If I didn't already know you were a Scottish Rite mason, I'd know it after reading this post. So many of the themes you discuss in here are echoed in parts of the Scottish Rite work, such as those principles which make for a civil society and our involvement in them and so forth.
Freemasonry as currently operated does embody a lot of the goods de Tocqueville is discussing. But I also think we're in a transitional period where the nature of social association is changing. The world is becoming boundaryless and interconnected in a way de Tocqueville couldn't have guessed. The forms and methods of connection will evolve (here we all are, discussing on Substack), the DNA of the thing isn't going to go away.
What we do stand at risk of losing is broad population understanding of how these mechanisms function and what their value is. How would this be for a great & appropriate Masonic charity: basic civics education for primary school kids.
This is a VITAL message. It touches on many themes, from Voluntarism to the Human Condition (Hannah Arendt), and really gives perspective to Freemasonry's role in modern society -- which in part was created by that exact influence of Freemasonry.
If I didn't already know you were a Scottish Rite mason, I'd know it after reading this post. So many of the themes you discuss in here are echoed in parts of the Scottish Rite work, such as those principles which make for a civil society and our involvement in them and so forth.
Freemasonry as currently operated does embody a lot of the goods de Tocqueville is discussing. But I also think we're in a transitional period where the nature of social association is changing. The world is becoming boundaryless and interconnected in a way de Tocqueville couldn't have guessed. The forms and methods of connection will evolve (here we all are, discussing on Substack), the DNA of the thing isn't going to go away.
What we do stand at risk of losing is broad population understanding of how these mechanisms function and what their value is. How would this be for a great & appropriate Masonic charity: basic civics education for primary school kids.
This is a VITAL message. It touches on many themes, from Voluntarism to the Human Condition (Hannah Arendt), and really gives perspective to Freemasonry's role in modern society -- which in part was created by that exact influence of Freemasonry.