Here in the Jurisdiction of Washington, our Ritual, specifically our Charges, point out the duty of Freemasons to be exemplary citizens. I’ve always found the text of the Charges a bit oddly worded given the actions of our nation’s Masonic Founding Fathers, but one must assume that the specific text was decided upon so that government would not come to fear our Institution.
However it may be, we are called to be exemplary citizens.
Given that, and given that this is a major election week in the United States, I wonder:
Is it a Freemason’s Masonic duty to vote in our civil elections?
That Masonry takes voting very seriously is without a doubt, given that (in Washington, I assume elsewhere as well) when we vote on petitions for the Degrees, every single Master Mason who is present is required to vote. We don’t get to take a pass.
So again, is it our duty, as Masons, to vote in civil elections?
If it is, is it also our duty to become informed voters prior to doing so?
I think that these questions have direct bearing on us as Freemasons, given the nature of the Charges contained within our ritual, so I hope that we can chat about it today.
I believe it's the duty of citizens to vote, having said that, but if a citizen doesn't properly vet each and every issues and candidate before voting then don't vote on the issues or candidate not vetted it might do more harm than good. Guard our constitution.
Your mention of vetting candidates is right, and what we need to do in Lodge as well. When we vote it doesn't matter if it is for a political office, the Degrees of Masonry, or even Worshipful Master. We have to make sure that the person we are supporting is worthy of our vote.
In Australia we vote in lodge, by two methods a simple (up and down vote) or if you like (for or against), when voting to accept reports and pass accounts for payment. We also vote for the Master-Elect.
We vote by secret ballot on petitions to join or affiliate the lodge, this is done by way of white or black ball.
Unless I know the person or have enough information, I abstain from voting.
Politically, in Australia it's compulsory to vote, so you don't get a choice but from what I understand from American election process, this is not the case.
Freedom is what your country thrives on, and I believe that it also extends to a freedom to decide whether to vote or not,
If you don't vote, you can't complain on the way you're governed.
That is interesting, Thank You! It does seem that we are quite opposite. Here political voting is fully optional and somewhere between 52% and 62% of those who are eligible to vote actually do so in those elections that include a race for the Presidency. Those percentages fall dramatically in years that do not include a Presidential election.
On the other hand, as Masons, all members of a Lodge must vote in order for a Petitioner to be elected to receive the Degrees of Masonry. I think we may be strange in Washington because we use White Balls and Black Cubes. Not sure how many other Jurisdictions use cubes instead of balls. But a single Black Cube will reject a petitioner.
I believe it is our duty as Freemasons to be informed regarding the candidates and issues and vote (the entire ballot). One benefit of Washington State’s vote by mail system is the ability to take the time to research with the ballot in our possession and then mark, sign and mail the ballot before the deadline.
Agreed. And I would add that it is the political Candidate's responsibility to provide information to voters.
I'll give a little example. For professional reasons, just prior to the election I traveled to an extremely rural part of our State. Driving through it, I saw a lot of signs urging re-election of a County elected official. One of the high profile positions. When I returned home, again for professional reasons, I pulled up the voter's guide for that part of the State, to see what I could learn about those seeking office. Well, this person, the incumbent, hadn't even bothered to answer the most basic questions in the voter's guide, provide contact information, or give a brief statement. No information at all was given.
When candidates do that (it most often happens in unopposed races) they are cheating voters out of information that should be provided, and I personally believe that we should not reward those candidates for their unacceptable lack of response.
I was pleased to see that the candidate in my example above lost to the challenger.
Nov 7, 2022·edited Nov 7, 2022Liked by Cameron M. Bailey
I would like to read about the voting opportunities for a common man in 1717 Great Britain. Our Craft's operative roots in the Masonry trade no doubt had rules proposed and debated, but as for leadership positions I'm unclear. About a hundred years later, the Webb Ritual charges that, "In the State, you are to be a quiet and peaceful subject, true to your government, and just to your country; you are not to countenance disloyalty or rebellion, but patiently submit to legal authority, and conform with cheerfulness to the government of the country in which you live." The adaptation of our rituals to modern civil changes/innovations might be an interesting case-study on how to address future issues.
Giving this a bit more thought... Our Craft originated with stone masons who traveled frequently to other countries for work. So, they would often reside for a period of time in a country that they were not citizens of. Thus, the admonishment to be a quiet and peaceful subject makes sense.
Thank you for this. It makes a great deal of sense.
