Free Speech, Free Men, Free Masons

We can't be the later without the former

“Brethren, in the presence of the Great Lights and under the protecting folds of the Flag of Our Country, we have worked, as Masons, for the good of humanity. As the Flag is retired let us stand at salute in tribute to the emblem of the Nation that guarantees to its citizens the rights of free assembly, free speech, free worship – The rights of free men and of Freemasons. Brother Marshal, retire the Flag.”

-Standard Work (Monitorial) F&AM of Washington, emphasis mine.

Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash

In my Jurisdiction, the above work is optional. But, it is almost always included as part of our closing ceremonies by our Worshipful Masters. I’d venture to guess that it has been utilized well in excess of 95% of Lodge meetings I’ve attended since becoming a Freemason.

Generally, when I’m in the East, I don’t utilize it. I skip it. Not because I am any less patriotic than the next guy, I’m not. I love my country. And not because I don’t know the words, I do. I actually find it one of the easiest bits of ritual ever to memorize.

I usually don’t include it (in fairness, sometimes I do) because it is my view that our Craft transcends national borders. That we are truly a worldwide movement, designed to unite men of every nation into a common band of brotherhood. I think it is important for us to remember that Freemasonry is a worldwide bond of good men, not constrained by any border.

I think that most Masons in my Jurisdiction agree with that view. Some years ago an extremely popular Grand Master proposed that we vote to make that snippet of ritual a mandatory part of our Closing. That would have been in keeping with the vast and overwhelming majority of Lodge’s practices. But his proposal went down in flames. When it came time to vote, it was nothing but a wave of ‘No!’

But the words are true, and inspiring, and good. They are a call and an acknowledgement of what has made this country great.

Without Free Assembly, Free Speech, and Free Worship the United States, and the West as a whole, wouldn’t be what we are. We would instead be yet another failed totalitarian hell-hole.

It is these values, Western values, that have given us the liberty and prosperity we all enjoy today.

It is these values that allow Freemasonry to exist, for Freemasonry can’t exist within totalitarian states.

Free Assembly, Free Speech, and Free Worship are deserving of the protection of every Freemason, and every body of Freemasons. That truth is self evident, and we are all called upon to do our part.

None of us who lived through that dark time will ever forget when we were unable to meet together, as Freemasons, due to the pandemic and its related restrictions.

I remember burning with desire to communicate with my Brothers, and searching for a way to get that done.

I found a solution. A substitute. Not a replacement, because nothing can replace meeting together in the real world as Masons, but the next best thing.

That thing was Substack. Emeth. This online space where you are reading these words.

Between posts and comments, zoom, later audio and video, then chat and notes, we were able to forge a community here. A place to learn about Freemasonry, discuss Freemasonry, and learn from each other. All with a goal of improving ourselves and improving our Lodge. A goal of creating truly Legendary Freemasonry.

And Emeth has been a great ride!

Thanks to all of you who support this effort, through subscriptions, comments, shares, and your dollars.

But also, thanks to Substack. The company that has the software, and the vision to make this whole thing possible.

Now, Substack isn’t doing this out of selfless motives. They are a corporation. A big venture backed corporation. They want to make money, and they are making money. They make money off Emeth each and every month. But that isn’t a bad thing, indeed, it is the only way things work in our society. Without the profit motive, none of this could exist.

Ultimately though, it must be remembered that Emeth can only exist because of the tools provided by three big tech companies. (Zoom and Stripe are the other two.)

But, here’s the thing. Substack, and through it, Emeth is under attack.

It is under attack by people who want this tech company to censor writings and writers that they personally disagree with.

In other words, they want to turn Substack into Facebook and Twitter.

They want this tech company to start deciding who can write what here. What communities can exist here. To start banning people who write unpopular things. To turn Substack, and Emeth, into just one more horrific algorithm driven cesspool.

Why?

I’m afraid that the drive towards, and desire for, totalitarianism is something that I can’t explain. It is an evil that has existed for as long as civilization. But it is an evil that Freemasons, and Freemasonry has always stood against. Free Speech, Free Men, Free Masons.

This attack on Substack has been going on for as long as Emeth has existed, and it won’t stop, but I think that you need to know what’s happening, and I think that liberty and free expression will prevail.

I think it is easy to grow complacent and believe that Freemasonry will never be censored here in the United States. But, I think that view is wrong, as demonstrated by the short history of our nation.

Surely when our nation was born, a large number of our Founding Fathers were Freemasons. We were the establishment. We were safe, protected even.

But that didn’t last very long. An anti-masonic movement grew hugely in this country. So huge it even spawned a political party. A political party that gave us the nominating convention idea that we see on Television every four years as the Democrats and Republicans continue their campaigns. To be clear, during that time, the vast majority of Americans were anti-masonic and viewed our Craft as dreadfully harmful to society.

Had we not possessed ironclad rights of Free Assembly and Free Speech during that period, all could have very easily been lost.

But, history is a pendulum, and in time, the pendulum swung back in favor of our Ancient Craft. Once again Presidents were Freemasons. Once again we became the establishment, safe and protected.

If we honestly look at Freemasonry in the United States today, we can see that it isn’t that way now. We haven’t had a Mason in the White House since Ford. Our overall numbers have collapsed in recent decades, and our percentage of the population has fallen off a cliff. We are a tiny minority.

Someday, we could once again be widely considered a tiny minority that causes harm to society.

We must work to protect the principle of Free Speech on moral grounds. But we also must protect it in order to protect ourselves, our Craft, and the values of Freemasonry.

That is why I was proud this week to add my name and my voice to so many others who are working to ensure that this platform remain a place that honors and protects Free Speech, and Free Assembly online.

It was signed by people who are world famous journalists read by millions, to people writing for tiny specialized audiences. And me.

I urge you to read the letter we openly sent to the company that provides the technology that makes Emeth possible:

Substack shouldn’t decide what we read

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Are you looking for a great gift to give a Freemason?

Might I suggest a ‘gift that keeps on giving, the whole year long?’ A much better version of the ‘Jelly of the Month Club’ that Clark W. Griswold received in the movie Christmas Vacation?

Can I suggest giving a gift subscription to Emeth?

Just click below: