As many of you know, I haven't actively participated in formal lodge functions since 2018 when my term as lodge treasurer at my old lodge ended and I watched them collapse from emails and formal letters thereafter.
I still seek an active brotherhood.
I have looked at elks, moose, eagles, and a slew of other groups.
One thing I've heard a lot from lodges of all these groups in Washington and Oregon is "Covid really hurt us, without in person gatherings we lost a lot of participation."
To which I reply "because you were cowards. First, even at the beginning it was known that Covid was really only dangerous to the elderly and afterwards we know that the total death toll is no worse than any flu epidemic such as swine flu, bird flu, SARS, H1n1 etc.
When the governors of WA and OR told people they couldn't attend church, or club meetings in person, every church and fraternal organization had an opportunity to stand up for the bill of rights. The 1st amendment and take it to the Supreme Court if necessary.
To paraphrase the relevant text.
" No law abridging the right of the people to peaceably assemble"
Jul 4, 2023·edited Jul 4, 2023Liked by Cameron M. Bailey
Were they cowards for not attending lodge or are they not coming back now because during the forced absence they realized that there wasn't enough substance in lodge to bring them back?
1. Buying into the fear mongering which governments use as propaganda to increase power.
2. For not standing up to the unconstitutional edicts of said governments
3. For not personally taking any risks.
I'm going to quote Patrick Henry here...
Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!
I agree with everything, I always was pissed at how weak lodges were in how they reacted, all the way up and down. I also found the hypocrisy unpardonable. But I also recognize that for the time lodges were basically shut down, at least a few brothers filled their time away doing other things, and got into the habit of not missing lodge as much as they thought they would.
But, happy 4th everyone! Come back tomorrow with all of your fingers!
I've struggled with the decision of whether or not to reply and have decided to reply.
In the friendliest manner I suggest that making blanket judgments or accusations of cowardice is completely unfair and unwarranted. I get that you're frustrated. Perhaps there's a better label than cowardice to capture your frustration. There are many health risks that I don't take. I love martinis, so much that I'd love to have a second one. But I know it's not good for me so I don't have it. I might enjoy smoking cigarettes. After all, lots of people do. But I know it's not good for me so I don't smoke. I don't know how easy it is to contract or pass Covid, and I don't know what long-Covid may do to my life if I do become infected. There's too much in my life that I don't want to give up. So I took many measures to avoid getting sick. Do any of these things make me a coward?
I really can't tell if you'd judge me a coward ... written posts limit comprehension. In the spirit of Brotherly Love I'll trust (hope?) that you wouldn't judge me too harshly.
For what it's worth, I too was frustrated with the Covid restrictions. The restrictions were temporary and my family and I remained infection-free. We're OK with that tradeoff.
My thoughts about the lockdowns, from a lodge point of view, is that is people were concerned about catching the virus, that is up to them to stay away. I would never call someone a coward for it. Plenty of people have their own health issues, I’m not going to judge. But the lockdowns dragged on for months, for no reason. Being mandated to not be able to gather as brothers, if we felt the risk was worth it, was bullshit. We were lied to month after month. I hope the next time something like this happens we as a nation and a fraternity have the balls to stand up against the tyranny instead of going along with it. But all of this is the past.
It's not cowardly to personally make the choice to avoid a risk. It's cowardly to project your fear upon others and force your young healthy brothers to stay home too.
It has always been that last sentence that always hit me the hardest. "And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor." And they meant every word of it. The hard thing to grasp is that all were men of substance, not a bunch of troublemakers with nothing to loose. Business men and merchants, doctors, lawyers, judges, land owners and farmers. They had everything to loose by signing the documents, and most of them lost big. Just signing it was treason, and the penalty for that was hanging.
Of the 56 signers, nine died of wounds or hardships during the war. Five were captured and imprisoned, which would have meant torture. Several lost wives, sons or entire families. One lost his 13 children. Two wives were brutally treated. All were at one time or another the victims of manhunts and driven from their homes. Twelve signers had their homes completely burned. Seventeen lost everything they owned.
And yet they persevered. And here we are. I know I fall far short of that level of a man. I find their lives humbling and inspiring at the same time. And I keep working.
MW, you have rich content on Emeth. I can't speak for anyone else, but I find it thought provoking to the extent that I often think about it for days at a time. Most craft-related sights are one-way platforms where the producer/creator writes about things current and past. On Emeth, it's asymmetrical. It's not just you, but all of us. One collective mind sharing thoughts about Masonry that we cannot find anything else. You have brought Enlightenment principles to this forum that I greatly appreciate.
Addressing the last bit, I use the emeth emails as a notice that you’ve posted something. I then normally read it on the website, in case I might have a compelling need to write a comment. That’s about 99% of the time lol.
As many of you know, I haven't actively participated in formal lodge functions since 2018 when my term as lodge treasurer at my old lodge ended and I watched them collapse from emails and formal letters thereafter.
