Sit down and Shut the Hell Up
The Burning Taper blog recently made a post about how some Grand Lodges are trying to restrict the free speech of their members by threatening them if they post on blogs and message forums on the Internet. At face value this is simply ludicrous. This is, most likely, a response to recent public criticism of some lodges in the South on the topic of racism; and specifically recognizing Prince Hall.
Fortunately, for me, I'm not in the South and this isn't my personal battle to fight. However, let's be honest about a couple of things here. Freemasonry, Freemasons, and Freemason ideas were behind the enlilghtenment and largely at work at the American Revolution. I don't need to rehash all of this, you should know it by now.
Freemasonry retains an aura of 'secrecy' about it purely for the sake of tradition. Centuries ago this level of secrecy was required to operate in and around oppressive regimes. The secrecy was also retained to keep the ritual a close held property that was treated with great respect as a repository of knowledge carried on from ancient times.
Fast forward a few centuries and, hey, get with the program. That ain't gonna work any more.
Freemasons fought for my free speech and while I will politely refrain from posting our sekrit handshake, or exactly how I answer the door, on my weblog that is pretty much about the only thing I promised when I took upon myself the solemn obligation as an entered apprentice.
Remember that Benjamin Franklin was a Freemason as was Mark Twain. I can hardly think of two more vocal practioners of free speech in our nation. I feel I am in good company when I practice my own personal form of guerilla ontology and I won't change for anyone, or any institution.
The day a Grand Lodge tells you to shut up is the day you should quit calling yourself a member of that organization. At least, that is my personal opinion. Since I have been posting my thoughts on this blog I have received nothing but postive responses from my brethren, even a number of the older guys who you might think would be put out by it.
This situation in the South is a mess, as it has been for a very long time. I don't know what it is going to take for them to change but, as I said, I choose not to live there for a reason.
At then end of the day you must all remember that this is simply a damned social club. It is a Fraternity that is supposed to stand for certain ideas and values. The day it stops standing for them, then quit the silly club. Belonging or not belonging to a club should not define who you are. If a Grand Lodge suddenly says you are not a Freemason because you spoke out against racism on a web log, well, heck, wear that as a badge of honor.
It seems weird to me that as much as I talk about the Fraternity online how truly little I 'care' whether or not I am a member of it. Were I to leave the Fraternity because I found it no longer was in correspondence with my own views, it would not bother me in the least. I am not defined by any instutition. That I choose to be a member is only because my own personal experience has been a positive one and I find the values instilled in the teachings and the members whom I call friends are in highly compatible with myself.
For those who believe Freemason secrecy is still sancrosant, its time you woke up and smelled the Internet. This is a changed and changing world. You cannot suppress free speech from within an institution that was, allegedly, largely responsible for embedding it into our constitution in the first place.
Meanwhile, this seems an appropriate commentary in light of the fact that I bothered to post a politically incorrect rant ealier today.
Comments
I'm sorry my post made you so upset. You are right, maybe I don't know much about the South. I had heard that in many Southern States that African Americans are not allowed to join the Grand Lodges and that Prince Hall Masonry is not recognized.
If this is not true, then of course I apologize. I had been told that was the case and some Grand Lodges were going so far as to censor Freemasons who might speak out about the issue.
Once again, if I have been missinformed I apologize.
Brother John
P.S. I did live in Florida for several years as well as Louisiana for a couple more, so I do have some experience of living the deep south during my childhood. I definitely encountered a number of issues back then.
Thanks for your lengthy reply. It seems that the biggest problem at hand is my failure to communicate.
My issue is not with any individual Freemason in the South. Last year I visited a lodge in Florida and was treated incredible well. I also learned a lot about how they ran their lodge and have spoken favorably about their ideas many times since I have returned.
My issue not really with racism in the South either because, as I said, it isn't my battle to fight; and, it certainly isn't perfect here in Missouri either. I am quite certain that there are any number of lodges here in Missouri that might black-ball any African American candidate. I have heard a few stories to that effect...
