A Fictional Ballot
Electing a man for the Degrees
The Senior Deacon stood holding the ballot box, looking up at the Worshipful Master as he asked the Junior Warden how he found the ballot.
It wasn’t good. The Senior Warden confirmed.
The man in question may well have been a good man. A man who would have ended up being a great credit to the Lodge. But it will never be known, because instead of white balls, black cubes fell.
A quick glance around the room made it clear that some Brothers were not happy with the decision. They knew the man. They knew him to be a good man. They knew the good that he had done in the community.
That statement is however the key to their disappointment.
They knew the man. They knew him to be good. They knew that he does good.
No one else in the Lodge knew any of that though, for no one else in the Lodge had an opportunity to get to know the man.
Those who knew him talked with him about Masonry. Provided him a Petition before he got to know those who regularly attend the Lodge. Accepted the Petition before most Lodge members had ever even caught a glimpse of him.
Investigation and a ballot.
A request that regularly attending Lodge members ballot for a man whom they had never met before dinner that very night.
Black cubes instead of white balls? What else could be expected, for is it not unreasonable for those who know a man to bring his petition to the Lodge before the Lodge has an opportunity to get to know the man?
I tell this little fictional story because I think it is truly important for us to remember.
My Grand Lodge has been begging Lodges to not give a man a petition until after the members of the Lodge have had an opportunity to get to know the man. My Grand Lodge has been pleading with Lodges to heed this advice for almost as many years as I’ve been a Mason.
Yet, far too often, in far too many Lodges, this advice is ignored.
In some Lodges petitions are handed to any man who asks. Willy Nilly, come one come all.
That is not fair to the Lodge. It is not fair to the man who thus petitions the Lodge prematurely. Most importantly, it can lead to bad outcomes, one way or the other.
It is not reasonable for Lodge members who happen to know a man to hand him a petition before the other active members of the Lodge get to know him. If they act in this unreasonable manner can they truly be surprised if a black cube falls, dropped by a Mason who was unreasonably denied an opportunity to discover for himself if the man they are recommending is truly worthy of the Degrees of Freemasonry?
We must stop handing out petitions as if they were candy in a parade. We must give our Brothers toiling along side of us in the Lodge an opportunity to get to know a man before we ask them to vote in favor of that man.
Only in this way are we truly acting in the best interests of our Lodge.
I am of two minds over the matter.
Petitioners will always show their public face when meeting new people. So, that begs the question, are you really getting to know that man?
Long ago I read the novel Shogun, about a english captain living in Japan during the feudal period. In the book, it's mentioned that the Japanese have three faces. One, that they show the world, a second they show to their close friends and loved ones, and a third that they only show themselves.
It's not just the Japanese.
In order to truly know someone, you would have to be close to them, and even then, you won't really know their true selves. We're not going to know that person just by a few months of hanging around the lodge.
I joined a few months before the fraternity started the whole six steps process. When I walked into the lodge for the first time, I was given a petition right off the bat. The men who signed it didn't know who I was. It's been almost 10 years now, and I'd like to think that I have been a good mason and a benefit to the fraternity.
There was another man who joined after me, and went through the six steps. He held himself up as the poster child for the program. He is also still a mason, but he moved away due to family obligations.
My point is, while I believe there is some benefits to having a six step program, you won't really know how things are going to turn out. It's that 3rd face that matters, what is truly in that man's heart, not the public display he puts on.
In truth, there are very few really bad apples in masonry. There is also no one that walks on water either, while a few probably think they can. I've met some exceptional men in my years as a mason, but most are ordinary guys just trying to be better.
While I agree it's nice for the candidate to meet everyone, it might not be possible sometimes. I feel that if you were wanting to black ball a candidate, despite positive feedback from the investigation committee, solely on the basis you don't know him, then you should speak up prior to the vote. "Worshipful Master, I understand that the candidate has been investigated and found favorable. However in good conscience, I cant vote favorably until I myself know this man better " then the ballot is postponed giving that opportunity. Simple.
It's a multiple step process to become a mason requiring a 1st and 2nd reading. It should not be a suprise that the lodge is wanting to ballot that night.
The worst part of it in your situation is the secretary or brother reaching out to the candidate and telling him the bad news, without the ability to provide positive feedback or next steps, beyond simply waiting 1 more year and trying again.