.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">This is exactly what these higher degrees are: they conjure something that never even existed, be it a Knight of the East and West or a Most Excellent Master, and claims we are now the symbolic manifestation of this title. The symbolic has to be based on something real, something that will yield a sign that may be utilized. A symbol has meaning — in fact, it has many meanings; it is a plethora. It is so much a plethora of meanings that it cannot claim to faithfully represent everything, and that the symbol must stand in for a reality that is inexpressible. Not so with sorcery. It makes up a reality. It conjures appearances like the sorcerer conjures spirits and shades of the dead. The sorcerer does not call upon a real person and they show up in the flesh, but rather calls up the shadowy image of someone who no longer is, or something that never existed, like a demon or an angel (note: Baudrillard is a Post Structuralist philosopher, an atheist, and in particular Nietzschean in that he follows the principle that God is dead).</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">This is the trap hidden within the higher degrees of Masonry: that these degrees are symbolic or based on something that actually existed, when in fact we know deep down there was never any such thing as a Perfect Master or Master of the Symbolic Lodge — I mean that Scottish Rite Degree right there fully embodies this very simulacrum: there could not have been a real Master of the Symbolic Lodge because the Symbolic Lodge is by its name symbolic of an actual real lodge, and the Master of such cannot be based on anything real. One becomes a symbolic Master of the Symbolic Lodge is simply ridiculous. It does not need a reality to pretend that it is real.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Much the same can be said about offices and titles within the Masonic bodies themselves.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I suppose since we’re here, we might as well discuss the fourth order simulacrum, in which this is something that does not even need reality, it does not care if there is a reality, it is pure simulation. It neither needs to reflect, conceal, or deny reality, it is what is now real. It is “hyperreal.” It produces without regard for reality whatsoever. The best way I can describe this is in “content creation” on social media platforms. You may have found videos on YouTube that make you start to lose your sense of direction as to what this video even accomplishes: something like a reaction video to a critique video of an analysis video of a movie that is loosely based on historical events. Sometimes you find reaction videos to reaction videos to… you get it. What is even happening here? Are we creating videos just to create videos? Looking for any excuse to upload content to generate views and reactions and comments so advertisements have a place to sell us stuff we don’t need? And what do we call these people? “Content creators.” It is not about creating something visionary or artistic or original or to explore something meaningful, but to simply create content for the sake of creating content. This dives into what Baudrillard calls “hyperreal,” “hyperproduction,” and such terms.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">If I had to designate anything in Masonry that meets this hyperreality of the fourth order of simulacra, it would be the endless proliferation of more Masonic bodies, more offices, more committees, more degrees, more dues cards, more, more, more. We all know these kinds of Masons. It is not about what they can contribute to Masonry, what they get out of Masonry, or even what they enjoy about Masonry, but the accumulation of titles and offices for the sake of accumulating titles and offices. We have lost any semblance of the origins of Freemasonry, and in fact, we no longer care. We have lost any vestige of what it means to be a Mason, and what makes a man and Mason, and who we are supposed to be as Masons, and really we no longer care. The real value, the most precious meaning that underlines all of the Masonic institution, it no longer makes a difference. It is the endless accumulation of as mabt accolades as possible just so we can have them, and any regard for the real value that makes Masonry what it is, it simply is not regarded.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I am certain that if Baudrillard were alive today, he would shake his head and say “Patrick, please stop doing this to my work.” And I am probably stretching his philosophy to match some criticism I have of Masonry that he would hate me for. Yet, it is exactly what I saw myself falling into as I continued to move forward in Masonry. I originally wanted to only do esoteric research and writing when I became a Mason. I wanted to know what the Masons knew so that it may further my studies. And as the years went on, I found myself more and more concerned with being in officer lines, and accepting any invitation to a Masonic body that came my way. I found myself driving everywhere across the State of Colorado every night doing something, and none of it was fun. Most of it was boring, and furthermore, I only ever seemed to complain about everything I had to go to. Then the Covid lockdown happened and suddenly I had an opportunity to reassess why I was doing any of this anyway. Then I was married, and then I became a father, and that happened within a very short period. I realize that none of this was what I wanted to do when I became a Mason. I was so far away from what gave me joy, that I became a miserable person chasing titles and offices. That was when I started to revisit things I enjoyed: reading, writing, studying, research, philosophy, mysticism, et cetera. I revisited Baudrillard’s work, because — well, firstly, because I was doing research on Douglas Darden, and I wanted to get a better idea of how Baudrillard influenced his architectural designs — but secondly, because something about Baudrillard resonated with how I was feeling. There was something “unreal” or even “hyperreal” about chasing titles and offices.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">This essay has been an attempt (</span><span style="font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">essay</span><span style="font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">) at describing the dangers I feel are inherent in the so-called higher degrees, and especially in the chasing of titles and offices. Is that why you became a Mason? It is not why I became a Mason, and it took becoming miserable for me to realize that. For me, it started with something symbolic.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The symbolic is not dangerous unto itself, so long as we recognize it for what it is: a concealment of a reality that cannot be fully expressed, and so it must deny reality and create an image that substitutes the reality that is not expressible. There is joy in the symbolic, because symbols are useful. That is the power of Masonic symbolism: they are useful to us, and we should always be endeavoring to further explore and utilize the power they hold. But beyond the symbolic, what value is there? Is there a value to chasing degrees that are based on nothing that ever existed? Do they even serve a purpose or have utility? Or is their only utility the obtaining of those degree titles? Is that what Masonry is about? Does that even serve the individual Mason, or does it even serve the fraternity itself?</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Some of these Masons I have known, and I have asked them: “Why do you do this?” And I have heard quite a few respond with: “It is the only way I will matter.” With that, I want to hang my head and sob.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Me personally, it does not matter, and that is why I resigned from a number of officer lines, including a Grand Line, and turned down other appointments to other lines, and demitted from several bodies, and turned down invitations to other bodies. I love the symbolic. It is what brought me into Masonry, and anything beyond the symbolic is probably not for me. I suppose there are Masons who just enjoy helping and being a part of things, and so any opportunity to participate and help, they say “yes!” Don’t get me wrong, because I love the “yes! Masons.”</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">All I advise is to assess why you became a Mason. You do not have to keep the same goals you had when you became a Mason. Everyone grows and changes over the years, and that is wonderful. But are you being true to yourself as a Mason? The value and meaning in these things are all that matters. Truly. And if you lose sight of what is real and meaningful to you as an individual. If being a title-seeker is the only way to make your life meaningful, then something was missed along the way.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I do not want to blame Masonry for the fault of people. Masonry did not create the problem of title-seeking and abandoning many men in the desert of the real. People do that in everything, be it Masonry, YouTube videos, politics, yoga, church, bridge clubs, Google Earth photo-locations, Wikipedia entries, name it. This happens in everything. Seriously, did you know that if you upload enough photos and locate them in Google Earth, you get invited to a secret Google club? I know a former Mason who became infatuated with this. I digress. Masonry did prove to be fertile grounds for this kind of phenomenon to occur.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Without a conductor to follow and put our trust in, sometimes, many times, this Masonic journey becomes uncertain. O Mother Lodge, how far we’ve wandered. From that blindfolded interim where we had no way of conducting ourselves, uncertain of our future, we had to trust someone else, and now we are our own conductors, and I personally feel too many good men and Masons have fallen into a trap that is neither meaningful to themselves or Masonry.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">To conclude, I will simply say: never lose sight of what you believe in. It is the difference between a trap into a meaningless desert and what provides you with a meaningful existence.</span></p><div><span style="font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">~PD</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="font-family: Roboto; font-size: small; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline;"><b><span style="color: #f1c232;">Patrick M. Dey</span></b> is a Past Master of Nevada Lodge No. 4 in the ghost town of Nevadaville, Colorado, and currently serves as their Secretary, and is also a Past Master of Research Lodge of Colorado. He is a Past High Priest of Keystone Chapter No. 8, Past Illustrious Master of Hiram Council No. 7, Past Commander of Flatirons Commandery No. 7. He currently serves as the Exponent (Suffragan) of Colorado College, SRICF of which he is VIII Grade (Magister). He is the Editor of the </span><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="font-family: Roboto; font-size: small; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline;">Rocky Mountain Mason</span><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="font-family: Roboto; font-size: small; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline;"> magazine, serves on the Board of Directors of the Grand Lodge of Colorado’s Library and Museum Association, and is the Deputy Grand Bartender of the Grand Lodge of Colorado (an ad hoc, joke position he is very proud to hold). He holds a Masters of Architecture degree from the University of Colorado, Denver, and works in the field of architecture in Denver, where he resides with wife and son.</span></span></div></span></div></span></div>Darinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08964995230169390735noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2909814477098868440.post-52344815208243559762024-02-07T05:00:00.011-06:002024-02-07T05:00:00.183-06:00Secret Charity<div style="text-align: center;"><div><i><span style="font-family: Oxygen;">by Midnight Freemason Contributor</span></i></div><div><span style="font-family: Oxygen;"><b>Jim Stapleton</b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><p style="line-height: 21.6px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="s3" style="color: #333333; line-height: 14.4px;">Several years ago, I heard the following story of Masonic charity from an older Brother:</span></p><p style="line-height: 21.6px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="line-height: 21.6px;"> </span></p><p style="line-height: 21.6px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="s4" style="color: #333333; font-style: italic; line-height: 14.4px;">A Lodge put together boxes of food to donate to families in need. After the boxes were assembled, the Lodge members set out into the community and distributed the boxes on porches of people they knew to be in need. When the boxes were discovered at the houses, the recipients were surprised by the good deeds. Overwhelmed with joy, they checked to see the source of the food. However, when they looked to see where the boxes came from, there were no notes attached. There was nothing to identify the source of the baskets. So, the families had no idea who had bestowed the gifts, making it a complete mystery..</span></p><p style="line-height: 21.6px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="line-height: 21.6px;"> </span></p><p style="line-height: 21.6px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="s3" style="color: #333333; line-height: 14.4px;">Upon hearing the tale, a Brother that was listening asked why such a generous and selfless act was kept a secret? He said that from a public relations perspective, Masons should work to actively promote these kinds of positive stories. The response from the older Mason was that this is what Masons do and that we don’t seek out praise when performing charity. </span></p><p style="line-height: 21.6px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="line-height: 21.6px;"> </span></p><p style="line-height: 21.6px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="s3" style="color: #333333; line-height: 14.4px;">I understand the sentiment but with all due respect to that Brother, I am not sure if I totally agree with that idea. Yes, there are definitely some situations where we would want to be discreet. We don’t want to embarrass people in need or to seem opportunistic. For example, a Brother that has fallen on some hard times might struggle paying their Lodge dues. As a result they might seek out assistance from their Worshipful Master or Secretary regarding the payment of dues. We shouldn’t be broadcasting that info so that everyone knows about those individual situations. That should be kept private between those Brothers. </span></p><p style="line-height: 21.6px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="line-height: 21.6px;"> </span></p><p style="line-height: 21.6px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="s3" style="color: #333333; line-height: 14.4px;">In the example about the food baskets, drawing attention to the people that received the gifts could be extremely embarrassing for them. Revealing their identities would clearly be wrong, especially if they did not give their consent. We should always strive to help those in need while also preserving their dignity. However, should we keep our charitable works completely hidden? Don’t we have a duty as a Fraternity to let the public know that we are doing good works? Are we missing a chance to demonstrate the true nature of the Fraternity? Sadly, we live in a world where many in our society either have no awareness that Freemasons exist, or only know of us through conspiracy theories.</span></p><p style="line-height: 21.6px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="line-height: 21.6px;"> </span></p><p style="line-height: 21.6px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="s3" style="color: #333333; line-height: 14.4px;">One possible approach to the basket distribution would have been to take pictures of the assembled baskets that could have been shared via social media. Those pictures could have included captions stating that the Brothers were going to distribute the food to families experiencing food insecurity. If such images were shared in online community groups, it would have been a guaranteed way to receive positive exposure and to let people know that we exist. Perhaps it could have even resulted in interest from potential candidates looking for ways to help others.</span></p><p style="line-height: 21.6px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="line-height: 21.6px;"> </span></p><p style="line-height: 21.6px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="s3" style="color: #333333; line-height: 14.4px;">My Lodge participates in an Adopt a Highway program where we go out and clean a section of highly traveled road several times a year. Usually when we are out collecting trash we take pictures and post them to our social media accounts. Then we share the info through the local community’s social media groups to let people know that we exist </span><span class="s5" style="color: #333333; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; line-height: 14.4px;">AND </span><span class="s3" style="color: #333333; line-height: 14.4px;">that we are helping to improve and beautify the environment. The feedback is usually very positive and full of gratitude. It shows that Masons care.</span></p><p style="line-height: 21.6px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="line-height: 21.6px;"> </span></p><p style="line-height: 21.6px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="s3" style="color: #333333; line-height: 14.4px;">Of course, we should avoid the appearance of bragging or coming off as insincere. That would be tasteless and inappropriate. Our messages regarding our charity should be authentic so that we have a genuine connection with those around us. As many in our Fraternity are concerned about membership levels, it does not seem that as an organization we should let opportunities to demonstrate our benevolence slip by quietly. We should proudly highlight our good deeds.</span></p><p style="line-height: 21.6px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="s3" style="color: #333333; line-height: 14.4px;"><br /></span></p><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Oxygen;">~JS</span></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Oxygen;"><br /></span></div><p dir="ltr" style="font-family: Oxygen; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"></span></p><p style="line-height: 21.6px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="s3" style="color: #333333; line-height: 14.4px;"></span></p><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: #f6b26b; font-family: Oxygen; font-size: small;">Jim Stapleton</span><span style="font-family: Oxygen; font-size: small;"> is the Senior Warden of USS New Jersey Lodge No. 62. He is also a member of the New Jersey Lodge of Masonic Research and Education No. 1786. Jim received the Distinguished White Apron Award from the Grand Lodge of New Jersey. He was awarded the Daniel Carter Beard Masonic Scouter Award. Jim is also a member of the Society of King Solomon.</span></div><p style="line-height: 21.6px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="s3" style="color: #333333; line-height: 14.4px;"><br /></span></p><p style="line-height: 21.6px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="s3" style="color: #333333; line-height: 14.4px;"><br /></span></p></span></div></div>Darinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08964995230169390735noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2909814477098868440.post-72033264668869937802024-01-31T05:00:00.001-06:002024-01-31T05:00:00.131-06:00The Issue in Leadership is Determining Who and Why <div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Roboto;">by Midnight Freemason Guest Contributor</span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: Roboto;">Bro. Mark St. Cyr</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><br /></span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqfObO-w0-4AnAa8xV-rLpHdpSzQo713XvIoSXc7p1U7q-jnv_xcUr7mS0VQ_J_skrZCxDWtBwOM24E2xTwEObCEYeKC7kKh_MeBNiO8bbeaR4hPfYM7mUR1RqdQS6cpgi7nIfhX8mL3ptsE4Eov3oUqQBu8rPqScEAT5EljjyicUn1WqnALDoq7Mcf_4/s1000/AdobeStock_677795816_Preview.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="566" data-original-width="1000" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqfObO-w0-4AnAa8xV-rLpHdpSzQo713XvIoSXc7p1U7q-jnv_xcUr7mS0VQ_J_skrZCxDWtBwOM24E2xTwEObCEYeKC7kKh_MeBNiO8bbeaR4hPfYM7mUR1RqdQS6cpgi7nIfhX8mL3ptsE4Eov3oUqQBu8rPqScEAT5EljjyicUn1WqnALDoq7Mcf_4/w400-h226/AdobeStock_677795816_Preview.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><br /></span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-56444d5a-7fff-1460-1c77-54e4b88b4514"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-right: 3.29602pt; margin-top: 17.328pt; text-indent: 0.800003pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="font-family: Roboto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Over the course of the last several weeks there has been nothing short of what can only be described as reserved outrage pointed squarely at both the decisions, as well as accusations, directed squarely at the leadership throughout the fraternity. The current trepidations and revelations in Texas and the Scottish Rite NJ are just two of the latest. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0.384002685546875pt; margin-right: 3.93609619140625pt; margin-top: 18.333984375pt; margin: 18.334pt 3.9361pt 0pt 0.384003pt; text-indent: 1.088pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="font-family: Roboto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Much of this is playing out in full view for all to see, even the profane. That alone should tell one all about the severity of it. However, with that said, what’s truly been astonishing to those of us watching from afar is during all of this many in the leadership are now calling for “leadership training” not for themselves, but for the rank and file. You just can’t make this stuff up. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0.2239990234375pt; margin-right: 5.69598388671875pt; margin-top: 18.334014892578125pt; margin: 18.334pt 5.69598pt 0pt 0.223999pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.192001pt; text-indent: -0.192001pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="font-family: Roboto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">This is why it’s becoming so profound in both voracity, as well as vociferousness, in the responses to it. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0.4640045166015625pt; margin-right: 5.31207275390625pt; margin-top: 18.334014892578125pt; margin: 18.334pt 5.31207pt 0pt 0.464005pt; text-indent: 0.959999pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="font-family: Roboto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Now since this whole “Leadership” thing, along with the “teaching of it” has entered into the current discussion. I find it only fitting to opine with my own overview of analysis since, in many respects, I’m probably more qualified (e.g., being an actual recognized, business expert and thought leader) than most to weigh in, while also a current member of the fraternity. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0.784004pt; margin-top: 18.334pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="font-family: Roboto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">So with that said, here’s my two cents… </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0.2239990234375pt; margin-right: 43.8880615234375pt; margin-top: 17.3280029296875pt; margin: 17.328pt 43.8881pt 0pt 0.223999pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.543999pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.543999pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="font-family: Roboto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The first premise of true leadership is this: Do they have the actual power and authority to enforce change? Or: Are they assumed to have this authority because it’s just never been challenged? </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0.2239990234375pt; margin-right: 3.343994140625pt; margin-top: 18.333999633789062pt; margin: 18.334pt 3.34399pt 0pt 0.223999pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.160004pt; text-indent: -0.160004pt;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Titles don’t really matter here - power does. i.e., Think of a union strike as an example. Who really is the leader with the true power for change in this situation? People will argue semantically, but </span><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="text-indent: -0.0480042pt; white-space-collapse: preserve;">the power for change does not always reside where one thinks at first blush. Let me illustrate… </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0.1920013427734375pt; margin-right: 9.24798583984375pt; margin-top: 18.333984375pt; margin: 18.334pt 9.24799pt 0pt 0.192001pt; text-indent: 1.28pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="font-family: Roboto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Much of this reminds me of a discussion I was privy to that happened years ago taking place at one of the largest insurance firms in the U.S. with its senior leadership (i.e., C-suite). It taught me something I never forgot and helped forge my own efficacy when dealing with just these type of issues. It went like this… </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0.1920013427734375pt; margin-right: 9.24798583984375pt; margin-top: 18.333984375pt; margin: 18.334pt 9.24799pt 0pt 0.192001pt; text-indent: 1.28pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="font-family: Roboto; text-indent: -0.112pt; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Them (e.g., current leadership): We’re having issues with our franchises not doing what we want or need them to do. We are implementing changes that are cost-effective and are helping streamline everything. Yet, they won’t conform. They keep doing things the “old way” and won’t change because they see no need to. Yet, when they submit their work for entry we all but have to redo it entirely just to get it into our system. It’s costing the company now double the work and double the expense than we were before the change! When we tell them about this their response is basically “Then just go back to the way it was (i.e., the way they’re still doing it) that worked. Problem solved.” We try explaining, try showing with real examples that this new way is truly better for them, but they just don’t care. They will not change and are now venturing on insubordinately so. We’re at our wit's end and don’t know what to do. We’ve tried everything previous consultants have argued we do and none of it has worked. We’re hoping maybe you have a different approach that will. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0.7679977416992188pt; margin-right: 4.22406005859375pt; margin-top: 18.333999633789062pt; margin: 18.334pt 4.22406pt 0pt 0.767998pt; text-indent: 0.672005pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="font-family: Roboto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Response: “If you decided to close all your franchises could your customers still buy insurance from you?” </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0.223999pt; margin-top: 18.334pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="font-family: Roboto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Them: Complete silence, then “I’m sorry, can you repeat that?” </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0.7679977416992188pt; margin-right: 4.22406005859375pt; margin-top: 17.3280029296875pt; margin: 17.328pt 4.22406pt 0pt 0.767998pt; text-indent: 0.672005pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="font-family: Roboto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Response: “If you decided to close all your franchises could your customers still buy insurance from you?”</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0.7679977416992188pt; margin-right: 4.22406005859375pt; margin-top: 17.3280029296875pt; margin: 17.328pt 4.22406pt 0pt 0.767998pt; text-indent: 0.672005pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="font-family: Roboto; text-indent: -0.240005pt; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Them: Again, silence and a lot of looking back and forth at each other, till finally one squeamishly says “Well, I guess they can, if we converted the portal now used for franchises to be open directly with a few other modifications, Ummmm, yeah, I guess we could. But, this company is built on a franchise model, without them we have no business.” </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0.384002685546875pt; margin-right: 5.1199951171875pt; margin-top: 18.333984375pt; margin: 18.334pt 5.12pt 0pt 0.384003pt; text-indent: 1.056pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="font-family: Roboto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Response: “If you (e.g., the company) declare there’s no franchise model any longer going forward and will be phased out entirely. Are you still able to sell insurance to consumers?” </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0.223999pt; margin-top: 18.334pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="font-family: Roboto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Them: Well, yes. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0.33599853515625pt; margin-right: 7.18402099609375pt; margin-top: 17.3280029296875pt; margin: 17.328pt 7.18402pt 0pt 0.335999pt; text-indent: 1.104pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="font-family: Roboto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Response: “Alright, so, just to be clear: If the franchisees tell you they are no longer a franchisee, can they still sell your insurance?” </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0.223999pt; margin-top: 18.334pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="font-family: Roboto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Them: No, of course not. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-right: 5.36005pt; margin-top: 17.328pt; text-indent: 1.44pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="font-family: Roboto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Response: “Then the issue here is - it’s not that you can’t control or run your business efficiently because of internal compliance issues. It’s because you’re not addressing the where and what aspect that applies such compliance. You’re acting like you’re trying to herd cats, which is a futility in itself, but you don’t have cats or, in the modern business vernacular, “independent jobbers.” You have franchised subsidiaries selling your product and your product only. You have to start acting and thinking as well as doing the required hard steps of enforcing it. Other than that - you don’t really have a business under your control, regardless of it being worth $Billions. You’re just a paper tiger figurehead at the whim of any or all franchisees that can or may already be making you less competitive to more efficient players. It’s only a matter of time before you too will be a “once great name” for the history books if you don’t act now and with resolve.” </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0.223999pt; margin-top: 18.334pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="font-family: Roboto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Them: What do you recommend?</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0.31999969482421875pt; margin-right: 0.62408447265625pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin: 0pt 0.624084pt 0pt 0.32pt; text-indent: 1.12pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="font-family: Roboto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0.31999969482421875pt; margin-right: 0.62408447265625pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin: 0pt 0.624084pt 0pt 0.32pt; text-indent: 1.12pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="font-family: Roboto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Response: Compose a letter stating to the effect - that due to unresolvable compliance issues throughout the franchisee network allowing competitors to gain further market share within our markets, we have decided to begin the discussions for implementation of ending the franchise model. During this period we will no longer be issuing any new ones and will be looking to both hear, discuss, and work with current franchisees to both help and support converting current franchisee offices into solely owned and directed corporate divisions. We look forward to your input as we engage in this all-important possible transition. Thank you, the management. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0.7840042114257812pt; margin-right: 45.360076904296875pt; margin-top: 18.334014892578125pt; margin: 18.334pt 45.3601pt 0pt 0.784004pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.655998pt; text-indent: -0.655998pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="font-family: Roboto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">So, with the above synopsis, what do you think happened? Here, let me save you some time… </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0.7679977416992188pt; margin-right: 9.20001220703125pt; margin-top: 18.334014892578125pt; margin: 18.334pt 9.20001pt 0pt 0.767998pt; text-indent: 0.0320053pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="font-family: Roboto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Once the initial knee jerk of “You can’t do that!” settled, and the realization that the response of “Maybe, but that’s what we’re proposing so we look forward to your input.” then standing firm into it - compliance went from herding cats to a stampede into the compliance coral near overnight. That franchisee model is still in place today and the efficacy promised was delivered to the benefit of all. i.e., it wasn’t a power move type thing. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0.4640045166015625pt; margin-right: 12.20806884765625pt; margin-top: 18.334014892578125pt; margin: 18.334pt 12.2081pt 0pt 0.464005pt; text-indent: 0.959999pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="font-family: Roboto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Now, with the above all laid out, I’m going to imagine (because I can hear it through my screens) that there are many in what some might call “the leadership” reading this and thinking “See, that’s right, we’re right! We should do exactly this, that’ll fix things the way we believe it should be.” </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0.11199951171875pt; margin-right: 0.35211181640625pt; margin-top: 18.333999633789062pt; margin: 18.334pt 0.352112pt 0pt 0.112pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.112pt; text-indent: -0.112pt;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The problem with that thinking is this: I picked this scenario precisely because it is the exact opposite of that thought which is true. i.e., The current leadership does not have this power to force the complicity - it is the franchisees or “lodges” that do. </span><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="text-indent: -0.112pt; white-space-collapse: preserve;">This model moves both ways and knowing the difference (which is why I get paid “the big bucks” as they say) separates true leaders from those they think they are, to their complete and utter surprise when things go awry. </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0.33599853515625pt; margin-right: 25.50408935546875pt; margin-top: 18.333984375pt; margin: 18.334pt 25.5041pt 0pt 0.335999pt; text-indent: 1.168pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="font-family: Roboto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">It’s also why many leadership teams, C-suites, et cetera find themselves in positions of fighting one fight when they really should either be fighting another or - not fighting at all. Let me elaborate on why…. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0.7679977416992188pt; margin-right: 12.41607666015625pt; margin-top: 18.333984375pt; margin: 18.334pt 12.4161pt 0pt 0.767998pt; text-indent: 0.672005pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="font-family: Roboto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Let me ask a few simple questions, but don’t mentally knee-jerk any type of answer like “But the rules!” type of response. Just answer yes or no to the actuality of the possibility. Ready? </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0.384002685546875pt; margin-right: 1.42401123046875pt; margin-top: 18.334014892578125pt; margin: 18.334pt 1.42401pt 0pt 0.384003pt; text-indent: 0.416pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="font-family: Roboto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Question: If a lodge surrenders its charter or it is revoked: can the men still practice all the tenants of Masonry and assemble as freemasons for not only companionship but also, to collect and consolidate funds for building, accouterments, and upkeep while dispensing what it feels is masonic education-based experiences within its walls. Let’s also say, for the sake of argument, leaves its current building and rents another somewhere else. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 1.21600341796875pt; margin-right: 23.44000244140625pt; margin-top: 18.334014892578125pt; margin: 18.334pt 23.44pt 0pt 1.216pt; text-indent: 0.287994pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="font-family: Roboto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">If the above statement can be answered yes - then what is the need of any current leadership? </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 1.2960052490234375pt; margin-right: 11.072021484375pt; margin-top: 18.333999633789062pt; margin: 18.334pt 11.072pt 0pt 1.29601pt; text-indent: 0.127998pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="font-family: Roboto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Now the knee-jerk reaction is “The Charter” aspect, which for all intents and purposes, to simplify the discussion means: legitimacy. i.e., sanctioned and approved by a ruling authority. But that’s the problem. Who gives the “authority” the authority? </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0.112pt; margin-top: 18.334pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="font-family: Roboto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Are you beginning to see the issue here? </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0.33599853515625pt; margin-right: 27.615966796875pt; margin-top: 17.3280029296875pt; margin: 17.328pt 27.616pt 0pt 0.335999pt; text-indent: 1.136pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="font-family: Roboto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Many are going to take real issue with this premise (especially those in leadership) but let’s use a few examples to test my reasoning, shall we? </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0.6880035400390625pt; margin-right: 4.22393798828125pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin: 0pt 4.22394pt 0pt 0.688004pt; text-indent: 0.736pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="font-family: Roboto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Note: Just to be clear: the following premises are all based solely on U.S. models and are for thought experiments only. Not actual suggestions or anything other. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0.384002685546875pt; margin-right: 0.84808349609375pt; margin-top: 18.333984375pt; margin: 18.334pt 0.848083pt 0pt 0.384003pt; text-indent: 1.056pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="font-family: Roboto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Prince Hall. The last time I looked, this segment of masonry not only formed but has been thriving since 1784. And although there have been great advances in the recognition throughout the U.S. the reality is still apparent. i.e., although it would be a shame if recognition never materialized, the obvious fact is, does it matter in general for the brethren of it? Hint: it didn’t matter in 1784, so why would it now? </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0.2239990234375pt; margin-right: 7.07208251953125pt; margin-top: 18.333953857421875pt; margin: 18.334pt 7.07208pt 0pt 0.223999pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.992004pt; text-indent: -0.992004pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="font-family: Roboto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The Shrine: What would happen not only to the recruitment numbers but more importantly, the yearly re-ups of current dues if paying members were told “The requirement to be a Mason is no longer a requirement?” </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-right: 0.528076pt; margin-top: 18.334pt; text-indent: 0.223999pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="font-family: Roboto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The Scottish Rite: What if the Rite decided rather than wait and hope recruitment efforts they have both designed, paid for and in some cases nearly begged many GLs (e.g., “Not just a man…” et cetera) into using to help attract new members, they simply decide to focus all of their attention and $dollars solely into their jurisdictions? Both crafting and delivering meaningful initiations starting at Entered, Fellow, and MM then continuing through much like they do all their others. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0.4640045166015625pt; margin-right: 2.04815673828125pt; margin-top: 18.333999633789062pt; margin: 18.334pt 2.04816pt 0pt 0.464005pt; text-indent: 1.008pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="font-family: Roboto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Many will say, “No way! Can’t be done.” Maybe, but I’ll counter with - if General Blue Lodge’s and by extension the current GLs controlling them can’t deliver enough possible recruits for the Rite itself - does one think the Rite is just going to go “Well, OK, guess we should close up shop because lodges just can’t attract men wanting to be Masons.” Again, I ask you, do you think that? Really? </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 1.44000244140625pt; margin-right: 8.33599853515625pt; margin-top: 18.33403778076172pt; margin: 18.334pt 8.336pt 0pt 1.44pt; text-indent: 0.0319977pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="font-family: Roboto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Maybe I’ll ask another way: What is the difference between the Rite and the Shrine in respect to whom it can or will admit? i.e., </span><span style="font-family: Roboto; text-indent: 0.528008pt; white-space-collapse: preserve;">if there were no GL system at all - could it both practice its current tenants along serve its membership much like it does now other than a “certification?” And if the answer to that question is yes, then what is the dominating role of current leadership, again? </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0.7679977416992188pt; margin-right: 3.58404541015625pt; margin-top: 18.333984375pt; margin: 18.334pt 3.58405pt 0pt 0.767998pt; text-indent: 0.112007pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="font-family: Roboto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Currently, every argument I have read, listened or been privy to concerning current leadership in many GL jurisdictions is that the leadership is trying to promote compliance to it through offering “leadership training” styled motions. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0.2239990234375pt; margin-right: 21.36004638671875pt; margin-top: 18.333984375pt; margin: 18.334pt 21.36pt 0pt 0.223999pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.192001pt; text-indent: -0.192001pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="font-family: Roboto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The problem with this that can be seen a million miles away by anyone who understands true leadership principles, doctrine, and efficacy in the real world, not the consulting class fairytale viewpoint, is this… </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0.11199951171875pt; margin-right: 3.56805419921875pt; margin-top: 18.334014892578125pt; margin: 18.334pt 3.56805pt 0pt 0.112pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.112pt; text-indent: -0.112pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="font-family: Roboto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">To be a true leader - you first have to fully know and understand if you truly have the authority of it or, if your current leadership position is only being held together by a very thin veneer that’s yet to be tested, and dangerously close to being just that because of the current state of said leaderships actions? </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0.5439987182617188pt; margin-right: 16.91204833984375pt; margin-top: 18.334014892578125pt; margin: 18.334pt 16.912pt 0pt 0.543999pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.223999pt; text-indent: -0.223999pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="font-family: Roboto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Just because one may have a “title” doesn’t always mean what one thinks it does in the real-world application reality. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: -0.11199951171875pt; margin-right: 3.29608154296875pt; margin-top: 18.333984375pt; margin: 18.334pt 3.29608pt 0pt -0.112pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.223999pt; text-indent: -0.223999pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="font-family: Roboto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Again, and to be clear: Only dogmatic consulting class-driven leadership thinking and practice would be so foolish to think they are the ones that should be creating and enforcing because they are titled “the leadership.” As history shows - it’s precisely this type of thinking and execution that is the eventual last gasp of failed ones. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0.8000030517578125pt; margin-right: 16.92803955078125pt; margin-top: 18.333999633789062pt; margin: 18.334pt 16.928pt 0pt 0.800003pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.416pt; text-indent: -0.416pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="font-family: Roboto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">One way or another - things are going to change because they have to. The question now is… </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0.384003pt; margin-top: 18.334pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="font-family: Roboto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">What truly is all this push for “leadership training,” is it…</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0.11199951171875pt; margin-right: 18.72003173828125pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin: 0pt 18.72pt 0pt 0.112pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.576004pt; text-indent: -0.576004pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="font-family: Roboto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">A: The current leadership understands that following its current leadership path is destined for failure and is looking to course correct through remediation of lower-status members in hope something positive comes forth? Or… </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0.6880035400390625pt; margin-right: 1.50408935546875pt; margin-top: 18.333984375pt; margin: 18.334pt 1.50409pt 0pt 0.688004pt; text-indent: 0.751999pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="font-family: Roboto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">B: The current push for “leadership training” is only being pushed by leaders who don’t truly know why things are failing and are simply doubling down on any effort to try and stem any current innate leadership to fix obvious problems? Or… </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0.33599853515625pt; margin-right: 9.80804443359375pt; margin-top: 18.333984375pt; margin: 18.334pt 9.80804pt 0pt 0.335999pt; text-indent: 0.544006pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="font-family: Roboto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">C: Someone read some best-selling “leadership/management” book and decided since it was a best seller, and it is “their year” then it must be the perfect remedy for such a vexing problem because after their year is over, it’s someone else's problem and they can have some sort of shield that “They tried?” </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 1.2960052490234375pt; margin-right: 9.20001220703125pt; margin-top: 18.334014892578125pt; margin: 18.334pt 9.20001pt 0pt 1.29601pt; text-indent: 0.175995pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="font-family: Roboto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">My guess is it’s a combination of all three, but my own experience in past matters would push me more to C than others. Why? </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0.2239990234375pt; margin-right: 4.1920166015625pt; margin-top: 18.334014892578125pt; margin: 18.334pt 4.19202pt 0pt 0.223999pt; text-indent: 1.216pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="font-family: Roboto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Because I put most (most - not all) business books, especially the so-called “best sellers” into a category that infuriates most. That category is “Romance Novels.” Because it all sounds so sweet and easy laced with the prospects of enduring passion and cooperation forever, laced in flowery language, all wrapped in a beautiful bound bouquet of colorful typeset covers. And who can argue with a great love story, right? Even if it is pure rubbish. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0.223999pt; margin-top: 18.334pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="font-family: Roboto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The reason for this derision is simple… </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: -0.11199951171875pt; margin-right: 16.60797119140625pt; margin-top: 17.3280029296875pt; margin: 17.328pt 16.608pt 0pt -0.112pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.223999pt; text-indent: -0.223999pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="font-family: Roboto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">After reading and applying most of what they read in these “Romance Novella” - I’m the one that’s called in to help settle the now ongoing divorce proceedings that have become mired with infighting, backbiting, and legal maneuvering that would make a court jester blush.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0.11199951171875pt; margin-right: 11.29608154296875pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin: 0pt 11.2961pt 0pt 0.112pt; text-indent: 0.112pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="font-family: Roboto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0.11199951171875pt; margin-right: 11.29608154296875pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin: 0pt 11.2961pt 0pt 0.112pt; text-indent: 0.112pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="font-family: Roboto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">This whole “leadership” kerfuffle can all be fixed with near immediacy if only one thing transpired for the good of everyone. And that is this… </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0.11199951171875pt; margin-right: 24.03192138671875pt; margin-top: 18.333984375pt; margin: 18.334pt 24.0319pt 0pt 0.112pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.112pt; text-indent: -0.112pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="font-family: Roboto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">True leaders don’t just sit behind closed doors drafting “leadership” prose for others to follow. They get out in front of the others and boldly shout “Follow me” as they admirably set the examples for others to follow and aspire to imitate. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: -0.0160064697265625pt; margin-right: 35.2640380859375pt; margin-top: 18.333984375pt; margin: 18.334pt 35.264pt 0pt -0.0160065pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.240005pt; text-indent: -0.240005pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="font-family: Roboto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">That’s done via example, and from the top - not by some “leadership” class to the underlings. For there’s a law of leadership that’s never broken, yet little understood by most, which is… </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0.335999pt; margin-top: 18.334pt; text-indent: 0.448006pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="font-family: Roboto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Subordinates do what they see their leaders do. You can’t train the subordinate to be better if the upper echelons are seen as not playing by the same rules. It never has worked and won’t ever either. If you want people to follow your leadership, you better make sure it’s true and on point because subordinates will emulate whatever good or bad is obvious to them. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0.7679977416992188pt; margin-right: 7.72802734375pt; margin-top: 18.334014892578125pt; margin: 18.334pt 7.72803pt 0pt 0.767998pt; text-indent: 0.672005pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="font-family: Roboto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Right now leadership throughout the Craft appear to be doing anything and everything, in full public view, that any sane person looking in would determine to be nothing but calamitous, unbecoming, and totally anathema to what the self-described “Making good men better” implies. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0.33599853515625pt; margin-right: 37.088043212890625pt; margin-top: 18.333999633789062pt; margin: 18.334pt 37.088pt 0pt 0.335999pt; text-indent: 1.104pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="font-family: Roboto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">How many potential inquirers have been lost just because of these types of leadership squabbles in the last two months alone, never mind what’s been aired over the last few years collectively? </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0.6880035400390625pt; margin-right: 47.424041748046875pt; margin-top: 18.333999633789062pt; margin: 18.334pt 47.424pt 0pt 0.688004pt; text-indent: 0.783997pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="font-family: Roboto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Maybe if there’s “leadership training” to be had and done it should start there, first, before advocating for the general membership.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0.223999pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="font-family: Roboto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Think about it. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 1.44000244140625pt; margin-right: 382.64007568359375pt; margin-top: 17.3280029296875pt; margin: 17.328pt 382.64pt 0pt 1.44pt; text-indent: 0.0319977pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="font-family: Roboto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Mark St. Cyr Freemason</span></p></span></div>Darinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08964995230169390735noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2909814477098868440.post-13161577148009524252024-01-24T05:00:00.027-06:002024-01-24T17:43:23.949-06:00Do Titles Really Tell You Who a Man is?<p style="text-align: center;"><i style="font-family: Oxygen;">by Senior Midnight Freemason Contributor<br /></i><span style="font-family: Oxygen;"><b><span>Gregory J. Knott </span><span style="text-align: left;">33°</span><span> </span></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Oxygen;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Oxygen;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvIsclaNtL1zGFb2Uoe0Vd54yeDZ7AIWpXRxPNf1fEsj95oidq8QsDh-IPKyFcMa6VPb-AcJ2aEsmpjogV1agc0Y22FtYY1zGr5h75ssdE2E1C5oTLKkgEdVwWwyEKfzefxcv4hbWRHzWofTtlSO7jNG6-41tZEdXGSpIzYfXAz48hKOyRKUQOn8CobiA/s5871/AdobeStock_483795880.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2555" data-original-width="5871" height="174" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvIsclaNtL1zGFb2Uoe0Vd54yeDZ7AIWpXRxPNf1fEsj95oidq8QsDh-IPKyFcMa6VPb-AcJ2aEsmpjogV1agc0Y22FtYY1zGr5h75ssdE2E1C5oTLKkgEdVwWwyEKfzefxcv4hbWRHzWofTtlSO7jNG6-41tZEdXGSpIzYfXAz48hKOyRKUQOn8CobiA/w400-h174/AdobeStock_483795880.jpeg" width="400" /></a></span></div><p></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><span face="Roboto,sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">In recent articles here on the Midnight Freemasons, RWB Robert Johnson and WB </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><span face="Roboto,sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">and Managing Editor </span><span face="Roboto,sans-serif" style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Darin Lahners, spoke about the topic of leadership. RJ specifically laid </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><span face="Roboto,sans-serif" style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">out a case where it </span></span><a href="http://www.midnightfreemasons.org/2024/01/not-leadership.html" style="font-family: Roboto; text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Roboto,sans-serif" style="-webkit-text-decoration-skip: none; color: #1155cc; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">wasn’t the responsibility of Freemasonry to teach leadership</span></a><span style="font-family: Roboto;">. He didn’t imply that you can’t learn leadership within Freemasonry, his thesis is that leadership is not a core tenant that Freemasonry needs to teach</span><span face="Roboto,sans-serif" style="color: black; font-family: Roboto;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre;">.</span></span></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-c1db8095-7fff-9122-2e7a-5157550b8bab" style="font-family: Roboto;"><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Darin </span><a href="http://www.midnightfreemasons.org/2024/01/freemasonry-has-membership-problem.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">in a subsequent article </span></a><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">made an argument that the leadership problems we have within Freemasonry are largely attributable to membership issues. Specifically, our organizations are suffering because our numbers are down and we no longer attract the kind of men who would ideally aspire to the highest levels of responsibility within our masonic organizations.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">One needs to only look at current events to see how leadership impacts the direction of an organization. For example, the Grand Lodge of Texas is in turmoil, which has led one Past Grand Master to file a </span><a href="https://freemasonsfordummies.blogspot.com/2024/01/texas-pgm-billings-files-defamation.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">lawsuit against the Grand Lodge of Texas</span></a><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">. A past Sovereign Grand Commander of the Scottish Rite NMJ </span><a href="https://freemasonsfordummies.blogspot.com/2023/12/aasr-nmj-past-commander-david-glattly.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">released a lengthy letter</span></a><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> with his views on his accomplishments and why he was asked to step aside.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Both RJ’s and Darin’s well-written articles have had me thinking deeply about the role and place of leadership within not only masonic organizations but in all organizations more broadly. One question in particular was on my mind; if leadership is something that is not the primary responsibility of Freemasonry, then why do we spend so much time on titles and positions of authority when we are introducing Masonic brethren?</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Just take a look at the short biographies of those who are contributors to this blog, including myself. We all have titles of past positions of responsibility we have held i.e. DDGM, Past Master, lodge secretary, webmaster, membership chairman, etc. Some of us had been given honors such as the 33rd degree from the Scottish Rite or made fellows in masonic research organizations. Aren’t all of these simply functional titles that don’t really tell you much about the character of a man?</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Would it not be better to just drop off all the titles, positions, initials, degrees, etc., and introduce someone by the characteristics they exhibit? For example, let me rewrite a few of the bios of the Midnight Freemasons:</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Robert Johnson - RJ is a deeply caring individual who has a love of his family and the masonic craft. His commitment and dedication to masonic education have made not only a profound difference in the craft but more importantly helped other men understand the need to expand their knowledge of the craft that will help make them a better person. His determination and tireless efforts have helped me become a better man. He never forgets to send a thank you note or a word of encouragement, these have helped me more than you know. Thank you, RJ.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Darin Lahners - Darin has a heart of gold, his willingness to help others and putting himself secondary is undeniable. He is extremely loyal to his family, brothers and friends. He will never hesitate to offer you a kind word. His ever-deepening understanding of the craft has helped motivate others, including myself to look inward at myself and how we can all help the world become a better place. Since becoming married to Lisa, he has grown tremendously every day and has become a better man. Thank you, Darin.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Todd E. Creason - Todd has become a man of deep faith and convictions. He uses his humor to help others understand the relationship they can have with God. He illustrates that faith can be lived in your everyday life. He is a friend to many and is always willing to lend an attentive ear. His devotion to his family is without end. In the journey of life, you will find fewer true friends than Todd. Thank you, Todd.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Bill Hosler - Bill is a man of strong resilience. He will always get you laughing and has a wit coupled with that sense of humor that is contagious. Bill has a strong sense of duty to others, be it working on promoting masonic social media, giving a kind word to a friend or simply helping promote the values and tenets of this fraternity. His loving devotion to his partner Tammy is obvious. Bill’s views of the world have helped enlighten me and strengthen my belief in this fraternity. Thank you, Bill.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Brian L. Pettice - Brian is a quiet and reserved person who is deeply insightful of not only freemasonry but more importantly of how our principles and tenets can be utilized in our daily lives. He is a living true example of who I think of when I think of a Freemason. His love of his family is obvious and his work with the Demolay in helping build and guide our youth to become better young persons is nothing short of inspiring. His example as a Mason has made me a better person. Thank you, Brian.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">It’s been my privilege to meet so many men of high character on my journey in this fraternity, including many who have held lofty positions of leadership. As I age, titles and awards really don’t mean as much to me as the individual characteristics of those brothers who have inspired me and helped me along in this journey of life. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Effective leadership is essential for any organization to thrive, but it needs to be underpinned by men of character who have the best interests of others as their focus and not simply chasing a title or position. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">~GJK</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Greg Knott is married to Brooke and has two adult children Riley and Hayden. He hopes to have left the world better than he found it.</span></p></span></div>Darinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08964995230169390735noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2909814477098868440.post-91297251504011274232024-01-17T05:00:00.006-06:002024-01-18T21:00:19.712-06:00The Problematic Reality for Masonic Leadership for Younger Generations<div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Roboto;">by Midnight Freemason Contributor</span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><b>Patrick Dey</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4P_3o0MoqV7hvkCa-D_Yhw5PemwCzKqEvr5bj2PH30oNSRg8jbFLrpmxPt5f5z1yuMNVTrGceJ5YKZ46OZqXSFOp43-fwsDd1Aerpbem7NiFZozB-KMJlEze8u5E4jJkuNIUqPNwFxosPqABiYfz1PEZiZDwRd7csjIu7g3Jbwnd0PSH0vAsnN5kxKN0/s6000/AdobeStock_355304139.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3126" data-original-width="6000" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4P_3o0MoqV7hvkCa-D_Yhw5PemwCzKqEvr5bj2PH30oNSRg8jbFLrpmxPt5f5z1yuMNVTrGceJ5YKZ46OZqXSFOp43-fwsDd1Aerpbem7NiFZozB-KMJlEze8u5E4jJkuNIUqPNwFxosPqABiYfz1PEZiZDwRd7csjIu7g3Jbwnd0PSH0vAsnN5kxKN0/w400-h209/AdobeStock_355304139.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I suppose I am hopping on the bandwagon of commentary to Robert Johnson’s recent post about leadership in Masonry. I applaud him for saying what must be said: Masonry is not a leadership school. And Darin Lahners' follow-up post was equally as applaudable in examining many of the points RJ discusses. Thank you both for saying it. I am chiming in on this commentary to point out something that I think gets overlooked: what Generation Z and the upcoming Gen Alpha think about these things. These are very different generations than previous generations, and their ambitions, wants, desires, means of expression, social acceptance, et al are vastly different from any currently living generations.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">First and foremost, it needs to be pointed out to older Masons that I am not the young generation anymore. I am a Millennial, and that means I am not the “new generation” of Masons. I am not a kid. I am not one of the “young ones.” Baby Boomers, and even the Silent Generation, and even the elder Gen X have long been infantilizing Millennials that they don’t even realize that Gen Z is here. They have dismissed Millennials for so long as being just kids that don’t know what they’re talking about, that they still think we are the kids. Now Gen Z has arrived. The elder Gen Zs can vote, they are graduating college, they can buy alcohol, start businesses, run for some political offices, and some are starting to join Freemasonry. And Gen Z thinks Millennials are the old farts who need to get out of the way. They think Millennials are old, has-beens, and irrelevant. And they are not wrong. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I don’t want to turn this into an “Okay Boomer!” type of bashing older generations, but truth be told, the Silent Generation and Baby Boomers are out of touch with the younger generations. They don’t even seem to be aware that there is a younger generation on the scene now, while they still continue to call Millennials “kids” and “the future of Masonry.” As a result, their conception of what the younger generations want and need, even their ideas on the future leaders of Masonry are so incredibly out of touch with reality, and a few things need to be brought to the older Masons’ attention.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Now, I am not going to pretend that I understand Gen Z, or even Gen Alpha, any more than Baby Boomers understand Gen X or Millennials. We aren’t meant to understand younger generations. That’s just how it works. It is a sign of progress. It is a sign that things are not stagnating. Whether you like it or not, younger people will come along and change things, and grumpy old men complain and then die, and the world keeps turning. That said, I pay attention to Gen Z enough, and I follow the trends enough that I feel I can speak to a few trends that Masonry will have to contend with. Foreshadowing: your outdated lectures, seminars, and papers about leadership in Masonry are not only going to need revisions but maybe should just be tossed out entirely and we forget we even brought this whole thing up.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Some years ago, I was present at a presentation being given by a Past Grand Master — I believe from Tennessee. He gave a statistic about Masonic membership — one that Darin Lahners gave in his follow-up to RJ’s post — and it is a statistic I absolutely loath… it’s so asinine. There are approximately 130 million males between the ages of 18 and 65 years of age in the United States, and of them, 880,000 of them are Freemasons, about 0.5% of the male population. Darin was not so dense as to ask this next question, but this Past Grand Master did: why aren’t the rest of these men Masons? I have seen this statistic and inane question given several times, and I am sure many of you have as well. Darin acknowledges the complexity of this data, though he does not get into it. However, I will, because it reflects deeply upon how different the younger generations feel and operate in life, and how that will impact the future of Masonry.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">When that Grand Master asked that question, “Why aren’t the rest of these men Freemasons?” I wanted so badly to shout out, or at least to approach him afterward and ask: “How many of those men are atheists? How many are transgender? How many have criminal records? How many are black in a state that doesn’t admit persons of color? Why does the MSANA’s data not reflect Prince Hall membership statistics? How many do not care about Freemasonry?” Truth be told, he probably would not care. That statistic was just a talking point in a longer presentation on leadership in Masonry that was little more than the same-old, same-old jive. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Seriously, it was the same ideas of a bygone era that he still thinks are relevant, but really are not. He talked about how “younger generations need community; that’s a need they have that Freemasonry can provide.” No shit. Of course, they want community. We are humans. We are social creatures. That’s not something special about the “kids.” That’s just a basic human need. His proposal: the lodge should host bowling nights and golf tournaments. Ummm… yeah. You know, the last time I went bowling was in high school, and that was just an excuse to smoke cigarettes indoors with my friends and hope the food vendor didn’t ID me when I tried to buy a beer. Golf? I remember a few years ago hearing a bunch of Baby Boomers complaining that Millennials are “killing golf” because we don’t want to play golf. So, his proposal was that lodges get their Millennial brethren to play golf. This guy was a prime example of what RJ and Darin are saying about why leadership courses for Masonry should be taught by an accredited person or company.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">There is a new generation coming into Masonry, if they even care to join Masonry, and trying to get them to play golf is a shibboleth of how out of touch the proposer of such an idea really is. A few years ago at a Colorado lodge, a few of the young guys wanted to start their own hangout time at the lodge building. They decided to start a game night where they can use that huge flatscreen TV the lodge bought, and play Halo or Call of Duty on it. I think they ended up ordering pizza and playing Dungeons and Dragons. Every other week they met at the building and played games together. Then the older Masons got involved, and because they didn’t understand what these games were about, they took it over and turned it into a “fellowship” talk time, and it died in a month. The kids had a good idea: unplug from the computer at home and come to the lodge and plug in together. Then the older Masons destroyed it because they felt excluded, and then complained the younger Masons didn’t want to hang out anymore.