My mother for example, who has lived in Mexico for decades, and who has legal status from the government of Mexico as such, is however precluded by law from participating in the local political process. If there were say a protest against some governmental action, the law precludes her from taking part. That seems appropriate to me as she is a guest within the Country, not a citizen of it.
But from a practical perspective, if she were to violate that, it would mean little. The worst she would possibly get for doing something like that would probably be an admonishment or a ticket.
But, long ago, when our rituals were created, punishments were a lot more extreme for even those offenses that we consider quite minor today. It would make a great deal of sense for, as you point out, a foreign worker to be very quiet and peaceful in his host country.
“So again, is it our duty, as Masons, to vote in civil elections?” Absolutely. We are citizens of this country. Voting is one of the key components of our engagement with our government.
“If it is, is it also our duty to become informed voters prior to doing so?” Yes, and I’ll go you one further. Once the official is elected, don’t put these items on a back-burner. Stay engaged. Pay attention to what your representative is doing. What bills they are creating, how they are voting on bills, etc. Yes, I know, it takes a lot of time to stay engaged, and I had one politically active Mason tell me that once we elect a Representative, Senator, etc. that we should just have faith that they’re going to do what we want them to do. I was surprised to hear him say that. I didn’t know that a Legislator could read minds. They’re going to vote according to the information provided to them. Stay engaged. The time many of us spend ranting and raving on Facebook about current issues would be time more constructive explaining your stance on an issue to your elected official. In a civil manner, of course. It’s amazing how much difference you can make.
>>>The time many of us spend ranting and raving on Facebook about current issues would be time >>>more constructive explaining your stance on an issue to your elected official.
As someone who has spent his adult life working with and in Legislative offices I can back your statement above 100%.
Not a single elected official gives a rat's a** about anyone's political rant posted on social media. It is nothing but noise, and ignored noise at that.
But, a well written, well reasoned email or letter? That will get attention.
I can also say that a form letter of any kind, a letter sent at the urging of one special interest group or another is completely worthless. No one reads them, no one cares.
If there is an issue that is important, and an interest group urges you to send a form email about it, don't bother. Instead, write your own email, politely, carefully, and using reason. That one single email will have more impact than a thousand form emails.
I find it hard to tell the character of a person from the small amount of information on the ballot. And I certainly will not vote for anyone who mails me an ad bashing their opponent. So I'm not left with any good options in most cases. So I usually end up not voting because I can't in good conscience vote for any of them. I would hope that if any brother were to run for any office that we would get a heads up and then I'd be most likely voting for that brother if I know him to be a good mason. The party does not matter to me, the character of the person is the most important.
You put your finger on a dilemma very frequently faced by candidates (in the US anyway) in most races.
I think that most want to run 100% positive elections, and would very much prefer to stay above the ugliness. Not all of course, but most. The trouble is, it largely seems impossible to win election without at least some percentage of one's advertisements going negative on one's opponent.
Another thing that plays into all of this is 'independent expenditures.' Even if a candidate resolved to run a 100% positive campaign, and stuck to that resolution, outside groups supporting his or her candidacy can and do run their own advertisements, most often extremely negative in nature. These are largely indistinguishable from the candidate's own advertising unless one reads the very small print.
It is the duty of every citizen to vote in his or her country. As masons we are supposed to help the community to become better, and voting is part of that. Respecting the law and the constitutions of our country (federal and state) includes doing our best to make sure those things aren't subverted.
This means that by extension, we should know and understand those documents. Most citizens can't even tell you what the bill of rights are.
And I agree, the changes made to our rituals and charges telling us to be subservient to the government had to have been added after the Morgan Affair and the anti-freemason movement.
Perhaps a couple of really interesting Masonic Education topics could be the reading and discussion of our Nation's founding documents? A discussion of the Declaration of Independence, and another of the Constitution?
Our good Brother Winston Churchill had this to say about voting:
“At the bottom of all the tributes paid to democracy is the little man, walking into a little booth, with a little pencil, making a little cross on a little bit of paper – no amount of rhetoric or voluminous discussion can possibly palliate the overwhelming importance of that point.”
I’ll vote, if for no other reason than to make sure I remember how to do it when the next election rolls around. Maybe that one will cheer me up.
I seem to always have at least one race on the ballot that interests me. This time it was the election for County Sheriff. My guy lost, but he gave a good run.
We're to be exemplary citizens of just regimes, which explains how the founding fathers get a pass, in essence. Trickier than even the founding fathers is the position of Masons like Albert Pike, fighting on the side of the Confederate states.