We also do not have full regular status with Prince Hall. We are allowed to visit their lodge and they are allowed to visit our own by invitation only. Last year a whole bunch of guys from my lodge went down the Prince Hall and watched a number of third degrees get conferred. My brethren talk about that day quite often as they found the experience both very positive and interesting.
The reason my post sounded so angry was because of the idea that a Grand Lodge would attempt to interfere with the free speech rights of American citizens.
I am sure there are many brothers who, if the Grand Lodge told them to shut up, they would just shut up. I'm not one of those guys. Yes, I try to be prudent, temperate, and discreet, but also I am not going to stop writing and communicating either.
If the result of such an edict were that I got kicked out of Freemasonry I would not object at all.
Again, these are my own personal views. My use of a disturbing photograph in the post was to communicate how ugly I feel a threat of censorship or limitation of free speech is. I suppose I'm just still to much of a free-speech kind of guy to not get riled up by that sort of thing.
As far as Prince Hall recognition goes; I have heard that every Grand Lodge north of the Mason Dixon line recognizes Prince Hall and almost every one south of it does not.
I actually think there is nothing wrong with African Americans having their own blue lodges such as Prince Hall. It has been a powerful force in their community for a very long time. I simply believe that we should 'recognize' them and vice versa.
Whenever I do encounter a Prince Hall Freemason in public the exchange is always so incredibly positive. There is an immediate expression of friendship and brotherhood even though we belong to different Grand Lodges.
Finally, I'm sorry my post set you off. Perhaps I should edit it, or delete it, since this was not the response I was looking for.
My issue was primarily over free-speech. Yes, I do believe the Grand Lodges should 'recognize' Prince Hall. Recently there has been some criticism about that issue in the media and when I heard that there was a proposal to limit the free-speech of Masons in certain jurisdictions that put a bug up my butt.
I also felt like verbalizing just how 'important' Freemasonry is to me personally. It's pretty important. I have a bunch of great friends, I am very active in the lodge, I am in the advancing line of two Blue Lodges (Junior Deacon and Junior Warden), I am a Chapter Dad for DeMolay and I am a Noble of the Moolah Shrine.
All that said, if the Grand Lodge contacted me and said stop posting on your weblog or we will kick you out, you can rest assured I would not be a Freemason the next day.
This is about *me* and my personal views. This is a highly personal weblog and does not attempt to speak for the world at large.
In my oath I swore that I would not reveal the secrets of Freemasonry and I take those secrets to be our ritual. You can search back in my blog as far as you want and I have never revealed any of our ritual. In fact, I have pretty much always spoke in glowing terms about the Institution.
Several candidates have contacted me because of things they have read on this blog and then been made a Brother.
I am sorry my post set you on edge or thought I was talking specifically about you and your brethren. It was really simply a commentary about the alleged actions of certain Grand Lodges in the South.
Brother John
I've read with interest your exchange today. I totally agree that a Grand Lodge should never use threat of force to quiet a brother.
As a resident, and Past Master, of a southeast Missouri AF&AM Lodge and a York and Scottish Rite mason, I can tell you that pure stupidity (read: bigotry) is still alive and well in our fair state. I personally visited a rural southeast Missouri lodge who boasted of having old Klan robes and ritual material stored in their store room. I've never been back, and that lodge has since been merged into a neighboring community's lodge. Good riddance. I no longer attend lodge locally for this and a few other reasons (arguing over what kind of lunch to serve after dinner, arguing over whether or not to have open installation, arguing over a $5 light bulb purchase, etc. If I wanted arguing, I could stay home.) I'm still looking for a lodge that lives and breathes the virtues we teach, and I've grown tired of trying to singlehandedly change my own.
Give me a man of good character any day, and I'd be happy to personally initiate him, regardless of ethnicity.
I've always said: We in the United States should begin to get to know and understand our neighbors BEFORE we are attacked from outside. We all need to know who we can trust and depend on . . .
Swampy
Somewhere in Southeast Missouri