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Sometimes the best leader is the guy who knows when he needs to step aside. Here were the “kids” starting something, nurturing fellowship in their own way, and then the “leaders” inserted themselves and then wondered why the “kids” didn’t want to do things “the way we did things back in my day.”</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Let’s really get into this. What is the future of Masonry with Gen Z coming in and how that will affect leadership in Masonry? Truth be told, we are looking at a generation unlike any other. Whatever was the established rulebook about leadership and management, Gen Z burned it. What’s their approach to leadership? They don’t care about leadership. They don’t care about management positions. They literally do not give a shit.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Caveat: of course, there are some Zoomers who are interested in leadership and management, but the great majority of them do not care. This is an example of Freemasonry being a reflection of our society at large, and that civic politics and economics are going to have an impact on Masonry. These kids do not want management roles because it does not pay, or it pays poorly. There are hundreds of TikTok videos out there on how to properly decline a promotion at work or how to politely and legally decline being given management roles.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Gen Z got smart. Millennials, we got suckered into taking on these added responsibilities because we believed it would give us a report and that the financial benefits would come later, and then we are told after two years without a pay raise that the company does not promote from within. Millennials thought if we put in overtime without compensation we would reap the rewards later, and those fruits rotted on the vine. We got a pizza party that didn’t even feed everyone there, instead of the cash bonus that we were promised. Gen Z got smart and decided they would not stay late or come in early or on weekends. They learned to not take a work call after hours or on their day off. The media came to calling this “quiet quitting,” but the reality is that no one likes being taken advantage of, and Gen Z learned real quick from the failings of Millennials to not take leadership roles and to not put in the extra effort. They completed the terms of their contract and could care less about anything else.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Freemasonry cannot afford to market itself as a place to learn leadership skills to a generation that could not give a damn. Why would they pay to be a Mason and volunteer their time and energy to leadership roles when they don’t even want to be paid for leadership roles at work? They don’t want to manage other people and other projects on top of all their other responsibilities while not seeing a pay raise for it, and we expect them to pay us to learn leadership skills from people who are out of touch and poor leaders in the first place to volunteer their time to manage other people? Masonry is going to have a big problem in the future by pushing a leadership agenda if no one wants it at all.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Why would they want to learn leadership skills to be a better husband and father, when many Zoomers are not having kids? We are entering an era of population busts. 2020 was anticipated to be a boom year, because everyone was home and when you’re bored, you have sex, and sex leads to children. We see small booms after hurricanes because when you’re stuck inside with no TV and no power, seeing by candlelight, you get a recipe for making babies. But 2020 was a bust year. And 2021. Millennials cannot afford to have children. Daycare is $25,000 a child these days. One partner basically works to pay for daycare… their whole paycheck goes to childcare. If you want to increase the population, the parents need to have three kids, two to replace the parents and one more to add to the general population. But now they can’t afford to even stabilize the population. Many who truly want kids will only have one because that is all they can afford. But so many are opting for no kids at all. Many do not even like kids, much less the idea of having to care for a child for the next twenty years of their life. And we think Freemasonry can bill itself to make men better fathers?</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Being a better husband? Polyamory is more prolific today than decades ago. Polyamorous relationships are nothing like monogamous relationships, and thus “leadership” is going to be vastly different from anything Masonry could teach if it could teach such things. Masonry’s leadership is structured with a Master as the chief executive, and everyone below him serves his will and pleasure. Kinky, but this does not work in polyamorous relationships. It might be better suited for simp-dom relationships than poly. Heck, even monogamous marriages of younger generations are way different from how previous generations conducted their marriages if they even get married. Some are fine with partnerships, and if they have kids, co-parenting. These are accepted now, and the emerging generations see it as perfectly normal. Is Masonry ready to even ready to have discussions on these types of relationships, much less the leadership skills to be successful partners in these arrangements?</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Let’s look at a historical example: interracial marriages. Today these are not a big deal and, in fact, are quite common. But fifty years or more ago, they were very taboo, and that affected Freemasonry. Some years ago I met a Caucasian Prince Hall Mason, who was initiated back in the 1970s. I asked him why he joined Prince Hall and he said, “Well, I did petition a Four Letter Lodge [their name for our Blue Lodge system], but they blackballed me for being married to a black woman. And since I was ostracized in a lot of white groups, but welcomed into a lot of black communities, I just felt more at home in Prince Hall.” Let this example be a reminder that our own prejudices have caused many to avoid Freemasonry and find their need to be part of a community elsewhere.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Let’s talk about sexuality. As far as I am aware, Tennessee and Georgia are the only Grand Lodges in the United States that explicitly prohibit homosexuals from being Masons. This is such a big deal that NPR published an article about two Masons who married each other and were subsequently brought up on un-Masonic charges. This is so preposterous (Latin for “ass-backward”), and what these Grand Lodges do not understand is that homosexuality is not a concern among most of the younger generations. They are much more open and tolerant about it than their predecessors, and it is part of the reason why more and more homosexuals and bisexuals are coming out these days.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">To go back to that Past Grand Master from Tennessee’s remarks about “Why aren’t all these other men Masons?” I’ve got some statistics for him. According to US census data, in 2019 the adult male population of Tennessee was approximately 3.5 million, and of those men, 120,000 were open homosexuals and bisexuals according to a Gallup/Williams poll that same year. According to the Masonic Service Association, in 2019 the number of Tennessee Freemasons was approximately 32,000. That means there were 3.7 times more open homosexuals in Tennessee than Masons. That number should sting a little. So, why aren’t all these men Freemasons?</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Even in jurisdictions that have no stance on sexuality, it is not uncommon to hear some homophobic comments from the brethren, even in Lodge. I am bisexual, and I have had to shut down some repulsive remarks from men that I am supposed to call “brother,” and they would apologize, but mostly because they didn’t want to have to elect a new secretary that night.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I suppose similar remarks and a similar situation could be discussed about transgender, queer, and gender-fluid persons, which are becoming more and more acceptable as younger generations emerge, and I don’t think the older Masons are ready to give seminars to address leadership for LGBTQ persons. Not even close. Back to what RJ and Darin say about accredited leadership trainers, I’m sure they have undergone sensitivity training that a Past Grand Master from 1972 never even knew was an option.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Atheism is another big hurdle for Masonry. Masonry explicitly prohibits atheists from being Masons. It is not just atheism that is rising, the number of young people who do not care about religion or believing in a god or gods or anything numinous whatsoever. I remember some years ago when I was living in Boston, I met this young man at MIT, and it came up during a conversation about sacred geometry that he said he didn’t believe in God. And almost without missing a beat, he said, “But don’t call me an atheist. Don’t lump me in with those loudmouths. I don’t care if there is a God or not.” And that trend in “belief” or disbelief is rapidly rising. Yet, at the same time, those who are religious keep declining and those who are atheists keep rising. I doubt religion will go away, or that it will become completely marginal, but the Pew Research Center estimates that by 2070 Christians will no longer hold the majority in the United States.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I find that a lot of Masonic leadership lectures and courses certainly lean toward a “religious” quality, especially the York Rite Leadership courses. The continuous rise of atheism and non-theism in this country will not just affect the number of men who are qualified to become Masons but will affect how Masons tailor their pitches for Masonic leadership.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I am not arguing we need to suddenly let atheists in. No. Not even remotely. What I am trying to illustrate is that the younger generations value things that are very different. Wanting to use traditional values to provide “leadership” training in Masonry is going to be challenging when those traditions are taking on incredible new forms or being discarded entirely. Certainly, we are going to need to make a decision about transgender persons. Such as if they identify as a man, regardless of their genitals at birth, then they should be let in. Or we must adopt a decision like the United Grand Lodge of England made a few years ago that if they discover they identify as a woman after becoming a Mason, then they cannot be expelled. Something, anything needs to be addressed, rather than what I personally heard several “leaders” in my own jurisdiction and others say: kick that can down the road. Some quality leadership right there to just postpone the inevitable until it comes to a head.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">For years Masons have been trying to integrate the Internet into the fraternity, and for years Masons have argued that the old timers don’t know how all these Internet thingies work, so we shouldn’t do anything on the Internet because we don’t want to exclude them. Then lockdown happened, and most jurisdictions were forced to move onto the internet or lose all that precious momentum Masonry then had and could not afford to lose even a little bit thereof. Then suddenly all those old timers we said didn’t understand the internet were on virtual lodge meetings. It wasn’t a problem. All along it was as simple as: create an account, click this link, and you’re in the meeting. They got the hang of it so quickly that they then oversaturated every Mason’s schedule with endless Zoom meetings that burned everyone else out really quick.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">For a long time, Masons have been saying that Masonry needs to make some changes. This is true. However, Masonry has done very little if anything to negotiate those changes, and the high tide of change is approaching very rapidly when Masons will no longer be saying, “How shall we accommodate younger generations?” and Masons will be forced to accommodate or perish.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I really doubt Masonry will ever go away. Somehow the Order of Red Men still exists. What I expect is that Masonry will continue its course of dwindling numbers, and after enough “very lovely Masonic funerals,” after all of the old guard are moldering in their graves, there will be a few of the new generations that say to themselves, “Why are we still doing things the way those dead people did it?” And they will make the changes that suit them.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">~PD</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="font-size: small; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline;"><b><span style="color: #f1c232;">Patrick M. Dey</span></b> is a Past Master of Nevada Lodge No. 4 in the ghost town of Nevadaville, Colorado, and currently serves as their Secretary, and is also a Past Master of Research Lodge of Colorado. He is a Past High Priest of Keystone Chapter No. 8, Past Illustrious Master of Hiram Council No. 7, Past Commander of Flatirons Commandery No. 7. He currently serves as the Exponent (Suffragan) of Colorado College, SRICF of which he is VIII Grade (Magister). He is the Editor of the </span><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="font-size: small; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline;">Rocky Mountain Mason</span><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="font-size: small; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline;"> magazine, serves on the Board of Directors of the Grand Lodge of Colorado’s Library and Museum Association, and is the Deputy Grand Bartender of the Grand Lodge of Colorado (an ad hoc, joke position he is very proud to hold). He holds a Masters of Architecture degree from the University of Colorado, Denver, and works in the field of architecture in Denver, where he resides with wife and son.</span></span></p></span></div>Darinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08964995230169390735noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2909814477098868440.post-86047711030934930732024-01-10T05:00:00.016-06:002024-01-10T11:48:45.207-06:00Freemasonry has a membership problem (which has caused a leadership problem)<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;">by Midnight Freemason Contributor</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i><span style="font-family: Roboto;">WB Darin A. Lahners</span></i></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><br /></span></i></b></div><div><span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Roboto; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhvIF8GIMsfSLF64896hd0XCHKTsd-NueKulw1vxiIQGoFhDi4Gp2Xyh0VLcQnv5gU8mieTvy4R5d-QF3GBa-0X37YuDmKD3sQF-SZP10ZZ0a0GHuDtImrzJzeP_kcnGbpfPPXDiLL31SAwCu3xsywIbcvkTKJWUDPiwKmjF1vDSLFGa14p4WTOZsJlyXw" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="474" data-original-width="474" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhvIF8GIMsfSLF64896hd0XCHKTsd-NueKulw1vxiIQGoFhDi4Gp2Xyh0VLcQnv5gU8mieTvy4R5d-QF3GBa-0X37YuDmKD3sQF-SZP10ZZ0a0GHuDtImrzJzeP_kcnGbpfPPXDiLL31SAwCu3xsywIbcvkTKJWUDPiwKmjF1vDSLFGa14p4WTOZsJlyXw" width="240" /></a><img alt="" data-original-height="379" data-original-width="552" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgJEJ4xvf29LPZDvQA90xUBdw_NwGzuqTQ9_kQmmfahLnmVVAWc7TS-WFQu5U_810d4pQLyGavCRuXKzNrIgiTgW3PIOe-muRGEQEpWYvqYioz9NGH18UGNCrfX4mbPjVCG2hWv-DYR8FPIj8fm49KQvZqWdGW748ERXe5qKgfxZbTE_9A1gn1TK6EbFs0" width="320" /></div></div></div><div style="font-family: Roboto; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Roboto; text-align: left;"><div>Emeritus contributor Robert Johnson published an article this past Wednesday on this blog, <a href="http://www.midnightfreemasons.org/2024/01/not-leadership.html" style="text-align: center;">The Midnight Freemasons: Not Leadership</a>, which has these key takeaways (From his TL/DR version of the article):</div><div><div><br /></div><div><ul style="line-height: 1.4; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; margin: 0.5em 0px; padding: 0px 2.5em;"><li style="border: medium; color: #333333; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0.25em 0px;"><i>Freemasonry as an organization has no stance, responsibility, or obligation to teach Leadership.</i></li></ul><ul style="line-height: 1.4; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; margin: 0.5em 0px; padding: 0px 2.5em;"><li style="border: medium; color: #333333; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0.25em 0px;"><i> Leadership can be learned within Freemasonry, but it is no different than how it is learned in other organizations – including real-life work experience. We are not special – which means, it isn’t our mission.</i></li></ul><ul style="line-height: 1.4; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; margin: 0.5em 0px; padding: 0px 2.5em;"><li style="border: medium; color: #333333; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0.25em 0px;"><i>There is nothing wrong with hosting leadership training as long as it is: 1. Secondary or tertiary to the understanding, application, and continuing study of the Philosophy of Freemasonry. 2. Does not demand a Grand Lodge Budget line-item expense that surpasses that of Masonic Education. 3. Qualified individuals who are leaders in the real world, with actual credentials, and have resumes that have been validated, must lead these workshops or camps.</i></li></ul><div>RJ asked me to write a follow-up to his article, so without further ado, I wanted to expand on some of what RJ had to say as well as how it relates to some current issues that our Fraternity is facing. I believe they are interrelated as we discuss leadership. </div><div><b style="color: #333333;"><br /></b></div><div><b style="color: #333333;">Point One:</b></div></div></div></div><div style="font-family: Roboto; text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Freemasonry has a membership problem which has caused a leadership problem. </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;">You might want to write this down:</div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Freemasonry </b><b>has a membership problem which has caused a leadership problem. </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Freemasonry has an obsession with membership numbers because we have been declining from our post-WW1/WW2 numbers. These numbers were artificially inflated by the men who came back from those conflicts and felt that they were missing the comradery that many of them had become accustomed to during their combat tours. The graph below shows that we hit our high watermark of membership in 1959 when we had a total of 4.1 million members, out of approximately 53.3 million males over the age of 20, meaning that around 7.7% of the eligible male population were Freemasons. In 2022, there were 881,219 members in the US according to MSANA out of approximately 128.4 million males over the age of 20, meaning that less than 1% (approximately .06%) are Freemasons. I used the age of 20 because some jurisdictions require a man to be 18 years of age while others require 21 years of age for membership, so I settled on 20 years of age as a median. The US census data usually had an age distribution in units of 5 years, so 20 years of age was also easier to use as a starting point. Even though the peak of our membership happened sixty-five years ago, it seems that we keep chasing this unicorn. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjmEibbmbT2PSjRnzUcYtnpilPDGqbwNOV3_bGllNkm8Jy9R9egQShnhUdCOwVyB7Vpgv4oZxDJTx6Ehi_wnZU2AR8ACye5dyHJBsl0tBNt4bi7f-NjjcJ2Tif8pzXk1R489oWVlXLZi8X0uIKPNBakixR77eXrDp5LEt9Vf3zZLZAs3qVsKMajkGrarl0" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="449" data-original-width="1275" height="141" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjmEibbmbT2PSjRnzUcYtnpilPDGqbwNOV3_bGllNkm8Jy9R9egQShnhUdCOwVyB7Vpgv4oZxDJTx6Ehi_wnZU2AR8ACye5dyHJBsl0tBNt4bi7f-NjjcJ2Tif8pzXk1R489oWVlXLZi8X0uIKPNBakixR77eXrDp5LEt9Vf3zZLZAs3qVsKMajkGrarl0=w400-h141" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Graph courtesy <a href="https://msana.com/services/u-s-membership-statistics/" style="text-align: left;">U.S. Membership Statistics – Masonic Service Association of North America (msana.com)</a> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div>Masonic bodies have decided that quantity of members is the measurement of the success of our organization, instead of the quality of our membership. Because of using an incorrect metric to judge the success of our organization, and not upholding our standards for membership, some masonic lodges have collectively turned the ballot box into a turnstile. In some cases, the only qualities that they look for are a heartbeat, a bank account, and the ability to say yes or no to the investigation committee. In fact, the only thing that might get a candidate black-balled from joining a lodge or Masonic body are qualities that shouldn't even be discussed in our Fraternal gatherings, like a member's sexuality, race, religion, or political affiliation.</div><div><br /></div><div>We need to stop pretending that every man who is a Mason is good. We have some members that aren't good men. Some of these men, men who should never ever have set foot into a Masonic lodge, now are appointed and elected leaders in our fraternity. </div></div></div></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="font-family: Roboto;"><br /></div></div></span><div style="text-align: left;"><span><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;">In the real world, leadership problems occur when employees are promoted based on their job skills and not their leadership skills. When employees in the real world are promoted based on their job skills, and they need formal, ongoing training on how to be good supervisors or leaders, they usually end up as poor leaders and end up having the below leadership problems.</span></div></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div><span><b><div style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Roboto; font-weight: 400;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Roboto; font-weight: 400;"><ul class="b_vList b_divsec b_bullet" style="border-collapse: collapse; border-spacing: 0px; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: -apple-system, Roboto, SegoeUI, "Segoe UI", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, "Microsoft YaHei", "Meiryo UI", Meiryo, "Arial Unicode MS", sans-serif; line-height: 22px; list-style: none; margin-bottom: -4px !important; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin: 0px 0px -4px; padding: 0px;"><li data-priority="" style="border-collapse: collapse; border-spacing: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 16px; list-style: outside; margin: 0px 0px 0px 20px; padding-bottom: 6px !important; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 6px;">They have communication issues.</li><li data-priority="" style="border-collapse: collapse; border-spacing: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 16px; list-style: outside; margin: 0px 0px 0px 20px; padding-bottom: 6px !important; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 6px;">They are in constant conflict with other managers or employees.</li><li data-priority="" style="border-collapse: collapse; border-spacing: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 16px; list-style: outside; margin: 0px 0px 0px 20px; padding-bottom: 6px !important; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 6px;">Difficulty dealing with their employee's demands. </li><li data-priority="" style="border-collapse: collapse; border-spacing: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 16px; list-style: outside; margin: 0px 0px 0px 20px; padding-bottom: 6px !important; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 6px;">They are resistant to change.</li><li data-priority="" style="border-collapse: collapse; border-spacing: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 16px; list-style: outside; margin: 0px 0px 0px 20px; padding-bottom: 6px !important; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 6px;">Their employees have low morale.</li><li data-priority="" style="border-collapse: collapse; border-spacing: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 16px; list-style: outside; margin: 0px 0px 0px 20px; padding-bottom: 6px !important; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 6px;">They do not take responsibility for their decisions or have no initiative to make decisions.</li><li data-priority="" style="border-collapse: collapse; border-spacing: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 16px; list-style: outside; margin: 0px 0px 0px 20px; padding-bottom: 6px !important; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 6px;">Their employees have low motivation.</li><li data-priority="" style="border-collapse: collapse; border-spacing: 0px; border: 0px; list-style: outside; margin: 0px 0px 0px 20px; padding-bottom: 6px !important; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 6px;">They use an outdated leadership style, usually one which is authoritarian.<span style="font-size: xx-small;">1</span> </li></ul><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Roboto; font-weight: 400;">In theory, Freemasonry should not have any of the above leadership issues. Our leadership is elected democratically to the main leadership positions in almost every Masonic organization. At least, that's what is supposed to happen, more on that later. Reading the above leadership problems, how many of you feel that many of those could apply to at least one or more Masonic bodies you belong to? The fact that you said yes, says all you need to know. </div><div style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Roboto; font-weight: 400;"><br /></div></b></span><div><span><b><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><span style="background-color: white; font-weight: 400;">Why is this? </span></span></b></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Roboto;">We currently have men in leadership positions in Freemasonry</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Roboto;"> who have no business being in a leadership position. </span><b><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><span style="background-color: white; font-weight: 400;">Freemasonry is a bureaucracy, and it requires a lot of members to serve in leadership positions to keep the Masonic machine running.</span></span></b><b><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><span style="background-color: white; font-weight: 400;"> Members who are appointed to leadership positions at the District and Area levels are usually not appointed based on their leadership abilities, </span></span></b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Roboto;">but because they are good at memorization and mimicry. Furthermore, </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Roboto;">because some of these men</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Roboto;"> have waited patiently in the progressive line of whatever body, kept their mouths shut, and placated the current leadership, membership advances them election cycle after election cycle. </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Roboto;"> </span></div><div><b><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><span style="background-color: white; font-weight: 400;"><br /></span></span></b></div><div><b style="color: #333333; font-family: Roboto;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><span style="background-color: white; font-weight: 400;">In Freemasonry, like in business, when bad leaders are put in positions to appoint others into leadership roles, they will appoint those who also believe them to be good leaders. This leads to them surrounding themselves with sycophants that will further inflate their belief that they are entitled to their leadership roles. </span></span></b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Roboto;">These men end up getting a fancy title and apron, and with it, the power and influence to maintain the status quo. T</span><b><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><span style="background-color: white; font-weight: 400;">he law of probability means that there will be a distribution of men who are good leaders with those who are terrible ones in these positions, and varying degrees in between. </span></span></b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Roboto;"> </span></div><div><span><b><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><span style="background-color: white; font-weight: 400;"><br /></span></span></b></span></div><div><span><b><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><span style="background-color: white; font-weight: 400;">While I agree that leadership training should not be Freemasonry’s primary objective, I do believe that Leadership Development training is desperately needed in our organizations, usually at every level. I will go a step further than RJ and state that if Masonic bodies are going to do leadership development training, the training needs to be taught by an accredited organization that specializes in Talent Development. We can ill afford to use Masonic Leaders who are not qualified or accredited to teach leadership development. Just because I have taken multiple leadership training courses, I do not consider myself qualified to instruct one. On top of this, some of the elected officers in the Grand Lines of Masonic Organizations and some of the members appointed to the Masonic bureaucracy are the members who need the leadership training the most, so they should not be involved in teaching something they are not good at. </span></span></b></span></div><div><span><b><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><span style="background-color: white; font-weight: 400;"><br /></span></span></b></span></div><div><span><b><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><span style="background-color: white; font-weight: 400;">We also </span></span></b></span><span><b><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><span style="background-color: white; font-weight: 400;">have to acknowledge that </span></span></b></span><b><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><span style="background-color: white; font-weight: 400;">no amount of leadership development training will turn a bad leader into a good leader. We have those predisposed to the philosophy of Servant Leadership within our fraternity</span></span></b><b><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><span style="background-color: white; font-weight: 400;">, and these are the leaders that Freemasonry needs to promote and elect. </span></span></b><span style="font-family: Roboto;">Servant leaders put the needs of their team members first and strive to create an environment where everyone can thrive. This style of leadership is particularly well-suited for all-volunteer organizations, where the success of the organization depends on the dedication and hard work of its volunteers.<span style="font-size: xx-small;">2 </span></span><b style="color: #333333; font-family: Roboto;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><span style="background-color: white; font-weight: 400;">The experience of leadership in any organization can help men predisposed to be good leaders become better ones,. However, those who are bad at leadership will believe themselves to be great leaders. They will learn nothing from their leadership experience because they believe they have nothing left to learn. </span></span></b></div></div><div><div><span><b><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><span style="background-color: white; font-weight: 400;">Furthermore, the Progressive Line often means that when we have bad leaders in our organizations, they continue to get promoted or elected because:</span></span></b></span></div><div><br /></div><div><b style="background-color: white; font-family: Roboto;">Point Two:</b></div><span><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both;"><b style="font-family: Roboto;"><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both;"><b style="font-family: Roboto;">The majority of Masonic membership is only concerned with maintaining the status quo.</b></div></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Roboto;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Roboto;">You might want to write this down:</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Roboto;"><b><br /></b></div></span></div><div><b style="font-family: Roboto;">The majority of Masonic membership is only concerned with maintaining the status quo.</b></div><div><span><b><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><span style="background-color: white; font-weight: 400;"><br /></span></span></b></span></div><div><span><b><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><span style="background-color: white; font-weight: 400;">Freemasonry suffers from the Status Quo bias. </span></span></b></span><span style="font-family: Roboto;"> The status quo bias is a type of cognitive bias that involves the preference that things stay as they are or that the current state of affairs remains the same.<span style="font-size: xx-small;">3<span style="background-color: white;"> </span></span> </span></div><div><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Roboto;">Progressive lines of leadership keep advancing. On the rare occasion where there is competition for an office, we see the membership side with the status quo. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: Roboto;">In some cases, when it’s time to elect the junior most officers into the Grand progressive lines, these lines will ask for interested men to apply. However, when it comes time to vote for the leadership of the Grand Line at the Grand session, only one candidate is offered to the membership. Membership usually is not allowed to know anything about the other applicants, as the applicant put forward is the one </span><span style="font-family: Roboto;">who best fits the siloed group think of the other Grand officers in that line. </span><span style="font-family: Roboto;">I envision a scene similar to what I’ve illustrated below from Todd Browning’s Freaks. Imagine the officers of that Grand Line dancing inebriated on the table screaming: “One of us! One of us!” </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEglFuSNA5WYMcULxRqCVXdtiWrJMZ_hOCQevXDss5crsncGbhb4-NZSE6Gy_1Iat8cxRXlCAiqyGJxz5UkUIvBm235o_p74XaL_vQDvxbwCdOjzltQOsnnZ-4L-ghHwQR1lhhbzUMKLlS67vVTtc_q4MXUMgIWkvDA6kQS2-kNGo7htFlt6OPe2wHBjMx0" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="284" data-original-width="382" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEglFuSNA5WYMcULxRqCVXdtiWrJMZ_hOCQevXDss5crsncGbhb4-NZSE6Gy_1Iat8cxRXlCAiqyGJxz5UkUIvBm235o_p74XaL_vQDvxbwCdOjzltQOsnnZ-4L-ghHwQR1lhhbzUMKLlS67vVTtc_q4MXUMgIWkvDA6kQS2-kNGo7htFlt6OPe2wHBjMx0" width="320" /></a></div></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;">While these other candidates can run from the floor at these Grand Sessions, they are not the candidates who have the backing of the bureaucracy of the Masonic leadership of that particular organization. The only way wholesale change can happen at a Grand level requires the membership to revolt against the status quo, and put leaders into each office in that line who would be willing to make wholesale changes to their organization and they would have to replace each cog in the Masonic bureaucracy with those who would implement their vision. Membership would also have to be willing to be courageous enough to vote for legislation that would implement change. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;">Unfortunately, a majority of our members are unwilling to vote for change. This means that our leadership problems are a direct result of our membership. Regardless of what majority of the vote an election for a leadership </span><span style="font-family: Roboto;">position requires </span><span style="font-family: Roboto;">or an amendment needs to pass, both require a majority of our member's vote. Ergo: The problematic leaders in our organizations are a direct result of the membership. The members who voted them into the fraternity, the members who cast votes for them to remain in power, or the members who appointed them to a leadership position. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;">L</span><span style="font-family: Roboto;">et's be honest with ourselves, on the off chance that a visionary leader or leaders would be elected or appointed into these bodies, they immediately put a target on their back by those who defend that status quo if they rock the boat too much. </span><span style="font-family: Roboto;">As Freemasons, even though it might not be our jurisdiction, what is happening in Texas, and DC, and apparently in upper echelons of leadership in Appendant Bodies should make us all embarrassed. Is this really how we want to portray ourselves to the profane world? I realize that there are two sides to every story, but from an outsider looking in, it reaffirms everything I've said so far. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;">As an organization, Freemasonry is so beholden to our past, our history, and our sacred landmarks, to the status quo; that we seem incapable of thinking about the future. The landscape of decaying Masonic temples that exist in small towns across America proves me correct. In many cases, our departed brethren built magnificent structures, never thinking once that at some point, the cost to maintain the building might cause the lodge they so dearly loved to merge with another or close entirely. And yes, while I said membership numbers are not the measurement of our organization's success, we still need a membership to continue to be an organization.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;">Yet, instead of focusing on making decisions about what we want for our future, we have members and leaders who continue to kick the can down the road. </span></span><span style="font-family: Roboto;">B</span><span style="font-family: Roboto;">ecause our average age of membership is in its early to mid-'60s, </span><span style="font-family: Roboto;">the members that are in my age demographic and younger are going to be the ones who are going to have to make the difficult decisions to close and consolidate our masonic lodges, temples, chapters, councils, valleys, etc. in the next ten to twenty years, again because the brethren who protect the status quo didn't have the forethought to start the conversations, the hard conversations early. Hopefully, I'm wrong, and we have enough good leaders in place who have created five-year plans, and succession plans, and they have started to have these conversations.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;">Even one of the most successful marketing campaigns that Freemasonry has ever had, </span><span style="font-family: Roboto;">the "Not Just a Man..." marketing campaign, is five years old, which in marketing terms is ancient history. In my own personal opinion, the one thing that we could use to help market Freemasonry to men today is Masonic Education. Why Masonic Education? Masonic Education is like a gym workout for your brain.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Roboto;">RJ states that Leadership Training should not demand a Grand Lodge Budget line-item expense that surpasses that of Masonic Education. This is because, in our personal experience, Masonic Education is not thought of or</span><span style="font-family: Roboto;"> utilized as an asset to the fraternity or to its membership, so it is not </span><span style="font-family: Roboto;">prioritized</span><span style="font-family: Roboto;">. What men get out of Masonic Education is something that a majority of other civic organizations cannot provide, yet, many of our members and leaders eschew it. </span><span style="font-family: Roboto;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;">Why is this? They do not understand what Masonic Education is. There seems to be a prevailing thought that Masonic Education equals teaching of Esoteric philosophy. Because of this, Masonic Education is either thought to be of little or no value to the practical application of Freemasonry. Often </span></span><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;">Masonic education is pushed as things that classify as Masonic Instruction, Leadership training, Officer Training, or teaching ritual and floorwork. </span><span style="font-family: Roboto;"> While both develop membership, </span>there is a distinct difference between Masonic Instruction and Masonic Education. </span><span style="font-family: Roboto;"> </span></div><div><span><div><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Roboto;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Roboto;"><b>Point Three:</b></span></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><b>Masonic education is not Leadership training, Officer Training, or Ritual/Floorwork instruction. </b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Roboto;">You might want to write this down. </span></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-family: Roboto;">Masonic education is not Leadership training, Officer Training, or Ritual/Floorwork instruction. </span><span style="font-family: Roboto;"> </span></b></div><div><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Roboto;">Masonic Instruction is learning the ritual, floor work, and everything else that relates to the work being performed within a tyled lodge. It is also the teaching of those skills that will help develop members' leadership and management abilities.</span><span style="font-family: Roboto;"> It is part of member development which requires the instructor to be proficient in the skill that they are teaching, which is why you see those who have passed the Board of Grand Examiners tests instructing ritual and floor work. This is why I will reiterate the point I made above, </span><b><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><span style="background-color: white; font-weight: 400;">leadership development training needs to be taught by an accredited organization that specializes in Talent Development. </span></span></b><span style="font-family: Roboto;"> </span></div><div><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Roboto;">While I have a great appreciation for our Ritualists and those who do excellent floor work, I am always amazed that some of these men have no desire to understand where the ritual or floor work came from and what it actually means. </span><span style="font-family: Roboto;">Masonic Education is learning about the meanings behind the work being performed within a tyled lodge space. It is a study of the philosophies of the world, the liberal arts and sciences, Masonic ritual, the sacred volumes of law from the various world religions, Masonic history, and esoterics. It is the nurturing of the member's intellect, imagination, and spiritual growth. It is the key to understanding how to follow the instructions left on the trestleboard which guide us as we struggle to shape our rough ashlar into a perfect one in our personal quarries. It is part of member development which can be undertaken alone, but it really should be done in a group setting, which is why it should be prioritized as a part of our meeting experience. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Roboto;">When done properly in a group setting, men will let their guard down. When this occurs, you see the actual working of brotherly love. You see men who might be polarized oppositely from each other in the profane world agree on something. Every member has a voice during Masonic education. Because of this, it allows the exchange of differing ideas and concepts to flow freely. It is through Masonic education that our membership develops their ability to think independently and philosophically and take the lessons taught by our kindred science and apply them in the profane world.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Roboto;">This being said, maybe we should not be surprised when some of our Grand Lines promote Masonic instruction as Masonic Education. An educated membership is a membership that will ask questions, study the constitution and bylaws of that particular body, and demand change. It is much easier to instruct the membership how to memorize our rituals and mimic floor movements, what duties they should perform in each chair in the lodge room, and how they should manage the lodge when they become the presiding officer. It is easier to have a membership full of parrot masons squawking in unison: "One of us, One of us" than to have a membership that asks questions and demands accountability and transparency of its leadership.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Roboto;">Our leadership problems have been caused by membership, and they can only be fixed by membership. Each of us must begin to be courageous at our local lodges and tell our brethren who want to give signed petitions out like candy on Halloween that you will blackball any candidate they bring to the floor for a vote if they do not make a concerted effort to get to know that man for months before offering them membership. We must identify and vote alternative candidates into power in cases where the leadership of that organization is not doing its job. We must bring up legislation at our grand sessions that will move Freemasonry forward into the future, and if it does not pass, we must continue to bring it up until it does, no matter how long it takes. Change in Freemasonry doesn't happen overnight, it happens very slowly, but we'll get there eventually. It's just a matter of time. We must have the patience and stay the course. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Roboto;">~DAL</span></div></span><span><div><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Roboto;"> </span></div></span></div><div><span><b><span style="font-family: Roboto; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="background-color: white; font-weight: 400;">1. </span></span></b></span><span style="font-family: Roboto; font-size: xx-small;">https://businesstrainingexperts.com/common-problems-caused-by-poor-leadership-skills-and-how-to-fix-them/#:~:text=A%20list%20of%20the%20most%20common%20problems%20your,Low%20motivation%208%20Problems%20managing%20peers%20More%20items</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Roboto; font-size: xx-small;">2. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/servant-leadership-all-volunteer-organizations-lanning#:~:text=Servant%20leaders%20put%20the%20needs,hard%20work%20of%20its%20volunteers.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Roboto; font-size: xx-small;">3.https://www.verywellmind.com/status-quo-bias-psychological-definition-4065385#:~:text=The%20status%20quo%20bias%20is,of%20affairs%20remains%20the%20same.</span></div><div><b><span style="font-family: Roboto; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="background-color: white; font-weight: 400;"><br /></span></span></b></div><div><b style="font-family: Roboto; font-size: small; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="color: #bf9000;">Darin Lahners</span></b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Roboto; font-size: small; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> is our Managing Editor. He is a host and producer of the "Meet, Act and Part" podcast as well as a co-host of an all-things-paranormal podcast, "Beyond the 4th Veil." He is currently serving the Grand Lodge of Illinois Ancient Free and Accepted Masons as a member of the Committee on Masonic Education He is a Past Master of St. Joseph Lodge No.970 in St. Joseph. He is also a plural member of Homer Lodge No. 199 (IL), where he is also a Past Master. He’s also a member of the Scottish Rite Valley of Danville, a charter member of Illinois Royal Arch Chapter, Admiration Chapter No. 282, Salt Fork Shrine Club under the Ansar Shrine, and a grade one (Zelator) in the S.C.R.I.F. Prairieland College in Illinois. He is also a Fellow of the Illinois Lodge of Research. He was presented with the Torok Award from the Illinois Lodge of Research in 2021.</span></div></div></div></div></div></div>Darinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08964995230169390735noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2909814477098868440.post-88015808961248392862024-01-03T05:00:00.010-06:002024-01-03T10:06:14.900-06:00Not Leadership<h4 style="text-align: center;">Or - How To Pretend to be Relevant</h4><div style="text-align: center;"><i>by Midnight Freemason Emeritus Contributor</i></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>R:.W:. R. H. Johnson, PDDGM</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2KO7bNME8DwRBT5NkRrMloCP3UsXMkalikti-gTEn4N-ccETp6_OGsgb3q4Y3638LLD7__tuQdALsNtNOvVcvk2n1S2pJW9KItb-iLKZOHNm2obBC9xYSVypXCx1LFcNu-EtXbXfLR-6ZMW9pkEmT95S5pQHUUaGCdDG92OQNNuiNlpwlKhLOp0OKHDwo/s1920/Untitled-2.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2KO7bNME8DwRBT5NkRrMloCP3UsXMkalikti-gTEn4N-ccETp6_OGsgb3q4Y3638LLD7__tuQdALsNtNOvVcvk2n1S2pJW9KItb-iLKZOHNm2obBC9xYSVypXCx1LFcNu-EtXbXfLR-6ZMW9pkEmT95S5pQHUUaGCdDG92OQNNuiNlpwlKhLOp0OKHDwo/w471-h265/Untitled-2.jpeg" width="471" /></a></div><i><br /></i><div style="text-align: center;"><span><a name='more'></a></span><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Don't want to read the whole article? You must not be Leadership Material. So here is the TL;DR</i></div><i><br /></i><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><i>Freemasonry as an organization has no stance, responsibility, or obligation to teach Leadership.</i></li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><i> Leadership can be learned within Freemasonry, but it is no different than how it is learned in other organizations – including real-life work experience. We are not special – which means, it isn’t our mission.</i></li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><i>There is nothing wrong with hosting leadership training as long as it is: 1. Secondary or tertiary to the understanding, application, and continuing study of the Philosophy of Freemasonry. 2. Does not demand a Grand Lodge Budget line-item expense that surpasses that of Masonic Education. 3. Qualified individuals who are leaders in the real world, with actual credentials, and have resumes that have been validated, must lead these workshops or camps.</i></li></ul><span><!--more--></span><div><br /></div>Freemasonry's job, responsibility, or position isn't to teach leadership. This opaque focus seems to be a trend that certain Grand Lodges or Grand Jurisdictions attempt to lock on to. It's obvious why we do it. It's something tangible and or practical that, as men in modern times, we can use in our daily "toolbox." However, that's not why this Fraternity exists.<br /><br /><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5BCWZK1saqN52mDLrmHNKyZzk5ONlhn3A9cW0MUabrjbAWSkr6gxGnTCeWDvz77XJD8GeMpl1aZula4i-xfLaZnL10jxJ26wKJqgaz-HXgydzeQqYQ16T61TPgg9hs_iJaDfGs6R1Hra9OU0YMpjedLDThr3Zdj-cnkZreT33sHtGkJ1hysbNxUDdSXrt/s820/Untitled.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="312" data-original-width="820" height="172" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5BCWZK1saqN52mDLrmHNKyZzk5ONlhn3A9cW0MUabrjbAWSkr6gxGnTCeWDvz77XJD8GeMpl1aZula4i-xfLaZnL10jxJ26wKJqgaz-HXgydzeQqYQ16T61TPgg9hs_iJaDfGs6R1Hra9OU0YMpjedLDThr3Zdj-cnkZreT33sHtGkJ1hysbNxUDdSXrt/w452-h172/Untitled.jpeg" width="452" /></a></div><div><br />I will say this right now: Leadership skills can be developed and honed within the Fraternity, just like in any organization where one takes an earnest part. To be clear, we're not unique in building leadership skills. The last time I checked, leadership is not a secret. It is not a mystical element. It is not a spiritual element. It is simply a tool to assist the human in navigating the various functions of life.<br /><br />If we are focusing on leadership for any tangible reason, perhaps it's just that the Westgate has been left unguarded for so long that we find ourselves flooded with dullards and incompetent men--so much so that we find our only recourse is to offer some Masonically-themed remedial leadership training, packaged as something relevant, ala Ted Talk.<br /><br />We must also ask the pertinent question: If we are to teach leadership, then who are the teachers? Indeed, those who lead our Fraternity are not always in positions of leadership for their ability to lead. More often than not, it's who you know, and more often than that, cronyism.<br /><br />To lead an organization, one must be at the forefront of thinking. They must be progressive. They need an understanding of various business disciplines, such as budgeting, profits and losses, marketing, and an overall vision--which should, if we're to "Try Freemasonry," as Past Grand Master Dwight L. Smith said it so plainly, harken back to the very reason our organization was founded in the first place. <br /><br />What PGM Smith is referring to when he says, "Try Freemasonry," isn't leadership. While not always true, but true enough, a well-respected Freemason in my Grand Jurisdiction named Ralph once said, "Men who aspire to title and rank in Freemasonry never made it in business." <br /><br />Why bring this up? Because what we commonly see are men with a psychological void within their lives. Many of these ilk, likely, were never given a chance to be genuine, respected leaders, and so, they focus on their opportunities to grow and become leaders within our Fraternity, whether they are qualified or not. Never mind the issues of aforementioned cronyism or odd appointment choices within our organization--oh, don't forget the "They have been in the line for so long." <br /><br />It's high time we get back to what Freemasonry was all about, outlined in some of our earliest documents. They are those things that contemporary Masonic authors are writing about today. Go ahead and search Freemasonry all over the Internet. You'll find only a few books on the practical nature of the Craft. Two of them might even be written by yours truly. The other, Matt Gallagher's excellent book, "Practical Masonry" is wonderful. Other than these, 99% of the books are philosophically based, spiritually minded, and generally speaking *gulp* esoteric in nature. <br /><br />By and large, our Grand Lodges are the only people writing anything of substance on Freemasonry in the realm of administration leadership.<br /><br />Nobody interested in Freemasonry (outside people looking to grow membership) writes about these [administrative and leadership] things. This begs the question, "Why are Grand Lodges focusing on them?" For them, it's membership value. To most, it's a last-ditch effort to find something meaningful and tangible for the modern man to grab onto.<br /><br />Why? Because we don't know how to teach anything else. The secret to leadership in Freemasonry is often, "I say you do something, and you do it." "I say jump", you say "how high?" That's it.<br /><br />If you follow the rules, donate to the charities, hobnob with the right folks, and don't make waves, you'll find yourself creeping up the ladder, perhaps even one day wearing the purple of the Fraternity. <br /><br />To avoid painting the Fraternity with too large a brush, it must go without saying that there are those within our Craft who have reached the top, and many of them have a clear vision of what Freemasonry represents. <br /><br />It takes courage to stand up for what you believe in, especially when the goals set by previous leaders may not align with your own. For instance, instead of focusing solely on membership increases, you may emphasize education--not just the knowledge that men can acquire outside of the Craft, but something more profound. <br /><br />I recall a particular instance when I had dinner with a Master Mason from my jurisdiction who had been named Mason of the Year by our Grand Jurisdiction. He was a retired Master Chief for the US Navy who told us about a mischievous recruit and the punishments he had received. When the recruit's mother finally got in touch with the Master Chief, she began to yell at him about her son's situation, claiming it was the Navy's job to make him a man. The Master Chief calmly said to the squawking mother, "No, Ma'am. Your job was to make him a man, and my job is to make him a soldier." He then hung up on her.<br /><br />This story resonates with Freemasonry. Too many of those in positions of authority and power take the position that it is somehow Freemasonry's job to pick up where their families and social circles failed. <br /><br />As for the mission of the Worshipful Master, it's written in many jurisdictions that the Worshipful Master is to impart "wise and important truths." This is especially important given that Freemasonry is focused on esoteric practices. <br /><br />If you want to improve your public speaking skills, I recommend joining Toastmasters. The Armed Services, collegiate programs, or Regional Occupation Programs are all excellent options for leadership training--far better than we are, anyway.<br /><br />As I stated earlier, leadership can be developed within the Fraternity, and this is no different than any other institution. Good leadership grows within individuals who have a healthy relationship with the Craft--and it grows at the speed of the individual--it's not the point within the circle by any means.<br /><br />Here we are--jurisdiction by jurisdiction consistently focus on this one element--and I will repeat it: leadership training should not be the primary focus of Freemasonry. Officer training? Awesome. Learning about running a meeting using Rules of Order and Jurisprudence? Wonderful. Learning the meaning of the Grand Lodge Code? Beautiful. This isn't what we're talking about, and this brings us to what we need to focus on. <br /><br />Freemasonry should be centered on the education of individual members, which covers a wide range of philosophies related to self and their relationship to their Grand Architect. It is, after all, what those working tools represent--Psychological aspects that reform how we act and think. Any administrative leader within the Craft who cannot understand this simple idea has no place within the administration of the Fraternity--it's foundational. I'd be willing to bet this plain truth has alluded too many well-meaning Brothers. <br /><br />Freemasonry's leadership seems to have recognized the need to offer something valuable to its members, which they believe to be an innovative approach. I quote famed Masonic author Walter Lesly Wilmshurst and hope they continue to evolve their thinking.<br /><br /><blockquote><i>"It is absurd to think that a vast organization like Masonry was ordained merely to teach to grown-up men of the world the symbolical meaning of a few simple builders' tools or to impress upon us such elementary virtues as temperance and justice—the children in every village school are taught such things; or to enforce such simple principles of morals as brotherly love, which every church and every religion teaches; or as relief, which is practiced quite as much by non-Masons as by us; or of truth, which every infant learns upon its mother's knee. There is surely, too, no need for us to join a secret society to be taught that the volume of the Sacred Law is a fountain of truth and instruction or to go through the great and elaborate ceremony of the third degree merely to learn that we have each to die. The Craft whose work we are taught to honor with the name of a "science," a "royal art," has surely some larger end in view than merely inculcating the practice of social virtues common to all the world and by no means the monopoly of Freemasons. Surely, then, it behooves us to acquaint ourselves with what that larger end consists of, to enquire why the fulfillment of that purpose is worthy of being called a science, and to ascertain what are those "mysteries" to which our doctrine promises we may ultimately attain if we apply ourselves assiduously enough to understanding what Masonry is capable of teaching us."</i></blockquote><br />If Freemasonry wants leaders in the community, it should attract leaders rather than attempt to teach leadership by a Brother who has the capacity in their life to dedicate.<br /><br />Let's remember that iron sharpens iron.</div><div><br /></div><div>~RHJ<br /><br /><b><i><u><span style="color: #e69138;">RWB Johnson</span></u></i></b> is an Emeritus Managing Editor of the Midnight Freemasons blog. He is a Freemason out of the 2nd N.E. District of Illinois. He currently serves as the Secretary of Spes Novum Lodge No. 1183. He is a Past Master of Waukegan Lodge 78 and a Past District Deputy Grand Master for the 1st N.E. District of Illinois. He is currently the WM of Spes Novum 1183, the Premier Education Lodge in the state of Illinois. He is the current V:. Sovereign Grand Inspector for AMD in IL. Brother Johnson currently produces and hosts weekly Podcasts (internet radio programs) Whence Came You? & Masonic Radio Theatre which focuses on topics relating to Freemasonry. He is also a co-host of The Masonic Roundtable, a Masonic talk show. He is a husband and father of four and works full-time in the executive medical industry. He is the co-author of "It's Business Time - Adapting a Corporate Path for Freemasonry", “The Master’s Word: A Short Treatise on the Word, the Light, and the Self – Annotated Edition” and author of "How to Charter a Lodge: A No-Nonsense, Unsanctioned Guide. More books are on the way.</div>WCY Adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01960987586937280549noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2909814477098868440.post-87342560153462222062023-12-27T06:00:00.001-06:002023-12-27T06:00:00.157-06:00When a light goes out<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;">by Midnight Freemason Contributor</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i><span style="font-family: Roboto;">WB Darin A. Lahners</span></i></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><br /></span></i></b></div><div><b><i><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img data-original-height="600" data-original-width="450" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgJ5C_iWhLVc3WRmNZGrpYgch22z9sQpIln9PG5VrbbDYljsOBMK6p3Yn0uMOeyGN0iYkFZc0OgNJ-D80i5ZlMCgs0BPA63MQ91EnKlSgaBclXSHqS-kPK4vO6cRmcQRoEv1NvdCwL7EtKZQaLkflJecmtE26voueAUoatNzgdnEw-hFP6SxkBCo6lGsLA=w300-h400" width="300" /></div></span></i></b><span style="text-align: left;"><div style="font-family: Roboto; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;">WB Keith Sigwerth </span></div><div style="font-family: Roboto; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: Roboto; text-align: left;">Freemasonry in my little corner of the woods was dealt a tremendous blow when a brother that many of you didn't know by the name of, Keith A. Sigwerth passed away on Dec. 18, 2023, after being diagnosed earlier this year with Stage 4 pancreatic cancer. Before I begin to tell you about Keith in my own words, I want to share his Masonic resume: </div><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><br />Keith was a Master Mason dedicated to raising fellow brothers to become Master Masons. He became Master of his Lodge, Mahomet Masonic Lodge #220 in 2016 and served as Master of his lodge for two consecutive years. He was part of Traveling Degree, a Lifetime Member of Mahomet Masonic Lodge #220, and an honorary member of several surrounding lodges including Western Star Lodge #240, Ogden Masonic Lodge #754, Tolono Masonic Lodge #391, Monticello Masonic Fraternal Lodge #58, Farmer City Masonic Lodge #710, Paxton Masonic Lodge Room #416, Gibson City Lodge #733, Rantoul Lodge #470, Sidney Lodge #347, Urbana Lodge #157 and Homer Lodge #199.<br /><br />He quickly became a 32nd-degree Mason after joining the Valley of Danville Scottish Rite and served on the Line of Perfection for several years.<br /><br />He was a member of the Illini Shrine Club and became President for two consecutive years. He also became a part of the Hi-Lo Wheelers where you would see Keith in parades all around east-central Illinois in his little yellow car.</span></span></div><div><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><br /></span></span></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgGu9KW_Z49wJ5dkKrK-w5jFpS-cIDi0IttyIhg91-DkIKtpRhmt94M_Lr-WBgVKAtEM3Zem5eouPj4rzifa0m4gxvHHXqpjjGO1Fr_7qY0R4vHdtdH15Lg2EaieS_OjisN0j4FaQmROQuyDE5DJoRjevsCRXuiIr0sDRMcE2Y-7fwYXq_oU7dX6KCQl6Y" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgGu9KW_Z49wJ5dkKrK-w5jFpS-cIDi0IttyIhg91-DkIKtpRhmt94M_Lr-WBgVKAtEM3Zem5eouPj4rzifa0m4gxvHHXqpjjGO1Fr_7qY0R4vHdtdH15Lg2EaieS_OjisN0j4FaQmROQuyDE5DJoRjevsCRXuiIr0sDRMcE2Y-7fwYXq_oU7dX6KCQl6Y=w300-h400" width="300" /></a></div></span></div><span style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;">Keith and his Shrine Car</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: Roboto;">Transporting dozens of children and their families to and from the St. Louis, MO and Chicago, IL Shriners Hospitals for Children; he was a loyal transporter for the Shriners for several years.<br /><br />Keith joined the Ansar Shrine Club in Springfield where he entered the Divan Line, serving four years. He was an Ambassador for Ansar Shrine, Tri-County Shrine, Shelby County Shrine Club, and Eastern Illinois Shrine Club in Danville, visiting many Shrine clubs throughout the state.</span><div style="font-family: Roboto; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Roboto; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiMLfaw6zkHXVOHB9B5_mjO42uw832v6hcA3BdzetKH2SisEnc_7GMyAjtrLeiDOKXv4tHAuiK8IFHqqlAKOaxJfAzG5BzbNWgkHjRy18kIADtIRv48Gu9kSx9TJK2qjVTCimbD5oYa2U8SusN_dvgXBVOdwF3tQsoSMLqWaZp6iiUPIZW4Us0iH9nYA8o" width="320" /></div>Keith and His Wife Becky<br /><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Roboto; text-align: left;">Let me just tell you in my own words about Keith. Keith was one of the friendliest and most down-to-earth brothers you could ever meet. Earlier this year, before his diagnosis, I had sent an email to the brethren of Homer Lodge #199 telling them that we had been having trouble making quorum. Keith lived probably 40 to 45 minutes from Homer, but he showed up because I asked for help. He was an honorary member at Homer #199 and didn't have to drive all that way to help us out, but he did. He did because that's who Keith was. That was his character. He would go out of his way to help out. Any brother that had the pleasure of knowing Keith would probably say the same thing. He was just one of those quiet, unassuming brothers who really made an impact here in East Central Illinois. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Roboto; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Roboto; text-align: left;">There were over 50 brothers who drove from all over the state to attend Keith's Masonic Service, including the current Potentate of the ANSAR Shrine, Jason Cutright. His Masonic Rites were given by WB Jeff Baine, who was a friend of Keith's and asked by his wife to give those rites. I don't know how Jeff did it without a complete emotional breakdown, because lord knows I was fighting back tears during them. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Roboto; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Roboto; text-align: left;">If there is any other point to this article other than wanting to make sure Keith's legacy lives on Masonically, it's to do something I did every time Keith helped me out personally, but something that I think I should have done the last time I saw him, which was this past September 30 at a Pancake Breakfast fundraiser at Mahomet Lodge #220. I should have thanked him again and told him how much respect I had for him, and how he inspired me to be better. So, Keith, I thank you for being a bright light in Freemasonry and for being a positive influence on those around you. Thank You for leading by example. Thank You for being kind. Thank You for being you. You'll be missed brother. Not just by myself, but by those who were lucky enough to know you. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Roboto; text-align: left;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: Roboto;">Keith is survived by his loving wife, Becky Sigwerth (Smith) of Mahomet; daughter Michelle Bonham and Son-In-Law who he loved like his own, Eric Bonham of Mahomet; grandchildren Robert, Mackenzie, Bailey, and Josie Mae Bonham of Mahomet, and sister-in-law Glenda Sigwerth of Mt. Vernon. He loved his sidekick and best buddy, Brody, his black lab puppy.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Roboto;">~DAL</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><br /></span></div><div><b style="font-family: Roboto; font-size: small; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="color: #bf9000;">Darin Lahners</span></b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Roboto; font-size: small; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> is our Managing Editor. He is a host and producer of the "Meet, Act and Part" podcast as well as a co-host of an all-things-paranormal podcast, "Beyond the 4th Veil." He is currently serving the Grand Lodge of Illinois Ancient Free and Accepted Masons as a member of the Committee on Masonic Education He is a Past Master of St. Joseph Lodge No.970 in St. Joseph. He is also a plural member of Homer Lodge No. 199 (IL), where he is also a Past Master. He’s also a member of the Scottish Rite Valley of Danville, a charter member of Illinois Royal Arch Chapter, Admiration Chapter No. 282, Salt Fork Shrine Club under the Ansar Shrine, and a grade one (Zelator) in the S.C.R.I.F. Prairieland College in Illinois. He is also a Fellow of the Illinois Lodge of Research. He was presented with the Torok Award from the Illinois Lodge of Research in 2021.</span><span style="font-family: Roboto;"> </span><span style="font-family: Roboto;"> </span></div></span></div>Darinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08964995230169390735noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2909814477098868440.post-58186630433727110352023-12-20T06:00:00.001-06:002023-12-20T06:00:00.249-06:00What Even Are Symbols? Part 1 of a series<div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Roboto;">by Midnight Freemason Contributor</span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><b>Patrick Dey</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEijioLRb6cqk-VZdR6jHNAJq73X4VZn3FD4pYczjsMVrOar26TpCSkqiGc5ufdmnuJ_iL6gl9Zg9BkU57X0BLuJDW4OygxODkOzawvwoOVXr8VCqOIOZYJOYuxLEmSzymXVNfNzBRS9IP8bxeTwcDFWk4JJQH6PyhazKACgnSLlVd1M-7kDtT42wVRPUn8" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="1069" data-original-width="640" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEijioLRb6cqk-VZdR6jHNAJq73X4VZn3FD4pYczjsMVrOar26TpCSkqiGc5ufdmnuJ_iL6gl9Zg9BkU57X0BLuJDW4OygxODkOzawvwoOVXr8VCqOIOZYJOYuxLEmSzymXVNfNzBRS9IP8bxeTwcDFWk4JJQH6PyhazKACgnSLlVd1M-7kDtT42wVRPUn8=w240-h400" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5c0f478b-7fff-28d8-4c5a-99243d8d214f"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Throughout our Masonic journeys, we are constantly presented with symbols and symbolism. Whenever we ask what something means, the short answer is: that it’s symbolic. But what even is a symbol? We have some idea of what symbols are. We have many experiences with the symbolic, so we can muster a working conception of what a symbol is from our personal experience, but having a philosophical framework might be best to really grasp how symbols work and how they are utilized.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">This is important: symbols have a utility. I think when we designate symbols as something “spiritual” or “esoteric,” it shuts down any practical use of the symbols. When, in fact, a symbol may be spiritual or profane, or both. They have a utility, they are useful, regardless if it is spiritual or profane. But to make use of symbols, we should have a firmer grasp of what even are symbols.