I still seek an active brotherhood.
I have looked at elks, moose, eagles, and a slew of other groups.
One thing I've heard a lot from lodges of all these groups in Washington and Oregon is "Covid really hurt us, without in person gatherings we lost a lot of participation."
To which I reply "because you were cowards. First, even at the beginning it was known that Covid was really only dangerous to the elderly and afterwards we know that the total death toll is no worse than any flu epidemic such as swine flu, bird flu, SARS, H1n1 etc.
When the governors of WA and OR told people they couldn't attend church, or club meetings in person, every church and fraternal organization had an opportunity to stand up for the bill of rights. The 1st amendment and take it to the Supreme Court if necessary.
To paraphrase the relevant text.
" No law abridging the right of the people to peaceably assemble"
Yet they all caved.
And are wondering why they are losing members.
Were they cowards for not attending lodge or are they not coming back now because during the forced absence they realized that there wasn't enough substance in lodge to bring them back?
They were cowards for multiple reasons.
1. Buying into the fear mongering which governments use as propaganda to increase power.
2. For not standing up to the unconstitutional edicts of said governments
3. For not personally taking any risks.
I'm going to quote Patrick Henry here...
Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!
The lack of substance is a thing. Part of that lack of substance is a lack of courage.
I agree with everything, I always was pissed at how weak lodges were in how they reacted, all the way up and down. I also found the hypocrisy unpardonable. But I also recognize that for the time lodges were basically shut down, at least a few brothers filled their time away doing other things, and got into the habit of not missing lodge as much as they thought they would.
But, happy 4th everyone! Come back tomorrow with all of your fingers!
I've struggled with the decision of whether or not to reply and have decided to reply.
In the friendliest manner I suggest that making blanket judgments or accusations of cowardice is completely unfair and unwarranted. I get that you're frustrated. Perhaps there's a better label than cowardice to capture your frustration. There are many health risks that I don't take. I love martinis, so much that I'd love to have a second one. But I know it's not good for me so I don't have it. I might enjoy smoking cigarettes. After all, lots of people do. But I know it's not good for me so I don't smoke. I don't know how easy it is to contract or pass Covid, and I don't know what long-Covid may do to my life if I do become infected. There's too much in my life that I don't want to give up. So I took many measures to avoid getting sick. Do any of these things make me a coward?
I really can't tell if you'd judge me a coward ... written posts limit comprehension. In the spirit of Brotherly Love I'll trust (hope?) that you wouldn't judge me too harshly.
For what it's worth, I too was frustrated with the Covid restrictions. The restrictions were temporary and my family and I remained infection-free. We're OK with that tradeoff.
My thoughts about the lockdowns, from a lodge point of view, is that is people were concerned about catching the virus, that is up to them to stay away. I would never call someone a coward for it. Plenty of people have their own health issues, I’m not going to judge. But the lockdowns dragged on for months, for no reason. Being mandated to not be able to gather as brothers, if we felt the risk was worth it, was bullshit. We were lied to month after month. I hope the next time something like this happens we as a nation and a fraternity have the balls to stand up against the tyranny instead of going along with it. But all of this is the past.
It's not cowardly to personally make the choice to avoid a risk. It's cowardly to project your fear upon others and force your young healthy brothers to stay home too.
It has always been that last sentence that always hit me the hardest. "And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor." And they meant every word of it. The hard thing to grasp is that all were men of substance, not a bunch of troublemakers with nothing to loose. Business men and merchants, doctors, lawyers, judges, land owners and farmers. They had everything to loose by signing the documents, and most of them lost big. Just signing it was treason, and the penalty for that was hanging.
Of the 56 signers, nine died of wounds or hardships during the war. Five were captured and imprisoned, which would have meant torture. Several lost wives, sons or entire families. One lost his 13 children. Two wives were brutally treated. All were at one time or another the victims of manhunts and driven from their homes. Twelve signers had their homes completely burned. Seventeen lost everything they owned.
And yet they persevered. And here we are. I know I fall far short of that level of a man. I find their lives humbling and inspiring at the same time. And I keep working.
Happy Independence Day, my Brothers!
MW, you have rich content on Emeth. I can't speak for anyone else, but I find it thought provoking to the extent that I often think about it for days at a time. Most craft-related sights are one-way platforms where the producer/creator writes about things current and past. On Emeth, it's asymmetrical. It's not just you, but all of us. One collective mind sharing thoughts about Masonry that we cannot find anything else. You have brought Enlightenment principles to this forum that I greatly appreciate.
MW and Brethren, Happy Independence Day!
Addressing the last bit, I use the emeth emails as a notice that you’ve posted something. I then normally read it on the website, in case I might have a compelling need to write a comment. That’s about 99% of the time lol.
same for me.
I spent the 4th in Juneau. It was a beautiful day. I hope your day was fantastic.
It was, Thank You. We were at a Brother's house in Bremerton, looking out over the USS Nimitz.