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Firstly, symbols are part of a “sign” system. Within linguistic theory, we have signs and meanings of signs. This is what has long been called a “signified and signifier” relation (i.e. Ferdinand Saussure), and they are arbitrary in their relationship. For instance, we have the word “tree.” It is just a sound we make or just some lines on a piece of paper. The word “tree” is the signifier, the sign. It signifies the idea of what we call a tree, the signified. Plato would delineate these as thing and thingness — a particular example of a tree and the tree-ness of trees. I don’t always agree with Plato, so let’s go back to Saussure. We could, of course, arbitrarily change the signifier as we prefer, and so long as everyone is in agreement that we are changing the signifier, then we can now use a different word sign for the same idea. You see this in legal contracts, where it will state at the beginning that Mr. Joe Brown (hereafter referred to as the Defendant). Thenceforth, any time the documents say “Defendant,” we know that means Joe Brown. Or a better example: have you ever had to deal with someone so despicable that everyone referred to them as “he who must not be named”? We know who everyone is talking about, but we have adopted a new signifier for them, but it still maintains the same signification.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Symbols are a type of sign, but signs do not have to be symbols. Similarly, in geometry, a square is a type of rectangle, but a rectangle does not have to be a square. A square is a special kind of rectangle. Similarly, a symbol is a very special type of sign. Signs usually have a very limited signifier-signified relationship. For instance, if I show you a red octagon, you would interpret that to mean “stop.” Usually, it means to stop the car at this line, but we can put a red octagon in a pop-up warning on a computer, warning you that you are about to do something dangerous on the computer and to not proceed, but the red octagon has pretty much the same meaning, though it is being used in different contexts.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Symbols are what Carl Jung would call “multivalent.” That is, symbols mean a lot of different things, and they can be variously related or not. The red octagon sign really only has one meaning (in American sign systems): to stop. We could use it for something else, such as “this is a mountain,” and we could mutually agree with each other that it now means that, but that would get confusing. Symbols have a flexibility and vagueness that goes beyond a simple sign-signified relationship.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I have never found Jung’s definitions of symbols to be all that helpful. He gets very esoteric and mystical without ever really providing a clear notion of what symbols are. Jung sometimes appears to believe that symbols are so esoteric that it would be a detriment to the idea of symbols to even try to define them. Kind of a cop-out. Jean Baudrillard, on the other hand, gives a very good idea of what symbols are, namely they are simulacra for something that cannot be easily summarized, usually something so large and complex that the symbol stands in for a very broad and complicated system of ideas. In other words, the symbol represents something that cannot be completely comprehended or expressed.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Baudrillard puts symbols within his degrees of simulacra, as outlined in </span><span style="font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Simulacra and Simulation</span><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> (1981). There are four orders of simulacra, according to Baudrillard, and each order distorts reality more and more to the point that we find ourselves living in the “desert of the real,” a world full of signs, but no meaning. The first order is a simple copy. Such as a head bust of a famous person. We know that the bust is not that person, but is a faithful representation of their image.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Second-order simulacra are symbols. According to Baudrillard, symbols are not any sort of representation of the likeness of another image, but rather a sign, a signifier for something that cannot be captured in any meaningful way. We will follow the example used by Baudrillard that he takes from Jorge Luis Borges, a one-paragraph short story called “On Rigor in Science” (1946). In this story, there is an empire that has advanced the science of cartography so precisely that the map the cartographers create is the exact same scale as the empire itself — a one-to-one scale, as the map covers the entire empire. For Baudrillard, this means that the physical territory itself has been replaced by the map, the thing meant to represent the empire, not supersede it. Out in the deserts on the fringes of the empire pieces of this ancient map can still be found, hence Baudrillard’s term “the desert of the real.”</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Symbols do not function in this way. Rather than express the entirety of the empire at a one-to-one scale, a simple sign will be used. Rather than create a globe to map the world that is the exact same size as Earth to represent the Earth and all things upon it, we could make a simple image of, say, a circle with a cross through it, the classic symbol for Earth. Or we could draw a small, very crude image of a blue and green sphere that vaguely depicts the lands and seas of this planet. This is not just a mere abstraction, but a symbol representing something much greater than can ever be pragmatically depicted without the map replacing the territory, and the globe replacing the planet.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">There is more happening on this planet, and more to what makes this “our world” than can ever be depicted: people, plants, production, destruction, birth, death, wars, truces, weather, the intricacies of the clouds, the particulars of a husband and wife arguing, the nuances of children playing… such cannot be captured, and instead of mapping them entirely, we may create a simple image that represents everything that is “the world.” This is how we generate a symbol.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The Lodge itself is like this. The Lodge is described in such a way that it represents the world: east, west, north, south, up, down, center, out, with the starry decked heavens above. A simple box that is longer than it is wide is symbolic of something much greater than can ever truly be mapped. And even the Lodge itself is symbolized in various ways: the circumpunct bounded by two lines, or a simple oblong square, et cetera. Because as much as the Lodge is a symbol of the world in all its manifold complexities, so too is the Lodge a multifaceted thing representing all the various aspects of Freemasonry.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The circumpunct symbol is a very interesting case, as it represents numerous things all at once. It represents the individual brother at the Altar, circumscribed by the boundaries of his passions, but also a representation of the circumambulation he made during his initiation. The two lines further represent the Saints John, which represent the solstices (the Tropics of Capricorn and Cancer), which adds to the astrological solar image of the circumpunct itself. This symbol is a loaded image of a variety of things, from the image of initiation to the brethren of the Lodge assembled to the cosmos itself. But this symbol also has a function. Remember I said at the beginning that symbols have a utilitarian function, they are not useless nor do they reside strictly in the realm of the sacred.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">For Masonic symbols, they appear to be sacred to the uninitiated, they seem like mystical contrivances of uncertain meaning or power. Yet, to the initiated, we understand these meanings, representations, and significations. The circumpunct reminds us to keep within moderation, to not let our passions and desires get the better of us. The Saints John and the solstitial tropics remind us that even the sun itself has boundaries that it will not cross: it will not go any higher nor farther north in the summer, and that it will not go lower nor farther south in the winter. So too should we set boundaries for ourselves so that we may not transgress. But also we have our brethren there to help us, those to the north of us and those to the south of us when we took our oaths. And so forth.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">It feels like we could get into Baudrillard’s conception of the “hyperreal” with the circumpunct being a symbol for the Lodge and the Lodge being a symbol for the world, that a symbol is symbolic of another symbol, and it is kind of getting distorted to the point that we lose the concept of the original, the world. But I digress.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">My point here is that symbols are not abstractions or a copy of something. They are a signifier of something much more complex than can be completely represented. However, do not think that Baudrillard feels the symbolic is a good thing. He regards it as “it masks and denatures a profound reality,” whereas the first order of simulacra is “the reflection of a profound reality.” The symbolic is “an evil appearance — it is of the order of maleficence.” For Baudrillard, the symbolic conceals reality, rather than being an abstract expression of it. It denies that reality can ever be fully expressed, and thus must present a signifier to stand in for this lack.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">In a way, he has a point. We as Masons are “symbolic” craftsmen. We are not real stonemasons, but rather symbolic of the old stonemason guild system and those who worked within that economic system to build great cathedrals and palaces. We instead build symbolic temples. It is as if the tangible, the real temples that were built are impossible to express their grandeur and sublime nature in any abstract way, and instead must rely on symbolry to express this. But for Baudrillard, it is actually a concealment. Remember: “I hele. I conceal.”</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">In the second part, we will look at Baudrillard’s third order of simulacra to look at how in Masonry, especially within our so-called “higher” degree systems, this symbolic order breaks down and we begin to see that Masonry becomes something that “masks the absence of a profound reality,” in which we are claiming to be something that never actually existed.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">~PD</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="font-size: small; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline;"><b><span style="color: #f1c232;">Patrick M. Dey</span></b> is a Past Master of Nevada Lodge No. 4 in the ghost town of Nevadaville, Colorado, and currently serves as their Secretary, and is also a Past Master of Research Lodge of Colorado. He is a Past High Priest of Keystone Chapter No. 8, Past Illustrious Master of Hiram Council No. 7, Past Commander of Flatirons Commandery No. 7. He currently serves as the Exponent (Suffragan) of Colorado College, SRICF of which he is VIII Grade (Magister). He is the Editor of the </span><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="font-size: small; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline;">Rocky Mountain Mason</span><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="font-size: small; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline;"> magazine, serves on the Board of Directors of the Grand Lodge of Colorado’s Library and Museum Association, and is the Deputy Grand Bartender of the Grand Lodge of Colorado (an ad hoc, joke position he is very proud to hold). He holds a Masters of Architecture degree from the University of Colorado, Denver, and works in the field of architecture in Denver, where he resides with wife and son.</span></span></p></span></div></span></div>Darinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08964995230169390735noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2909814477098868440.post-87566991943519513672023-12-14T10:53:00.000-06:002023-12-14T10:53:00.502-06:00From the Archives: Was Charles Dickens a Freemason?<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: Merriweather;">by Midnight Freemason Contributor</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Merriweather;"><b>WB Gregory J. Knott</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Merriweather;">With the Christmas season upon us, many probably have read The Christmas Carol, written by Charles Dickens in 1843. The story is told of one Ebenezer Scrooge the recalcitrant old man who wanted nothing to do with the Christmas season and then his amazing transformation while being visited by Jacob Marley and the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Christmas Present and Christmas Yet to Come. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: Merriweather;"><span><br />I had attended a short presentation on Charles Dickens at the University of Illinois Library in regards to some of his works and it got me wondering if Dickens was perhaps a Freemason. I came back and did a quick internet search and found some well documented resources. The short answer to my question was no, Dickens was not a Freemason. However, he did have many Masonic connections both in his family and within his writings.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Merriweather; font-size: x-small;">University of Illinois Copy of The Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens.<br />This volume is held in the <a href="http://www.library.illinois.edu/rbx/">Rare Book Room at the UI Library</a></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Merriweather;"><span>In a <a href="http://www.masons.org.au/news/135-2012-dickens-year.html">December 2012 article in the Freemason</a>, published on the United Grand Lodge of New South Wales and Australian Capital Territory website, the masonic connection to Dickens was discussed in detail. While not a Freemason, Dickens had brothers and some of his sons who were members of the fraternity. There are lodges today that have in their names links to the history of Dickens:<br /><br /><i>“Names and history of a number of lodges have Dickensian links. The first two were both established in the early 1890s. Cheerybles Lodge No 2466 was named after the two brothers in Nicholas Nickleby and they are depicted on the lodge jewel.</i></span><span><i><br /></i></span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Merriweather;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">A snuff box for Charles Dickens Lodge No. 2757.</span><br />
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Photo courtesy of phoenixmasonry.org</span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Merriweather;"><i>The lodge history explains that two brothers 'exemplified ... the characteristics of good humour, simplicity, generosity and selflessness' in contrast with other less worthy characters in the book. 'They exhibited so many of the virtues which animate Freemasons' to such an extent that it was appropriate to name a lodge after them. The founders of the lodge were drawn from members of Cheerybles Musical Society, which combined a love of music and Dickens.”</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Merriweather;"><span><i><br /></i></span><span>Dickens had references to Freemasonry in some of his writings as well. He referenced Freemasonry in his book The Great Expectations:</span><span><br /></span><span><br />The effort of resolution necessary to the achievement of this purpose, I found to be quite awful. It was as if I had to make up my mind to leap from the top of a high house, or plunge into a great depth of water. And it was made the more difficult by the unconscious Joe. In our already-mentioned freemasonry as fellow-sufferers, and in his good-natured companionship with me, it was our evening habit to compare the way we bit through our slices, by silently holding them up to each other's admiration now and then - which stimulated us to new exertions.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.amazon.com/s?ie=UTF8&field-author=ALBERT%2520D.%2520PIONKE&page=1&rh=n%253A283155%252Cp_27%253AALBERT%2520D.%2520PIONKE">Albert D. Pionke</a> who wrote <a href="http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/victorian_studies/v048/48.1vanden.html">Plots of Opportunity: representing conspiracy in Victorian England</a> noted:<br /><br /><i>“It is not difficult to find either incidental allusions or more in-depth references to the figure of Freemasonry in a wide range of Victorian writing. In fact such prominent nineteenth-century novelists such as George Eliot, Charles Dickens and William Makepeace Thackeray all make opportunistic use of the Masons’ publicity. These three authors deploy the figure of Freemasonry with healthy dose of irony, even as they allow for the aesthetic attractiveness of Freemasonry might generate by virtue of its connections to the practice of art, the profession of law and the mysterious inner workings of “the great world.” </i>Pionke p3<br /><br />In The Christmas Carol, Scrooge discovers the true meaning of Christmas and become more philanthropic. Dickens was well known in London for his philanthropy and once spoke at Freemasons Hall <a href="http://www.poemhunter.com/charles-dickens/biography/">to help raise funds</a>:<br /><br />On 9 February 1858, Dickens spoke at the hospital's first annual festival dinner at Freemasons' Hall and later gave a public reading of A Christmas Carol at St. Martin-in-the-Fields church hall. The events raised enough money to enable the hospital to purchase the neighbouring house, No. 48 Great Ormond Street, increasing the bed capacity from 20 to 75. </span><span><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Merriweather;"><span>The CBS Sunday Morning recently had </span><a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/news/charles-dickens-a-victorian-era-rock-star/">an excellent story on Dickens</a><span> talking about some of his personal turmoil and the influence upon his writings.</span><span><br /></span><span>Anthony Mason of CBS asked actor Ralph Fiennes who plays Dickens in a film he director “The Invisible Woman”, what he thought of Dickens: </span><span><br /><br />Mason asked Fiennes, "Did you like Dickens when you were done?" <br /><br /><i>"I like Dickens, yeah, I do," replied Fiennes. "I think Dickens is like a hungry child determined to entertain you. And a scarily perceptive child who's going, 'There's this and there's this and there's this,' and the furious imagination that just can't stop. And where that comes from is just one of those mysteries. You don't know quite where, it just happens to come from a man called Charles Dickens." </i><br /><br />So while not a Freemason himself, Dickens was aware of the fraternity and its impact on the society of his day. Why he himself did not join will remain with the ages. <br /><br />I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!<br /><br /></span><span>~GJK</span></span><span><span style="font-family: Merriweather;"><br /><br /><br /><b><i><u><span data-darkreader-inline-color="" style="--darkreader-inline-color: #cbaa43; color: #f1c232;">WB Gregory J. Knott</span></u></i></b> is the Past Master of St. Joseph Lodge No. 970 in St. Joseph (IL) and a plural member of Ogden Lodge No. 754 (IL), and Homer Lodge No. 199 (IL). He's a member of both the Scottish Rite, and the York Rite, and is the Charter Secretary of the Illini High Twelve Club in Champaign-Urbana. He's also a member of the Ansar Shrine (IL) and the Eastern Illinois Council No. 356 Allied Masonic Degrees. He holds membership also in The Masonic Society, The Scottish Rite Research Society and the Philalethes Society. Greg is very involved in Boy Scouts--an Eagle Scout himself, he serves the Grand Lodge of Illinois A. F. & A. M. as their representative to the National Association of Masonic Scouters.<br /><br /><br /></span><br /></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2909814477098868440.post-65039862210628447472023-12-06T05:00:00.001-06:002023-12-06T05:00:00.153-06:00Simon Lake<div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Oxygen;">by Midnight Freemason Contributor</span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Oxygen;"><b>Jim Stapleton</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Oxygen;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Oxygen;"><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgiOHG9UmXi2jpAYX3pIHBnF_aUKW9M8gM2_uaJVSmOLuaHalmTuDDMLL4NTYabum4QvRkaze5_G0yfMxsTlV1vdQRndrUgUW_vqlI2VUGAnSQLoV40np_uxdVuyudQ58eoP9PHhFB_xnjH_fpAKJsDLfL6LtmzgOspOigelb-UJyMurkxMYaqf3VYWblQ" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="640" data-original-width="419" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgiOHG9UmXi2jpAYX3pIHBnF_aUKW9M8gM2_uaJVSmOLuaHalmTuDDMLL4NTYabum4QvRkaze5_G0yfMxsTlV1vdQRndrUgUW_vqlI2VUGAnSQLoV40np_uxdVuyudQ58eoP9PHhFB_xnjH_fpAKJsDLfL6LtmzgOspOigelb-UJyMurkxMYaqf3VYWblQ=w262-h400" width="262" /></a></div></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Oxygen;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Oxygen;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.3800000000000001; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Simon Lake was a prolific inventor who helped usher in a new age in submarine design. He was born on September 4, 1866, in Pleasantville, NJ. Lake began his Masonic career when he was made a Mason in Monmouth Lodge No. 172 in Atlantic Highlands, NJ. He eventually affiliated with Ansantawae Lodge No. 89 in Milford, CT, later in life. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.3800000000000001; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">People long imagined underwater travel, and numerous attempts were made to build undersea craft. These efforts varied in shape, construction materials, and means of propulsion. Some were intended for exploration, while others were meant exclusively for warfare. However, these early vessels didn’t include many of the elements that we think of as essential in modern submarines, such as airlocks, periscopes, double hulls, and even-keel descent. It wasn’t until Simon Lake began designing submarines that these features were developed.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.3800000000000001; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Lake dreamt of traveling deep in the ocean and was inspired by Jules Verne’s book </span><span style="font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea</span><span style="font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">. He took great joy in sailing the waters around New Jersey and Pennsylvania during his youth. He grew up surrounded by family members who were inventors and engineers. From a young age, Lake liked to tinker with mechanical devices and often took machines apart and put them back together again. It was the combination of his mechanical abilities and a strong yearning for underwater travel that fed the drive to develop his innovations.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.3800000000000001; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">In 1894, Lake built the Argonaut Junior to test his concepts. The Argonaut Junior was about 14 feet long and made of wood. After proving some of his ideas, he constructed the larger Argonaut I. In 1898, the Argonaut I sailed from Norfolk, VA, to New York City under its own power. This marked the first time an undersea craft traveled such a distance in the open sea. Lake was very proud that he received a cable with a congratulatory message from Jules Verne after that voyage.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.3800000000000001; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Lake primarily envisioned his submarines serving in the role of defense and salvage. He did attempt to sell his submarines to the US Navy. However, the US Navy did not initially make a deal with Lake and instead bought submarines from his chief competitor, John P. Holland. This led Simon Lake to travel to Europe where he sold submarines to countries like Russia, Germany, and the Austro-Hungarian Empire. He eventually returned to the United States when World War I began and entered into a relationship with the US Navy. He continued designing vessels and helped advise the Navy through World War II.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.3800000000000001; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Simon-Lake" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">https://www.britannica.com/biography/Simon-Lake</span></span></a></p><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.3800000000000001; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><a href="https://www.submarineboat.com/files/Submarine%20The%20Autobiography%20of%20Simon%20Lake.pdf" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">https://www.submarineboat.com/files/Submarine%20The%20Autobiography%20of%20Simon%20Lake.pdf</span></span></a></p><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.3800000000000001; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><a href="https://scottishrite.org/blog/journals/march-april-2022/" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">https://scottishrite.org/blog/journals/march-april-2022/</span></span></a></p><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.3800000000000001; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><a href="https://pigboats.com/subs/simon.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">https://pigboats.com/subs/simon.html</span></span></a></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.3800000000000001; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><br /></p><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Oxygen;">~JS</span></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Oxygen;"><br /></span></div><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"></span></p><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: #f6b26b; font-family: Oxygen; font-size: small;">Jim Stapleton</span><span style="font-family: Oxygen; font-size: small;"> is the Senior Warden of USS New Jersey Lodge No. 62. He is also a member of the New Jersey Lodge of Masonic Research and Education No. 1786. Jim received the Distinguished White Apron Award from the Grand Lodge of New Jersey. He was awarded the Daniel Carter Beard Masonic Scouter Award. Jim is also a member of the Society of King Solomon.</span></div></span></div>Darinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08964995230169390735noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2909814477098868440.post-8666907768443724932023-11-29T05:00:00.001-06:002023-11-29T05:00:00.136-06:00Concerning the Overabundance of Masonic Publications and Scarcity of Contributors<div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Roboto;">by Midnight Freemason Contributor</span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><b>Patrick Dey</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC_Fb8i7xTtYLuUll2yEwhT4b3LCERZ_QSfCStV2KTJOrCDKCYvynaJuIAPeeIEEbqGRzwZ5V42hatsZhA_qEwZBb5ZNRUXMLJdz4GrGj_kCkum6xxqQaS__fO29oT-ktv7ZZOiiRvGmLlSISl5HtvefezDsPmE0TMds0fMwqv9XpqWqyCStE8aW0jzAU/s960/640px-Mahamevnawa_Publications.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="640" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC_Fb8i7xTtYLuUll2yEwhT4b3LCERZ_QSfCStV2KTJOrCDKCYvynaJuIAPeeIEEbqGRzwZ5V42hatsZhA_qEwZBb5ZNRUXMLJdz4GrGj_kCkum6xxqQaS__fO29oT-ktv7ZZOiiRvGmLlSISl5HtvefezDsPmE0TMds0fMwqv9XpqWqyCStE8aW0jzAU/w266-h400/640px-Mahamevnawa_Publications.jpg" width="266" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">A phenomenon I have noticed in recent years that I feel needs to be called out is that there appears to be an overabundance of platforms for Masonic publications (e.g. magazines, newsletters, conferences, blogs, podcasts, YouTube channels, et al), yet simultaneously a scarcity of content for all these platforms. This abundance and scarcity, however, appear to be mutually inclusive.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I first noticed this phenomenon back during the lockdown of 2020 until about 2022, especially with occult and esoteric podcasts and YouTube channels. Prior to lockdown, there were only a handful of esoteric podcasts and YouTube channels. They had a regular schedule of posting content. Some channels posted every week, some every month, and only a few posted whenever they felt like it, but they posted such quality material that their irregular schedule was forgivable. Then lockdown happened, and suddenly more people had more free time. Further, many people were out of the job, and needed a means to generate some revenue, so they used this as an opportunity to hustle and make some money off of everything they know and enjoy doing. Suddenly the internet exploded with new channels with an abundance of esoteric content to consume. This was complemented by the fact that many people had more time to consume all this content, so the demand matched the market, and vice versa. It was glorious for about two years.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Then as COVID restrictions started to ease and more people had to start commuting again, working in an office, and losing all that free time, these channels that exploded onto the scene suddenly became sporadic in posting content, or they went dormant entirely.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Take for instance the YouTube channel Mr. Ballen, who tells strange and dark true stories. He used to do TikTok shorts and then started to do longer format content on YouTube. He is a great storyteller and produces very enjoyable content to consume. At one point he was posting three or four, sometimes five times a week, but it was clear the momentum that drove him to post so often ran down very quickly and now he only posts once a week. We all noticed this, no matter what content we choose to consume on these platforms. And it is sad to see so many great platforms that produced so much great content, and now so many reside in the graveyards of what once was.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">What I think is worse is that so many of these channels have Patreon accounts. At the time, I had money so I was happy to contribute so that these individuals could keep producing the content I enjoyed. However, when I started to notice that many of these people had not posted anything in months, I had to start canceling my monthly contributions. Then eventually I had to start going through my subscription lists and just unsubscribing from these inactive channels. What is sad is that I have gone back to a number of these channels and checked their Patreons and realized that there are still people sending these “creators” money though they have produced nothing in over a year or more. It really is sad. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">But the urge to start your own blog, podcast, YouTube, et cetera still persists. Recently on Facebook, I saw an occultist that I follow start talking about starting her own occult podcast. She has published several books, teaches a number of online courses, has been on dozens of podcast interviews, and she is very prolific. I appreciate her work, but I wondered why she felt compelled to start her own channel. Would she have time to maintain it on a regular schedule? That ontop of everything else she does. Is she expecting Patreon support, even if she gets bored with the podcast and stops producing? Is she contributing anything new? Or would it be better to support an existing podcast or channel? And this is not just occult, or history, or weird stories, et al channels. I see this in Masonry as well.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I recently was talking to a new Master Mason who wants to start his own podcast. While I do not want to discourage anyone from pursuing their own path for disseminating Masonic education, I asked him why he had not considered first contributing to an existing channel? Reach out and see if they want to do a collaboration to keep up regular content creation? He also wanted to start a blog. I asked why he had not considered first contributing to an existing blog or even a magazine? He just really wanted to do his own thing. That was all.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">And I get that. Sometimes we are doing something unique, aiming for something that other platforms are not willing to accept or is just not compatible. When I published my book on the collected poetry of Lawrence N. Greenleaf, my manuscript kept being rejected by poetry publishers because it was antiquated, and rejected by history publishers because it was too Masonic, and I did not get responses from any Masonic publishers except two, and one said it was too political (because Greenleaf was very political). I ultimately decided to create my own publishing company because the work would not fit into any other publisher’s portfolio, and I ultimately wanted control over the content. So I get that sometimes we are trying to do something original, inimitable, and unique that necessitates starting our own channel or whatever. However…</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">What is perplexing is that I see new channels, new blogs, et cetera popping up and then going dormant very soon thereafter. At the same time, the existing, well-established platforms are struggling to get contributors. Earlier this year, this very blog, The Midnight Freemasons, had to announce a new posting schedule, posting less every month than in previous years, due to lack of contributions. It was sad, as I love this blog and I’ve been reading it for years. At the same time, I see new Masonic blogs popping up every few months, I start following them, and then I see their content tapers off and within a year they are dormant. The existing blogs would have benefited from those content contributions and then we would not see another dead blog in the ether.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Similarly, there are magazines. I have been editor of the Rocky Mountain Masons for about six years now. Every issue Ben and I tend to have to write additional content just to fill space, oftentimes without our names attached to certain articles just so it does not appear that one or two people wrote the whole issue. And recently I learned of a brother who wants to start another Masonic magazine, not in Colorado, but still. There are loads of Masonic periodicals out there, many struggle to fill content, and now there is a desire to start another publication.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Podcasts are worse. In Issue 27 of the Rocky Mountain Mason, I interviewed Robert Johnson of the Whence Came You? podcast. In that interview, I asked him why his channel is so successful and he stated: “When I started, it was just Scott Blasken and Brent S. Morris (The Life Masonic), and some old episodes of shows that never really took off for various reasons, mostly consistency. Fast forward just five years from then, there were around ten others. Now there are handfuls, more than twenty, I reckon. But I think that’s what people liked about WCY. It’s the cadence. Knowing that every Monday there is an episode for you. The graveyard of Masonic podcasts grows every year.”</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Of the dozens, probably far more than twenty Masonic podcasts — I reckon over fifty — so many are dormant or post so infrequently that no one ever pays attention to them. I see they have loads of subscribers, but very few downloads. And this is what makes Whence Came You? and The Masonic Roundtable successful: they have a schedule and more or less stick to that regular schedule. Sure, they may take a holiday every so often or post a day or two late, but they post regularly, so there is always something there for your enjoyment.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">It is very rare that a channel will post irregularly and for it to maintain a following. The Atun-Shei Films YouTube channel I think is a good example. Andy really only posts when he completes a project, which can be anywhere from four to six weeks from his last upload, sometimes longer. But he produces very high-quality videos. Good production quality, good script, well put together, et cetera, and so his infrequent schedule ends up being forgivable, because when he does upload a video, you know you are getting a treat, something you will probably watch multiple times. But again, this is a rare example.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">It would seem any Mason who recognizes a certain desire to generate educational or editorial content, for some odd reasons does not see the need to contribute to existing platforms, but to start their own. And I have to advise: unless you think you can maintain a regular schedule, not just post whenever you feel like it, it might be better to contribute to something existing. That way, when you don’t have time or energy, your blog, channel, whatever, does not suffer, and the existing platforms get a boost of content to keep themselves going.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">For instance, I read a lot of books and especially Masonic books. Lately, I have not had the energy to write many original research papers for the Rocky Mountain Mason, so I have been writing book reviews. I have been debating with myself if I should do a Masonic book review channel. Book review channels on YouTube are popular, because there is a lot of literature out there, and we don’t all have the time to read everything we want, so reviews are good, because they give us insight into whether the book is worth to effort, or if the review will suffice. So I did some digging and found there have only been two or three Masonic book review channels on YouTube, and they died after only a few months. And they seemed like good channels, so it was sad to see them die so quickly.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I guess that is the thing: the initial impetus behind wanting to start your own channel or podcast is usually because you know some stuff, and you can already imagine three or four episodes, and that is enough to start. But after that… what do you have? Do you also possess the motivation to keep working to produce more content? Because if it took you four years to get all the knowledge to you now possess to do four episodes, do you really have the energy to work really hard to produce new content within a month? Because I do not see many channels that upload longer than a month-long interim do very well? Do you know if you can make this happen for more than a year? It usually takes a year of regular content for a channel to appease the algorithm gods.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I certainly do not have the energy to do it, nor really the time. Maybe one day I will start a channel, but right now nor the foreseeable future seems doable for me.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">So my advice, especially for new Masons: try contributing to existing platforms that have an established reputation and fanbase before you try to start your own thing. Not just because you are going to have to work really hard to build a following and if you don’t have the energy to maintain regular content for over a year, then your work will barely be noticed. You will get more attention by contributing to existing platforms, and it will strengthen those existing platforms that have the following, but always lack the content.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;">~PD</p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-1f52e4e1-7fff-f68c-04c6-d3618075ce08"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><b><span style="color: #f1c232;">Patrick M. Dey</span></b> is a Past Master of Nevada Lodge No. 4 in the ghost town of Nevadaville, Colorado, and currently serves as their Secretary, and is also a Past Master of Research Lodge of Colorado. He is a Past High Priest of Keystone Chapter No. 8, Past Illustrious Master of Hiram Council No. 7, Past Commander of Flatirons Commandery No. 7. He currently serves as the Exponent (Suffragan) of Colorado College, SRICF of which he is VIII Grade (Magister). He is the Editor of the </span><span style="font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Rocky Mountain Mason</span><span style="font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> magazine, serves on the Board of Directors of the Grand Lodge of Colorado’s Library and Museum Association, and is the Deputy Grand Bartender of the Grand Lodge of Colorado (an ad hoc, joke position he is very proud to hold). He holds a Masters of Architecture degree from the University of Colorado, Denver, and works in the field of architecture in Denver, where he resides with wife and son.</span></span></span></p></span></div>Darinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08964995230169390735noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2909814477098868440.post-25073950181998346752023-11-22T07:37:00.001-06:002023-11-22T07:37:42.206-06:00From the archives: George Washington's 1789 Thanksgiving Proclamation<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Oxygen; font-size: small;"><i>by Midnight Freemasons Contributor</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Oxygen; font-size: small;"><b>W. B. Gregory Knott</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Oxygen; font-size: small;"><i>The third installment of Gregory Knott's <a href="http://midnightfreemason.blogspot.com/search/label/Freedom%20Trail">Freedom Trail</a> series.</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Oxygen; font-size: small;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div><span style="font-family: Oxygen;"><i>Editor's note: Greg Knott wrote this roughly ten years ago, as it was first published on 11/21/12. In searching for articles to place on the blog for the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday, given all that has transpired in our nation over the past ten years, I thought it might be appropriate to repost it, and ask you to contemplate the masonic values within it. </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Oxygen;"><span style="font-size: small;">Written by George Washington in 1789, this was the first official Presidential Proclamation made in the United States. Shortly after the Thanksgiving Proclamation was written, it was lost for 130
years. It was probably misplaced when the US Capitol moved from New York to Washington,
D.C. It now resides in the Library of Congress. And it reads:</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">Whereas
it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty
God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to
implore His protection and favor; and Whereas both Houses of Congress
have, by their <a data-darkreader-inline-color="" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joint_committee" rel="wikipedia" style="--darkreader-inline-color: #893d4a; color: #a91b33;" target="_blank" title="Joint committee">joint committee</a>, requested me to <i>“recommend
to the people of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and
prayer, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many
and signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an
opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety
and happiness:”</i></span><br />
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Now, therefore, I do recommend and assign Thursday, the 26th day of November next, to be devoted by the people of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being who is the beneficent author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be; that we may then all unite in rendering unto Him our sincere and humble thanks for His kind care and protection of the people of this country previous to their becoming a nation; for the signal and manifold mercies and the favorable interpositions of His providence in the course and conclusion of the late war; for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty which we have since enjoyed; for the peaceable and rational manner in which we have been enable to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national one now lately instituted for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed, and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and, in general, for all the great and various favors which He has been pleased to confer upon us.</span><div>
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<span style="font-family: Oxygen; font-size: small;">And
also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and
supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech Him to
pardon our national and other transgressions; to enable us all, whether
in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative
duties properly and punctually; to render our National Government a
blessing to all the people by constantly being a Government of wise,
just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and
obeyed; to protect and guide all sovereigns and nations (especially such
as have shown kindness to us), and to bless them with good governments,
peace, and concord; to promote the knowledge and practice of true
religion and virtue, and the increase of science among them and us; and,
generally to grant unto all mankind such a degree of temporal
prosperity as He alone knows to be best.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Oxygen;"><br />Given under my hand, at the city of New York, the 3d day of October, A.D. 1789. </span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span data-darkreader-inline-color="" style="--darkreader-inline-color: #d1af48; color: #ffcc33; font-family: Oxygen; font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Oxygen;"><span data-darkreader-inline-color="" style="--darkreader-inline-color: #3c4144; color: #333333; font-size: small;"><span data-darkreader-inline-color="" style="--darkreader-inline-color: #d1af48; color: #ffcc33; font-weight: bold;">WB Gregory J. Knott</span> </span>is the Past Master of St. Joseph Lodge No. 970 in St. Joseph (IL) and a plural member of Ogden Lodge No. 754 (IL), and Homer Lodge No. 199 (IL). He's a member of both the Scottish Rite, and the York Rite, and is the Charter Secretary of the Illini High Twelve Club in Champaign-Urbana. He's also a member of the Ansar Shrine (IL). Greg is very involved in Boy Scouts--an Eagle Scout himself, he serves the Grand Lodge of Illinois A. F. &amp; A. M. as their representative to the National Association of Masonic Scouters.</span></div>
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Todd E. Creasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12966451416841599132noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2909814477098868440.post-65666249974914666892023-11-15T05:00:00.006-06:002023-11-15T05:00:00.150-06:00Seeds of Dissent The Origins of Anti-Masonry - Part 4 – Post-Revolutionary Resurgence<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><i>by Midnight Freemason Emeritus Contributor</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><b>Steven L. Harrison, 33°, FMLR</b></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span><span><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmcCUaK5TztEyVRoO7w6TDO6dvlEx7UAJsapsHVJ-oACDs3eQCPRyyss-hOE3Ou0FkL4JUet7nnaU5lPnx1c_Q575R1_RtZJGHJgkEPORQ0AuJXlZS5CuMGpwJyFc8r959PTaSmvHmb829xSG99Zxsw3WxYD_Oq_e63MwAe5blsnodAZ27Zy7Dg4JaNO4/s912/Antimasonic_apron_1831.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="903" data-original-width="912" height="317" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmcCUaK5TztEyVRoO7w6TDO6dvlEx7UAJsapsHVJ-oACDs3eQCPRyyss-hOE3Ou0FkL4JUet7nnaU5lPnx1c_Q575R1_RtZJGHJgkEPORQ0AuJXlZS5CuMGpwJyFc8r959PTaSmvHmb829xSG99Zxsw3WxYD_Oq_e63MwAe5blsnodAZ27Zy7Dg4JaNO4/s320/Antimasonic_apron_1831.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-26314cd9-7fff-a243-f394-7ce5e3489692"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: #00000a; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;">Once the American and French Revolutions were in the rear-view mirror, anti-Masonry again began creeping out into the open. Strong voices, including future president John Quincy Adams (1767-1848), John Robinson (1739-1805), and Reverend Jedidiah Morse (1761-1826), came on the scene to voice their opposition to the Freemasons. </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: #00000a; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><br /></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><span style="color: #00000a; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">In 1798, Robinson published a scathing 240-page diatribe with the daunting title, Proofs of a Conspiracy against all the Religions and Governments of Europe, carried on in the secret meetings of Freemasons, Illuminati, and Reading Societies. Morse picked up on the views expressed in Robinson's book, preaching sermons against the Freemasons and Illuminati, claiming they had incited the French Revolution. This prompted George Washington, clarifying the separation between Freemasonry, the Illuminati, and the still-active Jacobites to respond</span><span style="color: #00000a; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">:</span><span style="color: #00000a; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">1</span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: #00000a; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><i><span style="font-family: Roboto;">It was not my intention to doubt that, the Doctrines of the Illuminati, and principles of Jacobinism had not spread in the United States. On the contrary, no one is more truly satisfied of this fact than I am. The idea that I meant to convey, was, that I did not believe that the Lodges of Free Masons in this Country had, as Societies, endeavored to propagate the diabolical tenets of the first, or pernicious principles of the latter (if they are susceptible of separation). That Individuals of them may have done it, or that the founder, or instrument employed to found, the Democratic Societies in the United States, may have had these objects; and actually had a separation of the People from their Government in view, is too evident to be questioned.</span></i></span></p><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: #00000a; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;">Still, a growing segment of the population continued to be wary of the Freemasons. The mystique of the Craft's secret nature gave way, for some, to suspicions and rumors of brewing conspiracies, its gentry-based membership drew accusations of elitism, and objections by organized religion continued.</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: #00000a; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><br /></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><span style="color: #00000a; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Within the Catholic Church, anti-Masonry became more intense. In 1739, Cardinal Firrao issued an edict imposing the death penalty for anyone disobeying In eminenti.</span><span style="color: #00000a; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">2</span></span><span style="color: #00000a; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> </span><span style="color: #00000a; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">In 1751, Pope Benedict XIV issued Providas Romanorum Pontificum which reaffirmed Clement's bull of 1738, condemning Freemasonry based on its demand for oaths, secrecy, religious ecumenism, and its perceived opposition to the Church and State. In 1821 Pope Pius VII issued Ecclesiam a Jesu Christo, reinforcing opposition to Freemasonry based on its oath-bound secrecy. Leo XII published Quo graviora mala in 1825 condemning Freemasonry as a secret oath-binding society.</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><span style="color: #00000a; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: #00000a; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;">The Catholic church has issued many condemnations of Freemasonry since that time. However, after Quo graviora mala in 1825 little additional condemnation was necessary to change public opinion about the Craft. The following year, a man named William Morgan came on the scene and superseded anything the church could have done to turn the tide against the Masons.</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: #00000a; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><br /></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: #00000a; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;">Morgan's threats to reveal Masonic secrets and the Freemasons' ill-advised response garnered an anti-Masonic wave that swept the country, led to the formation of the anti-Masonic political party, forced the closing of many lodges, prompted many men to leave and disavow Freemasonry, and changed American history.</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: #00000a; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><br /></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Roboto; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #00000a; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">1 </span><span style="color: #00000a; white-space-collapse: preserve;">George Washington to Washington, D.C., Commissioners, October 27, 1798 https://www.loc.gov/resource/mgw2.021/?sp=201</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Roboto; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #00000a; white-space-collapse: preserve;">2 </span><span style="color: #00000a; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Many arrests were made in Florence, but no death sentences were known to be carried out.</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Roboto; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #00000a; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;">~SLH</span><br style="font-family: Oxygen;" /><br style="font-family: Oxygen;" /><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><span style="color: #f1c232;"><b>Bro. Steve Harrison, 33°</b></span> is Past Master of Liberty Lodge #31, Liberty, Missouri. He is also a Fellow and Past Master of the Missouri Lodge of Research. Among his other Masonic memberships is the St. Joseph Missouri Valley of the Scottish Rite, Liberty York Rite bodies, and Moila Shrine. He is also a member and Past Dean of the DeMolay Legion of Honor. Brother Harrison is a regular contributor to the Midnight Freemasons blog as well as several other Masonic publications. Brother Steve was Editor of the Missouri Freemason magazine for a decade and is a regular contributor to the Whence Came You podcast. Born in Indiana, he has a Master's Degree from Indiana University and is retired from a 35-year career in information technology. Steve and his wife Carolyn reside in northwest Missouri. He is the author of dozens of magazine articles and three books: Freemasonry Crosses the Mississippi, Freemasons — Tales From the Craft and Freemasons at Oak Island.</span></p></span></div></span></span></div>Darinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08964995230169390735noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2909814477098868440.post-55242759184506760372023-11-08T05:00:00.001-06:002023-11-08T05:00:00.149-06:00Developing Soul Consciousness in This Digital Age<div style="text-align: center;"><div><i><span style="font-family: Roboto;">by Midnight Freemason Guest Contributor</span></i></div><div><b><span style="font-family: Roboto;">Bro. Joseph Covell</span></b></div><div><b><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><br /></span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-b506e11a-7fff-621e-161d-952fb4247699"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">In the year 2023, there may not exist a more appropriate way to begin this introductory personal expose’ on developing Soul Consciousness in the digital age, than by asking OpenAi’s ever-popular ChatGPT this question of all questions. For those still unaware of ChatGPT, when asking the web-based version available on chat.openai.com, it itself identifies as, ‘An artificial intelligence language model,” (more commonly referred to as AI). When posing it the question of what it means to you to be soul conscious, a response generates as follows, <i><b>“Being ‘soul conscious’ typically refers to a state of heightened awareness and connection to one's inner self or soul. It is often associated with spiritual or philosophical beliefs and practices, and its meaning can vary depending on individual perspectives and cultural contexts.” </b></i></span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">This might prove to be an oversimplification of a subject matter that has taken innumerable scholars, authorities, and philosophers many lifetimes to attempt to answer in a language understood by the profane. What exactly does it mean to be Soul Conscious? It is the belief that within each of us, there is a piece of the divinity or God, with an appropriate name for this piece being a soul spark. It is therefore the ultimate goal to awaken this soul spark and to bring it into consciousness. This simply instructible yet extremely difficult to execute task is what the Alchemists referred to as, ‘turning lead into gold,’ or likewise the search for, ‘the philosopher’s stone.’ This is achieved through the transmutation of the undesirable aspects of our everyday mortal and carnal lives (the lead) into those refined and desirable traits (the gold), which all good men and women should aspire to acquire. To what benefit would that aid in daily life might be a commonly raised question. Always remember that nothing that is truly of benefit to the body, mind, and spirit will be refused by the sincere seeker. Insert the dealer’s choice of catchy cliché phraseology along the lines of knock and it shall be answered unto you, and the meaning will still hold true. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">One of those aforementioned scholars, authorities, and philosophers mentioned in the above would include Dr. R. Swinburne Clymer. In Dr. Clymer’s work, ‘The Science of the Soul,’ he passionately proclaims the following, <i><b>“Soul development, the unfolding of the God-born entity within, is the one and only way to attain Conscious Individuality. Neither creed nor dogma, nor ‘faith without works’ can help the Soul, unless such creed, dogma or faith acts as an incentive to nobler thinking, more exalted desires and greater effort to become Cosmic Conscious as the Father planned we should.”</b></i> When searching for more Dr. Clymer quotes to provide input, attention is focused on his early work, ‘The Philosophy of Fire,’ with this next set of quotes, <i><b>“The evil deed in its reaction DESTROYS or CONSUMES TO THE DEGREE OF ITS EVILNESS. This destroying activity of the Law is indeed a Fire, because it BURNS ALL EVIL as so clearly stated by St. John’s revelation that all ‘Chaff’ (evil) will be BURNED UP. God does NOT DO ANY BURNING or CONSUMING; the RE-ACTION OR MAN’S EVIL DEEDS DOES THE BURNING UP.” </b></i>To clarify it even further, <b><i>“It is dangerous for any one to attempt to come into the presence of God, or the Fire in which He may appear if such persons have not carefully and thoroughly prepared themselves.”</i></b></span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">With offerings from the machine learning all-star ChatGPT contrasted to that of a credited arcane scholar from the early part of the 20</span><span style="font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-size: 0.6em; vertical-align: super;">th</span></span><span style="font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> century in those the words of Dr. R. Swinburne Clymer. We will revisit the works of Dr. Clymer regularly, along with many other highly known and those more obscure Masonic and Esoteric authorities. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The purpose of this journal’s exercise is to have some fun with the various new AI platforms out there and learn how we can work with it to learn more about the topics we want to learn about, in an entertaining though enlightening manner. The topics and thoughts will go much deeper than that generalization, with an underlining focus on how to achieve soul consciousness in the digital age. The current age being one in which we are all constantly both consciously and unconsciously bombarded by images and frequencies of all sorts of depravity, and “sin,” meaning that which is not good for the body, mind, and soul. We can take the exercise even further with AI and ask it to respond in the voice of a desired authority from whom we could only imagine what the actual response might be, regarding the topic of obtaining soul consciousness. In fundamental Masonic tongue, without the intent to sound cliche, this would be the mission of making good men better. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">When asking ChatGBT what George Washington would have to say regarding the process of obtaining soul consciousness, and with emphasis on providing sources for the answer, this is what the powerful AI had to say: “George Washington did not specifically address the concept of ‘soul consciousness’ in the way that it might be understood in modern esoteric or spiritual contexts. His writings and speeches primarily revolved around governance, liberty, duty, and the foundation of the United States.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">However, Washington was deeply moral and often spoke about Divine Providence, virtue, character, and duty. We can infer from these ideas how he might approach the subject of spiritual growth or soul consciousness.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Here are a few quotes by George Washington that give insights into his moral and spiritual views:</span></p><ol style="margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 0; padding-inline-start: 48px;"><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; list-style-type: decimal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-wrap: wrap; vertical-align: baseline;"><i><b>“The hand of providence has been so conspicuous in all this, that he must be worse than an infidel that lacks faith, and more than wicked, that has not gratitude enough to acknowledge his obligations.” - Letter to Brigadier General Thomas Nelson, August 20, 1778</b></i></span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; list-style-type: decimal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-wrap: wrap; vertical-align: baseline;"><i><b>“Human happiness and moral duty are inseparably connected.” - Farewell Address, September 19, 1796</b></i></span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; list-style-type: decimal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-wrap: wrap; vertical-align: baseline;"><i><b>"It is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor." - Thanksgiving Proclamation, October 3, 1789</b></i></span></p></li></ol><div><span style="font-family: Roboto, sans-serif;"><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></span></div><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">While these quotes touch upon the ideas of divine providence, morality, and duty, they don't directly address the modern concept of soul consciousness. Washington's views were very much framed by the religious and philosophical contexts of his time, which were Christian in nature and grounded in Enlightenment thinking. </span><span style="font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; white-space-collapse: preserve;">In extrapolating these quotes, one might surmise that for Washington, achieving a higher consciousness or spiritual awakening might be tied to living virtuously, acknowledging divine providence, and fulfilling one's duties with integrity.”</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">As an antidote when requesting ChatGbt to answer that question as if George Washington was answering himself, the AI responds with, “In my reflections upon the Divine Providence that has so evidently shaped our young nation, I've come to discern that a gentleman's quest for a heightened understanding — what some might term 'soul consciousness' — is deeply interwoven with the sacred duties of virtue, character, and reverence for the Almighty. As I have oft remarked, 'The hand of providence has been so conspicuous in all this, that he must be worse than an infidel that lacks faith.' It stands to reason, then, that one's spiritual elevation is inextricably tied to living virtuously, acknowledging the hand of God in all matters, and executing one's duties with unwavering integrity. As I've written before, 'Human happiness and moral duty are inseparably connected.' Let these words serve as a compass for those venturing on such noble pursuits." </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The plan for this journal will be to periodically revisit when inspiration strikes and time permits. The intent is to not just compare various AI to the words of authorities from the past but to focus on the task at hand of developing soul consciousness in the digital age. This will require combatting any unwanted thoughts, words, and deeds that are coming at us from every angle these days. Until the next entry, let us journey inward and focus on those undesirable traits or lead and try our best to transmute them into the desirable or gold, then we will be truly qualified to help make good men better! </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">~JC</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #b45f06; font-family: Roboto; font-size: 12pt; white-space-collapse: collapse;"><b>Joe Covell</b></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Roboto; font-size: 12pt; white-space-collapse: collapse;"> is new to Masonry, having been raised in March of 2022 at Quakertown Lodge No. 512 in Quakertown, Pennsylvania. He is a student of Esoteric Philosophy since 2016 and loves to discuss it with like-minded brethren. He is involved in The Valley of Allentown AASR where he helps administer the Valley’s social media accounts. He is a member of Lansdale Royal Arch Chapter No. 301, Doylestown Cryptic Council No. 51, Damascus Commandery No. 95, and a Noble of LuLu Shrine. He has plans to highlight Masonic Education by facilitating study groups on various topics at his Blue Lodge. He is currently going through the chairs at Quakertown Lodge No. 512, as well as the other bodies of which he is a member. </span></span></p></span></div></div>Darinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08964995230169390735noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2909814477098868440.post-79333858246600258322023-11-01T05:00:00.007-05:002023-11-01T22:35:37.500-05:00Edgar Allan Poe's Perverse Masonic Degree: The Cask of Amontillado<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;">by Midnight Freemason Contributor</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i><span style="font-family: Roboto;">WB Darin A. Lahners</span></i></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM3ud485MsiyfAvCdZLG08UBxnc_b1psKGPvieIlGNLdHmKJeaS0WYQbEBmCVENTz37wpoxIsySnreuEKpzycI_Uf58K8HhFJSm6_pwuz-_Xi_vPVrREAjueBsS6wwL4rpSHVwt4dppI3TQRGIuzNaRp3u5QfIs7JcIfcWq2BVSDDTXES_0lwoAz4_O28/s1400/poe.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1400" data-original-width="1000" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM3ud485MsiyfAvCdZLG08UBxnc_b1psKGPvieIlGNLdHmKJeaS0WYQbEBmCVENTz37wpoxIsySnreuEKpzycI_Uf58K8HhFJSm6_pwuz-_Xi_vPVrREAjueBsS6wwL4rpSHVwt4dppI3TQRGIuzNaRp3u5QfIs7JcIfcWq2BVSDDTXES_0lwoAz4_O28/w286-h400/poe.jpg" width="286" /></a></div><br /></i></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;">In Edgar Allan Poe's Short story, "The Cask of Amontillado", published in 1846, revenge is the motive for a gruesome murder that takes place in an underground vault. There is no evidence that Poe was a Freemason. Many authors have gone out of their way to argue that the short story is an anti-Masonic work and that Poe had publicly mocked the Freemasons, especially in his essay: "The Unparalled Adventure of One Hans Pfall" prior to his writing of: "The Cask of Amontillado". Compiling to this is an idea that Edgar's strained relationship with his wealthy foster Father, John Allan, was a Freemason, and this led Poe to cast him in the role of Fortunado. I find it difficult to fathom that Poe would have held onto a grudge 13 years after his Foster father's death. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;">In a column by E.J. Edwards in the "Washington (D.C.) Herald", published on December 2, 1913, entitled "Capt. Wagner's Recollections of Edgar Allan Poe", There is an odd recollection given by Capt. Fredrick C. Wagner. Capt. Wagner had an association with Sarah Helen Whitman, Poe's one-time fiance' whom Poe had met in 1845, so this would have been the earliest time when he may have met him. Wagner was also apparently a Freemason, although I could not confirm this. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><i><b><span style="font-family: Roboto;">“I presume that very few persons are now living who ever saw, certainly very few who ever talked with, Edgar A. Poe." said Capt. Frederick C. Wagner to me. "In his day he was a very prominent citizen of New York and was well known to the Masonic fraternity of the United States by his prominent identification with the establishment of the great Masonic home at Utica, N.Y. I am fortunate enough to be able to recall many meetings of Poe and several interesting conversations which I had with him at one time or another,” he went on.</span></b></i></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;">If Poe was anti-Masonic, why would he support the building of the Masonic home in Utica, New York? Perhaps Capt. Wagner was confused, as he states: <b><i>"</i></b></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><i style="font-weight: bold;">My recollections of Edgar Allen [sic] Poe are among the most pleasant of any of those of my young manhood in New York City."</i> I find it difficult to believe that Poe would have been able to give financially to the Masonic Home building fund. However, I do think that Poe not have had issues with individual Freemasons, but with the institution itself. In any case, there is enough evidence presented in: "</span></span><span style="font-family: Roboto;">The Cask of Amontillado" to state that Poe was familiar with Freemasonry. </span><span style="font-family: Roboto;">Many authors also state that Poe and others of that time would have had an idea of Freemasonry and its workings due to the Morgan Affair in 1826, however, I believe that Poe had knowledge of some of the higher degrees of Freemasonry, either through the various exposes that came forward at his time or through associations with Freemasons like Wagner. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;">In any case, an argument can and has been made for what occurs to the characters in "</span><span style="font-family: Roboto;">The Cask of Amontillado" as being a reenactment of a Masonic Degree, however, I want to postulate something different. It is my argument that if you view the masonic elements in reverse, they reenact the second section of the Fellowcraft degree. First, let's discuss the story and the Masonic elements contained therein. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;">The story begins with the protagonist, Montresor, confessing his dark deed to some unknown person. He regales the story of how he has suffered a thousand insults at the hand of his nemesis, Fortunato. He says that Fortunato has one weakness, which is that he is a connoisseur of wine. Montresor encounters his nemesis at Carnevale and informs him that he has a pipe (a measurement of cask sizes) of Amontillado in his possession, but he doubts it. Motresor, quite cleverly, states that he can engage another expert, Luchesi, to look at the cask, as he does not want to occupy Fortunato's time. Using Fortunato's ego against him, because Fortunato doubts Luchesi's ability to correctly identify the wine, Montresor is able to convince Fortunato to look at this cask. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;">Montresor continues to try to persuade Fortunato to not come with him, telling him about the dampness of his vaults, and worrying about Fortunato's coughing, but nothing dissuades him from his mission. They continue into the vaults after grabbing two torches and descending a long winding staircase. Once in the vaults of the Montresor palazzo, Montresor plies Fortunato with alcohol, first a bottle of Medoc, followed by a flask of De Grave. At this point, Poe gives the following description:</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><i><b>"I broke and reached him a flagon of De Grave. He emptied it at a breath.
His eyes flashed with a fierce light. He laughed and threw the bottle upwards
with a gesticulation I did not understand.
I looked at him in surprise. He repeated the movement—a grotesque one.
"You do not comprehend?" he said.
"Not I," I replied.
"Then you are not of the brotherhood."
"How?"
"You are not of the masons."
"Yes, yes," I said; "yes, yes."
"You? Impossible! A mason?"
"A mason," I replied.
"A sign," he said, "a sign."
"It is this," I answered, producing a trowel from beneath the folds of my
roquelaire.
"You jest," he exclaimed, recoiling a few paces. "But let us proceed to the
Amontillado."
"Be it so," I said, replacing the tool beneath the cloak and again offering
him my arm. He leaned upon it heavily. We continued our route in search of
the Amontillado. We passed through a range of low arches, descended, passed
on, and descending again, arrived at a deep crypt, in which the foulness of the
air caused our flambeaux rather to glow than flame." </b></i></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;">At this point, they arrive at the Montresor family crypt, wherein there is discovered a recess that is four feet in depth, three feet in width, and six to seven feet in height in between two colossal supports for the roof of that catacombs. Montressor exclaims that the cask is therein and when Fortunato investigates, the trap is sprung. Montresor chains Fortunato to the wall by wrapping the chain around his waist and padlocking it. Montresor then begins to lay bricks and walls up the recess entombing Fortunato alive.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;">Many authors have tried to describe the journey that Fortunato and Montresor take as being a Masonic Degree. They point to the description of the Winding Staircase, the dialogue above, and the description of the two colossal supports as evidence of this. The problem with this is that it makes no sense chronologically to what happens in the Fellowcraft degree, which is the only degree that features the winding staircase. However, when you reverse the chronological timing, a more complete picture comes into shape. The candidate at the end of the first section of the Fellowcraft degree is told the following: <i><b>"In accordance with an ancient custom adopted in every regular and well-governed lodge, it will be necessary that you make a regular advance through a porch, by a flight of winding stairs consisting of three, five and seven steps to a place representing the Middle Chamber of King Solomon's Temple, where you will find the Worshipful Master who will give you instruction relative to the wages and jewels of a Fellowcraft." </b></i></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;">What happens in the second section? Allow me to explain with the aid of what Fortunato and Montressor do in parenthesis. The candidate emerges from the anteroom (Fortunato in the recess), proceeds through the two brazen pillars (Fortunato is led by Montresor into the crypt), to a winding staircase (Fortunato and Montressor descend the staircase into the vaults under Montresor's palazzo), to a place representing the Middle Chamber of King Solomons temple (Montressor and Fortunato while they are above ground), where you will find the Worshipful Master who will give you instruction relative the wages and jewels of a Fellowcraft. (Montresor's initial meeting with Fortunato. Wages (Coin) and Jewels in a classical sense would make up a treasure, and Montresor's name means: "My Treasure".) There are many jurisdictions that have within their lodge rooms a physical representation of the pillars, along with the flight of winding stairs, which takes them to a room overlooking the lodge room that represents the middle chamber of King Solomon's Temple. (see the picture below)</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjBMyWOAqjBujB4HC7qXz2OiNr6nTPaCTO-lUS7KhcFYOYtqQBbTsxluqgV_XrOfo3k4KF2qKIJoIxaiuPvKHZ0TrGWjArolMLQySJODBl5MFxChAfCfHgcnk8s0scJZd0vgQvcDuvnKyMkJnKD2nqzMRHA70Fv9UWiXzGe4SmfMgX1TYf94bxd7us8t8/s4032/20210830_212819675_iOS.heic" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjBMyWOAqjBujB4HC7qXz2OiNr6nTPaCTO-lUS7KhcFYOYtqQBbTsxluqgV_XrOfo3k4KF2qKIJoIxaiuPvKHZ0TrGWjArolMLQySJODBl5MFxChAfCfHgcnk8s0scJZd0vgQvcDuvnKyMkJnKD2nqzMRHA70Fv9UWiXzGe4SmfMgX1TYf94bxd7us8t8/w300-h400/20210830_212819675_iOS.heic" width="300" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;">Did Poe mean to do this? We'll never know. There's more than enough evidence to suggest that Poe had knowledge of this degree and incorporated it into his work. So where does that leave us? With a mystery, the way Poe intended it. I will say that Poe was, towards the end of his life, when this story was published, thinking about the nature of God and our universe. His Lengthy: "Eureka: A Prose Poem" published in 1848 gives us deep insight into his beliefs, and I would say echoes some themes discussed in Freemasonic philosophy. Even the title of this work should be familiar to every Freemason, even if it is attributed incorrectly to Pythagoras instead of Archimedes. However, there is no evidence that Poe was a Freemason. H</span><span style="font-family: Roboto;">owever, I do not believe that he was anti-Masonic. I think that he was critical of the institution of Freemasonry, but also perhaps intrigued by its mysteries. </span><span style="font-family: Roboto;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Roboto; white-space-collapse: preserve;">~DL</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b style="font-family: Roboto; font-size: small; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="color: #bf9000;">Darin Lahners</span></b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Roboto; font-size: small; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> is our Managing Editor. He is a host and producer of the "Meet, Act and Part" podcast as well as a co-host of an all-things-paranormal podcast, "Beyond the 4th Veil." He is currently serving the Grand Lodge of Illinois Ancient Free and Accepted Masons as a member of the Committee on Masonic Education He is a Past Master of St. Joseph Lodge No.970 in St. Joseph. He is also a plural member of Homer Lodge No. 199 (IL), where he is also a Past Master. He’s also a member of the Scottish Rite Valley of Danville, a charter member of Illinois Royal Arch Chapter, Admiration Chapter No. 282, Salt Fork Shrine Club under the Ansar Shrine, and a grade one (Zelator) in the S.C.R.I.F. Prairieland College in Illinois. He is also a Fellow of the Illinois Lodge of Research. He was presented with the Torok Award from the Illinois Lodge of Research in 2021.</span><span style="font-family: Roboto;"> </span><span style="font-family: Roboto;"> </span></div>Darinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08964995230169390735noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2909814477098868440.post-59051711752686526532023-10-25T05:00:00.003-05:002023-10-25T05:00:00.142-05:00Education Application – Episode 2: The Current “Culture Club” <div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Roboto;">by Midnight Freemason Guest Contributor</span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: Roboto;">Bro. Mark St. Cyr</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><br /></span></b></div><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRPkihsWX3db6_cUEz9CUph5DveW_fLh-O3icbXzO6aa7kqpUT_CkBf5f7xSL0bw_R9y3GU84e86O9DRFsq3mZ0znURJ404akmKSMKxBlmiN3hMEMFn2_PKPt8d8OU7IcQErzKJ7q3-De09OopLXufh1eQLVa8tRR5OUSAen2NljELU2tBXvgIWVE700g/s1920/And%20then%20he%20said....png" style="font-weight: bold; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRPkihsWX3db6_cUEz9CUph5DveW_fLh-O3icbXzO6aa7kqpUT_CkBf5f7xSL0bw_R9y3GU84e86O9DRFsq3mZ0znURJ404akmKSMKxBlmiN3hMEMFn2_PKPt8d8OU7IcQErzKJ7q3-De09OopLXufh1eQLVa8tRR5OUSAen2NljELU2tBXvgIWVE700g/w400-h225/And%20then%20he%20said....png" width="400" /></a><span style="font-size: xx-small;"> </span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times, serif; font-size: x-small; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.708pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Originally published at the Whence Came You Podcast </span><span style="font-family: Times, serif; font-size: x-small; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; text-indent: 0.708pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">(<a href="https://wcypodcast.blogspot.com/2023/09/whence-came-you-0609-more-than.html">link here</a>) </span><span style="font-family: Times, serif; font-size: x-small; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.708pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">on August 29, 2023 for its Education Application series. Adapted here for the Midnight Freemasons. </span></p><span style="font-family: Roboto;">Let’s dig in… <br /><br />When I refer to culture, I’m speaking directly to the attitude of all those involved both from an operational sense, as well as its general membership. In other words – all its statutory officeholders all the way through the rank and file membership. <br /><br />So with that, let’s now use an actual real-life example to give further context that’ll also help ease further understanding. <br /><br />Ready? Here we go… <br /><br />A meeting was about to begin and everyone was ready to start, then it became obvious one officer was missing. <br /><br />As everyone looked around it became apparent one of the officers was either going to be late or was a no-show, but no one knew. Everyone began doing the “Do you know?” Did he call you?” Did he say anything to you?” and so forth. You’ve all witnessed scenes like this. <br /><br />So now the obvious was to find out so a decision to delay or something other could be had. <br /><br />A phone call went out where it was then learned – he had just finished a colonoscopy and was in no shape to attend and fulfill his role at the meeting. <br /><br />The brothers, to a man, took sympathy with the situation and proceeded to make hurried arrangements to still conduct the meeting. As to “get it in the books.” <br /><br />Luckily they were able to meet quorum because there just so happened to be one extra in attendance who just so happened to be the only one to return of many who participated in a recent one-day class. <br /><br />Now let’s move into the true devil in the details in all of this and just to reiterate: Remember during the inaugural episode I made the point I will not sugarcoat issues? Well, we’re now going to enter that sugar-free zone. So here we go… <br /><br />First and foremost… <br /><br />Had this newly initiated brother not been there? <br /><br />A quorum would not have been met – therefore – no meeting. Resulting in a complete waste of time for all involved. A true debacle right out of the gate.<br /><br />Next… <br /><br />How is it that a brother, who has now moved to the next level up in the line of chairs for higher office allows such a thing to happen regarding his nonattendance and the difficulty he surely knows that causes? <br /><br />Another… <br /><br />To simply not take the time nor even make the effort as to warn or notify anyone prior, even up to the day of the actual meeting is cause alone for stern rebuke in and of itself. Let’s be candid here: This type of procedure is one that’s scheduled in advance. This is not like some emergency that happens to everyone where making arrangements to the contrary is impossible. We’ve all had those, and they happen. It’s called life. <br /><br />But it doesn’t stop there… <br /><br />The handling by this brother is one thing but then everyone else’s reaction to it was not what should be thought as “acceptable” by any measure. As a matter of fact – it borders on pitiful if not downright so, trying to argue to the contrary, which many of you may now be contemplating with arguments such as… <br /><br />“The missing brother may have a legit excuse that we just don’t know – and the attending brothers were just trying to work through what was just a bad situation the best they could therefore blah blah blah” <br /><br />Sure, OK, but I’m sorry, it’s arguments like this that demonstrate why you yourself may be more of the problem than you fully understand. Why? Because it’s these sorts of responses, general nullifications, or excuses if you wish that de facto legitimize situations such as this to happen routinely, continually ad infinitum. <br /><br />Again, If you think I’m being too harsh here? Let me lay it out this way… <br /><br />To reiterate: A procedure such as this (the colonoscopy) is usually scheduled far in advance. At some point in time when adding it to his own calendar – mentally or otherwise. He must have become aware there was going to be an obvious conflict. <br /><br />Again, for clarity, I ask you to answer for yourself: Does one simply not know or does one casually forget when their respective Lodge meets either day or time? Add to that: especially if it's a seasoned member? <br /><br />Let’s move on to another… <br /><br />He answered his phone. That’s how it was learned. They had to call him to find out, otherwise – squat. So what have we learned? Well, we are now fully aware he was not incapacitated enough to answer – therefore logic dictates – he was also not incapacitated enough to not call and let someone know. Or said differently… <br /><br />By dint of his own actions, it demonstrated the decision in relation to commitment of obligation was not worth his effort. You may want to disagree, but the fact proves otherwise. Sorry to be so blunt, but that’s what I do.<br /><br />Here’s the other in all this that needs to be part of this summation: The vast majority of the brothers attending this meeting were themselves all high officers in different bodies both in blue lodges as well as concordant. Why is this important to the overall thesis? <br /><br />Because: as far as could be discerned, it was all just shaken off as “Oh well, another day in the life of Lodge.” <br /><br />This is a snapshot of the culture permeating throughout Freemasonry today where the jokes write themselves. Think about it. A brother decided he would rather go through a colonoscopy and beg for forgiveness later than – attend a meeting that lasted little more than 40 minutes consisting of a discussion itself mere minutes on prior meeting plans, then a reading of the minutes from the prior meeting of plans discussed at the last meeting – then – adjourned. <br /><br />The problem is – it’s no laughing matter. And It’s all true. How do I know? <br /><br />Because I was there – I was that new initiate. <br /><br />We’ll tackle how this and more can change in subsequent articles. See you then. <br /><br />Mark St.Cyr<br />Freemason</span><br />Darinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08964995230169390735noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2909814477098868440.post-47742799302472779822023-10-18T05:00:00.001-05:002023-10-18T05:00:00.147-05:00Seeds of Dissent The Origins of Anti-Masonry - Part 3 Revolution<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><i>by Midnight Freemason Emeritus Contributor</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><b>Steven L. Harrison, 33°, FMLR</b></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span><span><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmcCUaK5TztEyVRoO7w6TDO6dvlEx7UAJsapsHVJ-oACDs3eQCPRyyss-hOE3Ou0FkL4JUet7nnaU5lPnx1c_Q575R1_RtZJGHJgkEPORQ0AuJXlZS5CuMGpwJyFc8r959PTaSmvHmb829xSG99Zxsw3WxYD_Oq_e63MwAe5blsnodAZ27Zy7Dg4JaNO4/s912/Antimasonic_apron_1831.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="903" data-original-width="912" height="317" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmcCUaK5TztEyVRoO7w6TDO6dvlEx7UAJsapsHVJ-oACDs3eQCPRyyss-hOE3Ou0FkL4JUet7nnaU5lPnx1c_Q575R1_RtZJGHJgkEPORQ0AuJXlZS5CuMGpwJyFc8r959PTaSmvHmb829xSG99Zxsw3WxYD_Oq_e63MwAe5blsnodAZ27Zy7Dg4JaNO4/s320/Antimasonic_apron_1831.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5b2f5c6c-7fff-5651-766c-f42ee62649cd"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: #00000a; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Anti-Masonry did not see a lot of growth during the era of the American Revolution. Colonists were, after all, preoccupied with other things. It is also a well-known fact that many Freemasons – George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, John Hancock and a nearly endless list of others – supported the cause. Not only that, the Revolution was fought for liberty and equality, ideals that were consistent with those of the fraternity. The perceived secrecy added to the mystique of the order and most saw membership as a desirable enhancement to one's status.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: #00000a; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: #00000a; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Still, the same objections to the Craft that had always been there – suspicion of its secrecy, objections by organized religion, the perception of elitism, and rumors of conspiracies – continued to plague the Masons.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: #00000a; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: #00000a; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">A few years after the American Revolution, the French Revolution came along and with it a complex relationship with Freemasonry. A number of factors including social inequality, financial problems due to the monarchy's extravagance, taxes, and the King's weak leadership led to public dissatisfaction culminating with the storming of the Bastille on July 14, 1789.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: #00000a; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The Enlightenment, with its ideas about reason and individual rights appealed to the populace and was also a factor leading to its discontent. These same ideals promulgated by the Enlightenment, were not at all inconsistent with progressive Masonic thinking, leading many prominent Freemasons to support the revolution. Among these were the Marquis de Lafayette (1757-1834), Georges Danton (1759-1794), Jean Sylvain Bailly (1736-1793), Count Volney (1757-1820), and Comte de Mirabeau (1749-1791).</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: #00000a; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: #00000a; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The end of the revolution became a tumultuous period now known as the French Reign of Terror, characterized by extreme repression. The Committee on Public Safety sprang up in order to deal with threats to the revolution and the newly-formed republic. Although formed to suppress counter-revolutionary forces and protect the revolution, the Reign of Terror soon devolved into a violent force using accusations of treason to settle personal conflicts. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: #00000a; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: #00000a; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Not all Freemasons supported the revolution, but many of them supported it initially until the violence of the Reign of Terror emerged. As such some of those same Masons who were supporters of the revolution were later declared its enemies. Danton and Bailly were both declared traitors and guillotined when they became disenchanted with the Committee's violent tactics. Mirabeau and Lafayette changed their views but escaped the wrath of the Reign of Terror. Pierre Samuel DuPont de Nemours (1739-1817), who also fell into this group, escaped the guillotine only because the head of the Reign of Terror, Maximilian Robespierre, was executed beforehand.</span><span style="color: #00000a; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">1</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: #00000a; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: #00000a; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Without the existence of definitive data, it is probably safe to assume Freemasons, more than not, supported both revolutions. In the case of the French Revolution, it is probable Masonic support did not extend to the Reign of Terror. In both cases, anti-Masonry may have been aligned with those in opposition to the revolutions or, later, part of Robespierre's terrorism.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: #00000a; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Roboto; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #00000a; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">1 </span><span style="color: #00000a; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Denslow, William, 10.000 Famous Freemasons, Volume IV Q-Z and supplement, Transactions of the Missouri Lodge of Research, Volume No. 17, 1960, © 1961, William R. Denslow, pp. 388-389 </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Roboto; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #00000a; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;">~SLH</span><br style="font-family: Oxygen;" /><br style="font-family: Oxygen;" /><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><span style="color: #f1c232;"><b>Bro. Steve Harrison, 33°</b></span> is Past Master of Liberty Lodge #31, Liberty, Missouri. He is also a Fellow and Past Master of the Missouri Lodge of Research. Among his other Masonic memberships is the St. Joseph Missouri Valley of the Scottish Rite, Liberty York Rite bodies, and Moila Shrine. He is also a member and Past Dean of the DeMolay Legion of Honor. Brother Harrison is a regular contributor to the Midnight Freemasons blog as well as several other Masonic publications. Brother Steve was Editor of the Missouri Freemason magazine for a decade and is a regular contributor to the Whence Came You podcast. Born in Indiana, he has a Master's Degree from Indiana University and is retired from a 35-year career in information technology. Steve and his wife Carolyn reside in northwest Missouri. He is the author of dozens of magazine articles and three books: Freemasonry Crosses the Mississippi, Freemasons — Tales From the Craft and Freemasons at Oak Island.</span></p></span></div></span></span></div>Darinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08964995230169390735noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2909814477098868440.post-65180817635275349662023-10-13T09:30:00.007-05:002023-10-30T11:09:53.085-05:00Why can't we convince Gen-Z to join Freemasonry? You won't like the answer. <div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;">by Midnight Freemason Contributor</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i><span style="font-family: Roboto;">WB Darin A. Lahners</span></i></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><br /></span></i></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPk_iSXdeJzH0UjuK_TryJ_s4cM9M-E2dhdFBebPdntYegzpM45_qR_Fsf8zm61uTd3On8hJexNAGxds0KwFr6fp8446_jEPM699cO2V2xBshSCMDrHKXHjLmJG00Lp2j8i2mdLg29Vp2gt2z4FmP7K0vryP9fk3-wge8G11Jwq56EM0RIYxaZyVrRCrY/s1080/IMG_2577.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPk_iSXdeJzH0UjuK_TryJ_s4cM9M-E2dhdFBebPdntYegzpM45_qR_Fsf8zm61uTd3On8hJexNAGxds0KwFr6fp8446_jEPM699cO2V2xBshSCMDrHKXHjLmJG00Lp2j8i2mdLg29Vp2gt2z4FmP7K0vryP9fk3-wge8G11Jwq56EM0RIYxaZyVrRCrY/s320/IMG_2577.jpeg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><span>I should have made about 1,500 copies of this meme and distributed them to every brother coming into our Grand Lodge sessions last week. Even though I knew pretty much what the outcome was going to be, I still left disappointed in my brethren. This session was no exception. There were several amendments to our Constitution and Bylaws which were up for a vote and were designed to codify the open and inclusive nature of Freemasonry. One of which wanted to change our Code Section 280 here in Illinois. The code currently reads: <i style="font-weight: bold;">Masonry knows no distinction of race or color. It is the mental, moral, and physical qualifications of the man that are to be considered. </i>The amendment would have changed this to read: <i style="font-weight: bold;"> </i></span><i style="font-weight: bold;">Masonry knows no distinction of race, color, or sexual orientation. It is the mental, moral, and physical qualifications of the man that are to be considered. </i><span><i style="font-weight: bold;"> </i></span></span><div><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><i style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Roboto;">One would think that the vote would be affirmative. I mean, isn't it implicit that Freemasonry shouldn't care about sexual orientation? Even the Grand Lodge Committee on Legislation recommended the adoption of the legislation, which they stated was consistent with the open and inclusive nature of our fraternity. Allow me to set the scene for what transpired. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Roboto;">For each piece of legislation, the rules governing the order of business for our Grand Lodge sessions allow a total of six speakers to voice their support or dissent. Each speaker has two minutes each. There were arguments for and against, and then the last speaker (who had also spoken for or against all of the other amendments, most likely because it gave him a feeling of importance to hear his own voice through a microphone) began to speak against the amendment. It was at this time, that things took a turn for the worse. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Roboto;">The speaker started out with a coherent response until he didn't. He saw it as an opportunity to launch into a transphobic rant. Looking around in disbelief, and not seeing any action being taken, </span><span style="font-family: Roboto;">I had to yell at the top of my lungs at our Grandmaster to attempt to get him to take action Yes, in complete disregard for Masonic etiquette, which I greatly regret. I stood up from my seat towards the back of the large ballroom we occupied and yelled at the top of my lungs: "Grandmaster, this is political. This is political!" To which the brother at the microphone yelled back: "It is not political!" To which I replied: "Yes, it is!" At this point, the brother left the microphone, shaking his head in disbelief. However, when it was all said and done, the vote failed. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjhBbTvfG-bs9xLmUDaxFj72MRiljX_10MFRNCejHqk6JukhTgHNmkaTr_9udtAiZUov7uJJLvIVEcF_HnopWwCN-1ng631h00Rrt39li0A_QP-mEfCsbV6BiSxZV-NGF6Migc0ODminexbLmFa-y9F2b8jTrW5snohLw0g_FwJ1Ln3RveOkkTXGCFrA1I" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="860" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjhBbTvfG-bs9xLmUDaxFj72MRiljX_10MFRNCejHqk6JukhTgHNmkaTr_9udtAiZUov7uJJLvIVEcF_HnopWwCN-1ng631h00Rrt39li0A_QP-mEfCsbV6BiSxZV-NGF6Migc0ODminexbLmFa-y9F2b8jTrW5snohLw0g_FwJ1Ln3RveOkkTXGCFrA1I" width="202" /></a></div><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Roboto;">In fact, an amendment to give a Worshipful Master latitude to use the appropriate term for someone's Volume of Sacred Law instead of the Bible failed. Another amendment would have added a section of code that stated that any Mason who was a member of or espouses the cause of any organization advocating the overthrow of the government of the United States by force of other illegal means shall, upon Masonic Trial and conviction thereof, be expelled. The code also added that such would be a disqualification for initiation in or affiliation with a lodge of Master Masons. This amendment was specifically designed because of a particular incident where a police officer in Chicago was publically identified as a member of the Proud Boys and was shown wearing a Square and Compass on his shirt in pictures disseminated throughout the media. He is still, to my knowledge, a member of a constituent lodge or lodges under the Grand Lodge of Illinois. </span><div><p></p><p><span style="font-family: Roboto;">Now given the amendments above, and my reaction to the brother, you might be asking why I didn't yell that they were also "Political". </span><span style="font-family: Roboto;">My definition of the discussion being political is where a brother is incapable of stating his own opinion and instead regurgitates the opinions of others. Usually, this is either the talking heads of whatever news they subscribe to or the ideology of their political party. Yet while I agree with and support amendments and language in an attempt to make Freemasonry more inclusive, I realize that to many brethren (which is not pronounced as "brothern", my brothers) these amendments are considered “woke”. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Roboto;">My good friend, brother, and one of the hosts of the Masonic podcast, <a href="https://meetactandpart.com/">Meet, Act, and Part</a> (shameless plug), Bill Hosler, wrote what I consider to be the definitive one on this subject. Bill and I are ideologically opposed politically, though we agree on the idea that “woke” is a made-up term. We are both against the influence of religion and politics inside of Freemasonry. However, I want to share a quote from the <a href="http://www.midnightfreemasons.org/2021/06/are-we-woke-or-is-everyone-else-just.html?m=1">article</a> which is: <span style="background-color: white; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b style="font-style: italic;">What many of these young people are calling “being woke” here in the last few years. We collectively have been calling it “Freemasonry.” </b>In any case, I urge you to click on the link above to read the article in its entirety.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><span style="background-color: white; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Why do I bring this up? Because it relates directly to my point. I'm going to address only Gen-Z in this article. Allow me to answer. Both of my sons are Gen-Z. I'm Gen-X. Neither of my sons has any interest in Freemasonry. When I ask them why, the answers are sometimes varied, but it's mostly due to a perception that Freemasonry is archaic. They are also at the age in their early twenties where they do not want to be like their father. I can accept that rebellious spirit. They also brought up how we claim to be inclusive, but yet we have Grand Lodges that are homophobic and racist in their views. They don't understand Masonic Jurisdictions, and in their mind, if one Grand Lodge is doing something, then that is the whole of Freemasonry. Of course, I don't pressure them to join. If they at some point decide to come of their own free will and accord, then I will be ecstatic, but if not, I understand that as well. Freemasonry is not for everyone, and every man doesn't deserve to be a Freemason. This being said, we still need to look at our future and try to market Freemasonry to Gen-Z. </span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Roboto; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> Why is Gen-Z important in terms of Freemasonry's survival? </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><span style="background-color: white; white-space-collapse: preserve;">We have an aging membership. In most Grand Lodges, we are losing more members than we are bringing in. My Grand Lodge likes to show their pride and state that they are currently the 4th largest Grand Lodge in the United States. Now, I have no idea how we count our membership numbers, but our Grand Lodge website states that we have 45,000 members. I tend to believe that these numbers are inflated. For example, I belong to 2 lodges and I hold honorary membership in two others. I'm most likely being counted 4 times instead of one time. There are men I know who hold honorary memberships in multiple lodges. Given this, I would tend to believe that we're closer to 20,000 members. We might be below, or maybe we're above. Again, I don't know if I'm correct in my assumption. I'm just stating that there's no transparency on how these numbers are counted. But for the sake of consistency, I will use the 45000 member number. According to the number of members reported in March of 2017 on the George Washington Memorial website, we had over 65000 members. But to simplify the math, we will say we had exactly 65000 members. In the span of Five and a half years, Illinois has lost 20,000 members, which comes out to 3636 members per year. Assuming negative net growth, if the decline remains constant at 3636 members per year, membership in Illinois will be 0 in Twelve and a half years. </span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Roboto; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Now, of course, we know that the decline isn't going to remain constant. In twelve and a half years I will be sixty-two years old. Barring my suspension or expulsion, I will still be a Freemason at that time. However, what the numbers do illustrate is that we're going to see the landscape of Freemasonry change. We may be down to a handful of lodges in the state. Using another Fraternal organization that I'm a member of as a basis, the Grand Lodge of Illinois for the International Order of Odd Fellows has 48 lodges in the state of Illinois. If I had to guess, the membership is below 5000 members (again, a guess). In any case, if we want to have Freemasonry continue to survive, we will need to find a way to market Freemasonry to the Gen-Z generation and those coming after them. </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Roboto; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><span>Generation Z, is the youngest, most </span><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/generation-z-profile-2017-9">ethnically-diverse</a><span>, and </span><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/teens-gen-z-generation-z-what-teens-are-like-2018-6">largest</a><span> generation in American history, comprising 27% of the </span><a href="https://www.insiderintelligence.com/insights/aging-population-healthcare/">US population</a><span>. Pew Research recently defined Gen Z as </span><a href="http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/01/17/where-millennials-end-and-generation-z-begins/">anyone born 1997 onwards</a><span>. Gen Z grew up with technology, the internet, and social media, which sometimes causes them to be stereotyped as tech-addicted, anti-social, or “social justice warriors.”</span><span style="font-size: xx-small;">1 </span><span>Millennials and Gen Z are far less likely than older generations <a href="https://www.prri.org/spotlight/prri-2022-american-values-atlas-religious-affiliation-updates-and-trends/">to identify with any organized religion</a> and far more likely (especially in Gen Z) <a href="https://news.gallup.com/poll/470708/lgbt-identification-steady.aspx">to identify as LGBTQ</a>.<span style="font-size: xx-small;">2 </span><br /><br />The average Gen Z got their <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/teens-gen-z-generation-z-what-teens-are-like-2018-6#the-average-teen-got-their-first-smart-phone-just-before-their-12th-birthday-2">first smartphone</a> just before their 12th birthday. They communicate primarily through social media and texts, and spend as much time <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/teens-gen-z-generation-z-what-teens-are-like-2018-6#teens-spend-as-much-time-on-their-phones-as-adults-do-watching-television-6">on their phones</a> as older generations do watching television. The majority of Gen Zs prefer streaming services to traditional cable, as well as getting snackable content they can get on their phones and computers. In terms of <a href="https://www.insiderintelligence.com/charts/united-states-population-by-generation/">US population by generation</a>, Gen Z is the most ethnically diverse and <a href="https://www.insiderintelligence.com/?p=5401">largest generation</a> in American history, and eclipses all other generations before it in embracing diversity and inclusion.<span style="font-size: xx-small;">3</span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><span>From a marketing perspective, A 2022 survey by Morning Consult found that <a href="https://morningconsult.com/2022/12/12/gen-z-social-media-usage/">54%</a> of Gen Zers said they spend at least four hours daily on social media, and 38% spend even more time than that. Their most used social platforms are YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, and Snapchat. They are saving more, thrifting, and decidedly not purchasing from companies that don’t reflect their values.</span><span style="font-size: x-small;">4 </span><span> Furthermore, </span><span>The vast majority of Gen Z respondents reported that authenticity is more important than any other personal value tested, including spending time on things that will help their futures, independence, changing the world, and being rich or famous. More than half of Gen Zs are more worried about others being treated badly than nearly every other topic surveyed, including getting a good job, paying for college, discrimination toward themselves, or their own relationships with significant others</span><span face="EYInterstate, sans-serif" style="background-color: #f6f6fa; color: #2e2e38; font-size: 20px;">.</span><span style="font-size: x-small;">5</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Roboto;">Now let's discuss what's been called the loneliness epidemic in America. It has become so important that the US Surgeon General released a <a href="https://www.hhs.gov/surgeongeneral/priorities/connection/index.html?utm_source=osg_social&utm_medium=osg_social&utm_campaign=osg_sg_gov_vm" target="_blank">report</a> on it earlier this year. The main takeaways of the report are: </span></p><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><i><b>Humans are wired for social connection, but we’ve become more isolated over time<br /><br />Social connection significantly improves the health and well-being of all individuals<br /><br />Social connection is vital to community health and success<br /><br />Together, we can advance social connection and improve our nation’s public health</b></i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Roboto;">The study states that lacking social connection is as dangerous as smoking 15 cigarettes a day from a health standpoint. Furthermore, Gen-Z seems to be hit the hardest by this epidemic based on multiple pre and post-pandemic surveys. Many of them are spending money to join various clubs to meet friends according to a recent article.<span style="font-size: xx-small;">6 </span>They also seem to be looking for mentors.<span style="font-size: xx-small;">7</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Roboto;">Given all of the above, you might reason that Gen-Z should be knocking our doors down. As an organization, we claim to be one where men of all faiths, color, and backgrounds are welcome. This should appeal to their embrace of diversity and inclusion, right? Not to mention all of the older men that could be mentors for them. Also, since we don't require a specific religious belief to join, only a belief in a higher power, Freemasonry should be attractive to them as they don't identify with organized religion, and we are not a religion. We are not supposed to discuss politics or religion in the lodge which should aid the attraction. </span><b><i><span style="font-family: Roboto;">However, this is not going to be the case unless we make wholesale changes to </span><span style="font-family: Roboto;">how we act as individual members of Freemasonry, how we act as an organization, and </span><span style="font-family: Roboto;">how we market ourselves to this generation.</span></i></b></div><div><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Roboto;">It goes without saying that Freemasonry is resistant to change. As mentioned above, we as an organization need to make wholesale changes to how we portray Freemasonry and how we act as individuals and an organization. As stated above, authenticity is more important to Gen-Z than any other value. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Roboto;">When we claim to promote values (Brotherly Love, Relief, and Truth) as an organization but we have a majority of our membership that isn't living by these values, do you think we are authentic as an organization? One thing that I didn't mention but is alluded to above is who Gen-Z turns to when they need to research something. It should not be any surprise that they turn to the internet. Now if I'm super internet-savvy like this Gen-Z, I'm going to go to the internet and search for Freemasonry in the state I'm in. This should inevitably bring me to that particular state's Grand Lodge webpage or a local lodge webpage. Listed on the webpage will be the names of the Grand Lodge Officers or the Local Lodge officers. Another search of the names of each individual and the addition of (insert your social media choice here) as a search term might lead me to their individual social media pages, assuming they're not concerned about privacy and don't have them locked down. Now, all it takes is one social media post that is contrary to any of the values that Freemasonry promotes, and you can kiss that potential member goodbye. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Roboto;">But let's say on the off chance, we still manage to have a Gen-Z potential candidate visit the lodge. We invite him to dinner before lodge in the lodge building. No one makes an effort to talk to him, or when they do, they do so to try to engage him in a political or religious discussion they're having. Yes, those two things we aren't supposed to discuss in Lodge. I know what you're thinking, you're not in Lodge if you're at Dinner. You're right, but maybe we shouldn't discuss these things at Dinner? </span><span style="font-family: Roboto;">I can't imagine how a potential Gen-Z candidate, who has had to endure multiple active shooter drills from elementary school up through High School, is going to react to a bunch of older men bemoaning gun control. </span><span style="font-family: Roboto;">I'm being kind with using this as an example of discussions I've heard. Let's just say that I've lost a lot of respect for some members of the fraternity, over their complete inability to keep their mouths shut about things that shouldn't be discussed in a Lodge building and prejudices that absolutely have no place in Freemasonry.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Roboto;">Our degree obligations are full of references to swearing not to give away any of the secret arts, parts, or points of a particular degree. Brethren seem to be able to be quiet when it comes to the modes of recognition, but we can't hold our tongues about those things we are not supposed to be discussing? I mean if you can't find anything else to talk about with your brethren, then can you </span><span style="font-family: Roboto;">at least wait until the meeting or degree is over so you can go out to the parking lot and have these discussions? </span></div><div><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Roboto;">How about we engage in discussions about what we can be doing to help the community we're in or we spend the time calling brethren that we've not seen at a stated meeting or degree to see how they're doing? Maybe if we actually practice Freemasonry authentically then we might have a chance to win Gen-Z over? Heck, this is stuff we should be doing anyway. It's certainly a better use of our time than getting angry over things that we don't have control over, but that the news tells us we should be angry about and ranting about it at dinner. Let's actually live our tenets for a change. Let's practice what we preach. Let's practice Brotherly Love, Relief, and Truth in our daily lives as individual members of Freemasonry, or as I like to say, practice empathy, be compassionate towards others, and remember that truth without compassion is cruelty. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Roboto;">This leads me to how we act as an organization. Fundamentally, as an organization we are the sum of how our membership acts. It always saddens me at every Grand Lodge session when they publish the felonies that the now-expelled former members have committed. It just goes to further the idea that we need to guard the West Gate strongly. It also means that we have to understand that the quality of our membership is more important to our survival than a massive quantity of members. Most importantly, Grand Lodges must adopt this philosophy. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: Roboto;">As for our Constitution and Bylaws, we wouldn't need to add inclusive language to them if the membership adhered to what I laid out above. Because we don't seem to, or at least our individual Grand Lodges don't seem to hold their own lodges and other Masonic jurisdictions accountable for not doing so, we are guilty by our association. Grand Lodges withhold recognition from Foreign Jurisdictions all of the time that are judged to be irregular in their practice. We have domestic jurisdictions that continue to withhold recognition of Prince Hall Affiliated Freemasonry, and others that have codified language that bans men who are openly homosexual from joining, as well as suspending or expelling members who are. Grand Lodges should be withholding recognition of these domestic Grand Lodges as irregular in their practice as well. If we want to claim authenticity, then our Grand Lodges must have their public actions and statements back them up.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Roboto;">Lastly, we need to discuss how we market the Craft to Gen-Z. First of all, we can't rely on old surveys to determine what these young men are looking for. Case in point, my Grand Lodge jurisdiction finally hired a marketing firm. However, when our membership chairman presented an overview of the new marketing program, a few things stood out to me. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Roboto;">Our Grand Lodge is basing its strategy for its marketing campaign on the NMJ survey from 2016 to market to men today. At this point, assuming Gen-Z starts in 1997, the youngest members of Gen-Z would have been 18 or 19. This survey was only given to men who were ages (21-65).<span style="font-size: xx-small;">8 </span>I would state that we should give the survey again, but we should give it to men who are going to be the future of Freemasonry. Instead of ages (21-65), we should be giving it to Demolay-aged boys to the age (12 to 21) up to Gen-Z and Millenial-aged men (up to the age of 42). These men are the future of Freemasonry. These are the men we should be marketing the Craft to, and these are the men whose opinions should be shaping strategies for marketing.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Roboto;">We need to tailor our marketing to this target audience! </span><span style="font-family: Roboto;">Facebook is for OLD PEOPLE. One of the goals that our membership chairman laid out was getting, if I recall correctly, 10k followers on Facebook and 5k on Linkedin. I'm not sure if these are metrics given by the marketing firm that we hired, or arbitrary numbers that were decided upon, but Facebook likes are not a true indicator of the popularity of something. In fact, I'd personally question the qualifications of a marketing firm that would suggest these social media platforms. If we're looking to try to land more Gen-X and Boomer members, then sure. However, any marketing firm worth its value is going to tell you that those demographics are not who you should be targeting.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Roboto;">The Gen-Z and Millenial crowd (with the exception of the older millennials) are not using Facebook or Linkedin (for that matter) all that often, if at all. If we want to market Freemasonry to Gen-Z, then we need to be looking at YouTube, Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok.</span><span style="font-family: Roboto; font-size: xx-small;">9 </span><span style="font-family: Roboto;">Grand Lodges need to get with the times and hire (yes I said hire), social media managers and identify our membership in the Gen-Z demographic that they should approach to work with these social media managers to produce authentic social media content for the platforms listed above. Or better yet, hire one of these younger Master Masons to be the social media manager. Again, Gen-Z can smell insincerity a mile away, so we need to be on point with our social media marketing. We need to create Masonic influencers in the Gen-Z demographic who can best exemplify our inclusivity as an organization. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;">Influencer marketing is prominent across social media platforms, and the data shows that Gen Z is much more likely to be influenced by social media. Gen Z adults are 10 percentage points more likely than Millennials to say they’ve purchased a product in the past six months because an influencer/blogger recommended it on social media (29% vs. 19%). A possible reason for this distinction is that Gen Z is more likely to say they trust social media influencers and are much more likely to follow </span><a href="https://civicscience.com/youtube-is-still-the-first-platform-for-following-content-creators/" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #00a2ff; font-size: 16px; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">content creators</a><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;"> online.</span><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">10 </span></span></span></div><div><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-family: Roboto;"><br /></span></div><div><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-family: Roboto;">Currently, TikTok has a few "prominent" (I use this term very loosely) content providers, but the problem is that they're probably doing more harm to the craft than being helpful. They are giving their own flavor of Freemasonry, and quite frankly many of them are completely uneducated about Freemasonry's origins, history, customs, and rituals, and give incorrect or incomplete information when asked questions about Freemasonry when they go "Live". There is a strong need for professionally curated content on this platform, and I believe that the Grand Lodges harness the power of popular social media platforms like TikTok, YouTube, Reels, Instagram, etc to advertise and promote Freemasonry to Gen-Z will begin to see an increase in membership in this demographic.</span></div><div><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-family: Roboto;"><br /></span></div><div><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-family: Roboto;">If we want to market to men of the Gen-Z generation, then Grand Lodges need to highlight their members of that demographic. We must empower them. To be honest, a perfect thing to do from a marketing perspective in my jurisdiction would be to highlight the young men who opened this year's Grand Lodge in Illinois. These young men are all from Gen Z and they are both members of DeMolay and are Master Masons. While we can't show them actively opening the session, we can highlight each of them by interviewing them and asking them to tell their own authentic stories about their Masonic experiences. These young men need to be our spokesmen to their generation. They are the ones best equipped to communicate with other young men. Boomers, Gen-Xers, and Millenials need not apply.</span></div><div><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-family: Roboto;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: white;">We must curate and vet all of the materials we are using in our Marketing campaigns. Case in point, asking a potential Gen-Z candidate to read a short talk bulletin from 1954 that calls men of the Islamic Faith "Mohemmedans" is probably not going to have the desired outcome that we want it to have. </span><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: white;">It's an insulting term to people of the Islamic Faith. </span><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: white;">This same short talk bulletin makes several completely false historical facts, especially when it comes to Freemasonry and its influence on the Revolutionary War, but I find its pride in how the Vigilantes of Montana being formed in a Masonic Lodge especially troubling. Twenty-One people were murdered by these vigilantes in what is described as </span><span>"a terroristic orgy that bypassed anything and everything resembling due process — no trials, no judges, no juries, and not even death in the usual manner, hanging, but, so as to get the maximum deterrent effect from each murder, by strangulation."</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #1a1a1a;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">11</span></span><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"> </span> This is hardly something that our Masonic Fraternity should be proud of, even if they accomplished securing Gold for the Union Cause. If we want to portray our history, we should be authentic. I'm not advocating hiding Masonic History from a Gen-Z candidate. I'm stating that we need to make sure that the materials we're using to market Freemasonry are not offensive and are viewing Masonic History from our current perspective, not from a 1954 viewpoint.</span></span></div><div><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-family: Roboto;"><br /></span></div><div><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-family: Roboto;">We can no longer be afraid of change as an organization and we must have Leadership that is not afraid to make changes. We need to engage our youth and empower them to have a voice in our lodges and in our Grand Lodges and get their insight on what appeals to men of their age. We need to have membership that is not afraid to vote for changes that will make our inclusivity codified in our rules, and leadership that is not afraid to voice support for such measures. We must hold our membership accountable when they fail to live by our philosophies, either by whispering that wise counsel, or in extreme cases, having membership of constituent lodges be brave enough to bring their brothers up on Masonic Charges when they hold membership in organizations that hold philosophies directly counter to those that Freemasonry espouses. We must be authentic, and we must at every level adopt the principles of an agile organization. </span></div><div><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-family: Roboto;"><br /></span></div><div><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-family: Roboto;">If we continue to fail in doing this, we will continue to be judged as my Gen-Z children tell me, as archaic. In my next article, I will discuss what we must do to make Freemasonry an agile organization, at the lodge level and Grand Lodge Level, and how in doing so, we might have a chance at retaining Gen-Z members once they join. </span></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: Roboto; font-size: x-small;">1 https://www.insiderintelligence.com/insights/generation-z-facts/</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Roboto; font-size: x-small;">2 https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/06/gen-z-millennials-vote-republican/674328/</span></div><div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;">3 </span><span style="font-family: Roboto;">https://www.insiderintelligence.com/insights/generation-z-facts/</span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;">4 </span><span style="font-family: Roboto;">https://www.searchenginejournal.com/social-media-gen-z/485152/</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Roboto; font-size: x-small;">5 https://www.ey.com/en_us/consulting/is-gen-z-the-spark-we-need-to-see-the-light-report/gen-z-finding-meaning</span></div><div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Roboto;">6 https://www.businessinsider.com/gen-z-loneliness-spends-money-to-make-friends-2023-9</span><span style="font-family: Roboto;"> </span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Roboto; font-size: x-small;">7 https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/education/2023/01/26/mentoring-has-become-more-popular-so-why-gen-z-getting-less-it/11120823002/</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Roboto; font-size: x-small;">8 https://scottishritenmj.org/path-forward</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Roboto; font-size: x-small;">9 https://civicscience.com/3-key-social-media-trends-among-gen-z-and-millennials/</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Roboto; font-size: x-small;">10 ibid</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">11 https://www.clevelandcivilwarroundtable.com/the-vigilantes-of-montana/</span><br /></span><p><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><span style="background-color: white; white-space-collapse: preserve;">~DL</span></span></p><p><span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Roboto; font-size: x-small; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><b><span style="color: #bf9000;">Darin Lahners</span></b> is our Managing Editor. He is a host and producer of the "Meet, Act and Part" podcast as well as a co-host of an all-things-paranormal podcast, "Beyond the 4th Veil." He is currently serving the Grand Lodge of Illinois Ancient Free and Accepted Masons as a member of the Committee on Masonic Education He is a Past Master of St. Joseph Lodge No.970 in St. Joseph. He is also a plural member of Homer Lodge No. 199 (IL), where he is also a Past Master. He’s also a member of the Scottish Rite Valley of Danville, a charter member of Illinois Royal Arch Chapter, Admiration Chapter No. 282, Salt Fork Shrine Club under the Ansar Shrine, and a grade one (Zelator) in the S.C.R.I.F. Prairieland College in Illinois. He is also a Fellow of the Illinois Lodge of Research. He was presented with the Torok Award from the Illinois Lodge of Research in 2021.</span></span></p></div></div>Darinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08964995230169390735noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2909814477098868440.post-52542388070667177952023-10-11T05:00:00.009-05:002023-10-11T05:00:00.139-05:00Education Application – Episode 1: The True Existential Crisis Facing Freemasonry <div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Roboto;">by Midnight Freemason Guest Contributor</span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: Roboto;">Bro. Mark St. Cyr</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><br /></span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRPkihsWX3db6_cUEz9CUph5DveW_fLh-O3icbXzO6aa7kqpUT_CkBf5f7xSL0bw_R9y3GU84e86O9DRFsq3mZ0znURJ404akmKSMKxBlmiN3hMEMFn2_PKPt8d8OU7IcQErzKJ7q3-De09OopLXufh1eQLVa8tRR5OUSAen2NljELU2tBXvgIWVE700g/s1920/And%20then%20he%20said....png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRPkihsWX3db6_cUEz9CUph5DveW_fLh-O3icbXzO6aa7kqpUT_CkBf5f7xSL0bw_R9y3GU84e86O9DRFsq3mZ0znURJ404akmKSMKxBlmiN3hMEMFn2_PKPt8d8OU7IcQErzKJ7q3-De09OopLXufh1eQLVa8tRR5OUSAen2NljELU2tBXvgIWVE700g/w400-h225/And%20then%20he%20said....png" width="400" /></a></div></b><span style="font-family: Roboto; font-size: x-small; text-align: left;">Originally published on the Whence Came You Podcast <a href="https://wcypodcast.blogspot.com/2023/08/whence-came-you-0605-whats-hermeticism.html">(link here)</a> on August 7, 2023. Adapted here for the Midnight Freemasons.</span></div></div><span style="font-family: Roboto;"><br />Before we delve into this topic, it is important to clarify a few points. First and foremost, this series does not reflect any endorsement or should be inferred as such from any Grand Lodge or Concordant body. Please refer to your jurisdiction’s rules for governance before considering any application of the ideas presented here. <br /><br />Now, let’s get to the heart of the matter. This is not a cookie-cutter recital of methodologies borrowed from management guru books. Instead, we will address the hard issues that need to be addressed within the Craft. For decades, the Craft has grappled with these issues, and the results speak for themselves – actually, they’re screaming. <br /><br />What you can expect from this series are real-world solutions presented in quick and easy-to-understand scenarios. These solutions will be delivered by me, off the cuff, and in an extemporaneous manner. I must clarify that I’m not here to make friends; I’m here to provoke thought. The former takes place in the Lodge room, while the latter will take place here. <br /><br />Now, you may be wondering, “Why should I listen, and who is this guy anyway?” Allow me to answer that question. <br /><br />I have spent the last two decades at the forefront of thought leadership in the world of business and financial insight. While I understand that some of you may try to find fault with my arguments or give knee-jerk reactions of “But that won’t work here!” and more, I ask you to keep an open mind and consider whether I may make some points worth considering and applying. <br /><br />To give you a metric to judge my credibility, let me share a story. A few years ago, one of the top business and financial news outlets sought perspectives on the prospects of the US economy and Apple, the largest company at the time. They asked Warren Buffet for his thoughts and quoted him in their article. When they wanted a viewpoint on Buffet’s thoughts, they quoted me. This is not to brag but to emphasize that I may possess some knowledge in this domain. <br /><br />Ultimately, what you take away from this series is up to you. But at the very least, you now have a metric to judge my credibility. <br /><br />Now, let’s address the true existential crisis facing Freemasonry today: Nobody wants it to be just a hobby. This argument (e.g., just some hobby) undermines the Craft itself, as well as attempts to shore up membership and keep those remaining engaged. Unfortunately, many cannot see this issue or, even if they do, refuse to come to grips with it. The numbers prove that this problem will continue to worsen, no matter the remedies the Craft employs. <br /><br />To understand why this issue is so significant, we must recognize that any organization or structure faces a dozen core issues that can cripple it. While each issue alone could be self-sufficient in causing substantial damage, they usually work in combination. In severe cases, all of these issues are present simultaneously. <br /><br />Identifying and remedying these core issues is challenging, which is why many once heralded institutions crumble into oblivion once the so-called “management guru consultant class” leaves, declaring “Problems solved.” These methodology presentations often fail because they apply the latest buzz phrase from some generic best-selling book. The decision to bring in these consultants is often based on a desire to fulfill a requirement rather than prioritizing efficacy. <br /><br />Don’t just take my word for it – look at all the companies and institutions that were once market leaders but have now vanished after consultants left the building. Sears serves as one such example. <br /><br />Returning to the dozen core issues I mentioned earlier, the first step in remedying them is to identify the most dramatic issue affecting all aspects of the organization, from the public to the customer base and even the people within it. Without addressing this singular issue as a priority, all other attempts to fix the organization will be futile. They will only mask the problems temporarily before they resurface in a magnified form. <br /><br />We have all witnessed organizations that appeared to be getting their act together, only to crumble shortly thereafter. These brands, once respected and possessing unshakable customer loyalty, are now disappearing. Craftsman, once a renowned brand, serves as a prime example. <br /><br />So, what does this argument about the Craft being treated as a hobby actually mean? It means everything. <br /><br />The culture within the Craft must realign with its original purpose and raison d’être. No amount of strategy sessions or tactical measures will lead to lasting change unless the underlying culture shifts. This is why committee meetings and well-intentioned programs only work temporarily and at the surface level. They eventually succumb to the stagnation and entropy of the past. <br /><br />Why does culture play such a vital role? Because culture eats strategy and tactics for breakfast. Implementing new ideas or management principles will not fundamentally change an organization. It may create an illusion of progress, but it will not have a lasting impact in the larger context. <br /><br />The existing culture within the organization will do everything in its power to resist change. Deep down, it prefers to complain rather than embrace change. It clings to what is familiar and resists anything new, regardless of how much it argues otherwise. Even in the face of oblivion, the culture will argue that “things have to change” but will not actively participate in that change unless their own employment is at stake. And if that happens, they will complain, claiming that their insights went unheard. <br /><br />This phenomenon is far too common. <br /><br />Within the Craft, the culture today often treats obligations to the craft as a hobby rather than a transformative way of life. It fails to recognize that the Craft is sacred in its institution, instructions, and commitment. Instead, more people treat the Craft as “their thing,” similar to how they approach their hobbies of choice. <br /><br />Before I delve into specific examples, I’d like to leave you with a thought experiment. Imagine your boss asks you, a week in advance, to pick them up from the airport at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday. They explicitly state that you are the only person they trust with this responsibility. You agree to fulfill the task. However, on that Thursday, you suddenly realize you have a prior engagement or appointment. What do you do? <br /><br />Do you cancel your commitment and make arrangements for your forgotten task, regardless of the consequences, in order to fulfill your obligation to your boss? Or do you fulfill your forgotten task and beg your boss for forgiveness as they are left stranded at the airport, having to find their own way home? <br /><br />Most of you likely agree that canceling your prior engagement to fulfill your boss’s request is the obvious correct path. <br /><br />The problem lies in how we apply our resolve to the Craft. In practice, we often choose the latter path, neglecting our obligations and seeking forgiveness later. <br /><br />In subsequent articles, I will provide specific examples to illustrate this further. Until then. <br /><br />Mark St.Cyr<br />Freemason</span><br /></div>Darinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08964995230169390735noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2909814477098868440.post-92019575043738350532023-10-04T05:00:00.010-05:002023-10-04T05:00:00.147-05:00John Skene: First Known Mason in America<div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Oxygen;">by Midnight Freemason Contributor</span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Oxygen;"><b>Jim Stapleton</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Oxygen;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Oxygen;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqhtnc5d4svAjwZ_Fjhr_Bu6Up4u4A3fFW538XhPNVhdppx2PZTgkAfvDjk8N0SJVi9x1y2nOYoT6SjG7AvgK_qqSPGqYdMau78gInob881iWgnQNZFa2fPuWq05KDR7lFo2LNeGxtGOdewJadWxr9Q42DE8mOXw0RrEPhqsGzoHQcLegNn5mGateBLyk/s2048/skenegravestone.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1978" data-original-width="2048" height="386" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqhtnc5d4svAjwZ_Fjhr_Bu6Up4u4A3fFW538XhPNVhdppx2PZTgkAfvDjk8N0SJVi9x1y2nOYoT6SjG7AvgK_qqSPGqYdMau78gInob881iWgnQNZFa2fPuWq05KDR7lFo2LNeGxtGOdewJadWxr9Q42DE8mOXw0RrEPhqsGzoHQcLegNn5mGateBLyk/w400-h386/skenegravestone.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Oxygen;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.3800000000000001; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">New Jersey holds the special honor of being home to the first known Freemason in America - Brother John Skene. He was a member of Aberdeen Lodge No. 1, of Aberdeen, Scotland. As a Quaker, he was imprisoned and fined in England in the 1670s due to his religious activities. In 1682, Skene sailed to the New World and settled in Burlington, NJ, the capital of the West Jersey Province. John Skene purchased a 300-acre property in the late 1600s and named it Peachfield. This was an ideal area for a merchant to get established. There were fertile farmlands and it was in close proximity to Philadelphia. The area also had the benefit of having a large Quaker population. In addition to being a merchant, Skene also had a successful political career. He was elected to the West Jersey assembly and later appointed to the council. In 1685, he was appointed Deputy Governor of the Province of West Jersey. He served in that role until 1687.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.3800000000000001; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">A conference was recently held to help shed light on Brother Skene’s unique role in American Masonic history. The first annual John Skene Masonic Conference was held on August 19, 2023, in Westhampton, NJ. This novel conference celebrated the life of Skene and the Scottish origins and influences of Freemasonry in America. The day began with a memorial service at Peachfield, where The National Society of The Colonial Dames of America in The State of New Jersey maintains a museum. There is a gravestone for Brother John Skene located on the property. The conference continued in the afternoon at the nearby Crescent Shrine building. Speakers included well-respected scholars - Robert W. Howard, Jr., Erich Morgan Huhn, Steven C. Bullock, and Robert Cooper. Topics covered during the presentations included Freemasonry Before 1717, Freemasonry from Skene to Anderson, The Revolutionary Transformation of Early American Freemasonry, and Tracking Scottish Freemasonry in America. The event concluded in the evening with a festive board that featured a presentation on Freemasonry in America and Its Colonial Tavern Beginnings by Robert H. Johnson of Whence Came You?, The Masonic Roundtable, and The Midnight Freemasons fame. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.3800000000000001; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Kudos are in order for the conference committee that developed the outstanding program - Christian Stebbins, Robert W. Howard, Jr, and Erich Morgan Huhn. A great deal of knowledge was shared at the conference, but it is clear that there is so much more to uncover about early Freemasonry in New Jersey. Hopefully, this will spark more research on the topic and this conference will become an annual event for years to come!</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.3800000000000001; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Lurie, Maxine N., and Marc Mappen. 2004. Encyclopedia of New Jersey. New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers University Press. </span><a href="https://search-ebscohost-com.proxy.libraries.rutgers.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=e900xww&AN=124913&site=ehost-live" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">https://search-ebscohost-com.proxy.libraries.rutgers.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=e900xww&AN=124913&site=ehost-live</span></a><span style="font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">. p 747.</span></span></p><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.3800000000000001; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">History of Freemasonry in New Jersey / Commemorating the Two Hundredth Anniversary of the Organization of the Grand Lodge of the Most Ancient and Honorable Society of Free and Accepted Masons for the State of New Jersey, 1787-1987. First ed. New Jersey: Grand Lodge, 1987. p 9.</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.3800000000000001; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">“About.” Peachfield, June 23, 2022. https://peachfield.org/about/. Accessed September, 23, 2023.</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.3800000000000001; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></p><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Oxygen;">~JS</span></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Oxygen;"><br /></span></div><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.3800000000000001; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"></span></p><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: #f6b26b; font-family: Oxygen; font-size: small;">Jim Stapleton</span><span style="font-family: Oxygen; font-size: small;"> is the Senior Warden of USS New Jersey Lodge No. 62. He is also a member of the New Jersey Lodge of Masonic Research and Education No. 1786. Jim received the Distinguished White Apron Award from the Grand Lodge of New Jersey. He was awarded the Daniel Carter Beard Masonic Scouter Award. Jim is also a member of the Society of King Solomon.</span></div></span></div>Darinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08964995230169390735noreply@blogger.com1