The trick has always been in what one considers a "just regime". There, best I can tell Freemasonry has nothing to say other than a general set of principles that each applies for himself. It is not my intent to get into a debate about whether the Confederate states "counts", just to point out that there are obvious differences here.
So then, let's take that lens and apply it to the question, is it a duty to vote in civil elections? If, in your judgment, we are presently in a just regime, then I'd argue yes. Our challenge it that not all present will agree that the precondition is met.
What an interesting and contradictory puzzle. In the face of all of that, we are to agree on common principles, and promote harmony in our own fraternity. That right there is a fascinating set of contradictions (to me).
part of what I'm getting to with this is that the "vote" question is a level above where the real problem is. If society is deeply and toxically divided, and Masons are of society, what does that mean for Masons? May we only remain united by studiously avoiding discussions of real things that impact everyone? Or are we not *actually* united? Or something else?
That's the puzzle. The vote is a minor expression of how one singular man chooses to navigate that puzzle.
Only the victors get to write the history books. In your confederate example, those that fought for the south felt just as much ‘right’ as the northerners did.
>>>We're to be exemplary citizens of just regimes, which explains how the founding fathers get a >>>pass, in essence.
Your point is very well taken, and it reflects how I personally view that part of the ritual as well.
Our ritual calls upon us to be peaceable citizens provided that the government we are living under is legitimate.
Our Founding Fathers here in the US made the case for themselves, and publicly, that the government they were living under was illegitimate. That is why we can honor our sitting Grand Master MW Joseph Warren who died in a hail of bullets while violently resisting the then government at the battle of Bunker Hill.
I believe it's the duty of citizens to vote, having said that, but if a citizen doesn't properly vet each and every issues and candidate before voting then don't vote on the issues or candidate not vetted it might do more harm than good. Guard our constitution.
Your mention of vetting candidates is right, and what we need to do in Lodge as well. When we vote it doesn't matter if it is for a political office, the Degrees of Masonry, or even Worshipful Master. We have to make sure that the person we are supporting is worthy of our vote.
In Australia we vote in lodge, by two methods a simple (up and down vote) or if you like (for or against), when voting to accept reports and pass accounts for payment. We also vote for the Master-Elect.
We vote by secret ballot on petitions to join or affiliate the lodge, this is done by way of white or black ball.
Unless I know the person or have enough information, I abstain from voting.
Politically, in Australia it's compulsory to vote, so you don't get a choice but from what I understand from American election process, this is not the case.
Freedom is what your country thrives on, and I believe that it also extends to a freedom to decide whether to vote or not,
If you don't vote, you can't complain on the way you're governed.
That is interesting, Thank You! It does seem that we are quite opposite. Here political voting is fully optional and somewhere between 52% and 62% of those who are eligible to vote actually do so in those elections that include a race for the Presidency. Those percentages fall dramatically in years that do not include a Presidential election.
On the other hand, as Masons, all members of a Lodge must vote in order for a Petitioner to be elected to receive the Degrees of Masonry. I think we may be strange in Washington because we use White Balls and Black Cubes. Not sure how many other Jurisdictions use cubes instead of balls. But a single Black Cube will reject a petitioner.
I believe it is our duty as Freemasons to be informed regarding the candidates and issues and vote (the entire ballot). One benefit of Washington State’s vote by mail system is the ability to take the time to research with the ballot in our possession and then mark, sign and mail the ballot before the deadline.
Agreed. And I would add that it is the political Candidate's responsibility to provide information to voters.
I'll give a little example. For professional reasons, just prior to the election I traveled to an extremely rural part of our State. Driving through it, I saw a lot of signs urging re-election of a County elected official. One of the high profile positions. When I returned home, again for professional reasons, I pulled up the voter's guide for that part of the State, to see what I could learn about those seeking office. Well, this person, the incumbent, hadn't even bothered to answer the most basic questions in the voter's guide, provide contact information, or give a brief statement. No information at all was given.
When candidates do that (it most often happens in unopposed races) they are cheating voters out of information that should be provided, and I personally believe that we should not reward those candidates for their unacceptable lack of response.
I was pleased to see that the candidate in my example above lost to the challenger.
I would like to read about the voting opportunities for a common man in 1717 Great Britain. Our Craft's operative roots in the Masonry trade no doubt had rules proposed and debated, but as for leadership positions I'm unclear. About a hundred years later, the Webb Ritual charges that, "In the State, you are to be a quiet and peaceful subject, true to your government, and just to your country; you are not to countenance disloyalty or rebellion, but patiently submit to legal authority, and conform with cheerfulness to the government of the country in which you live." The adaptation of our rituals to modern civil changes/innovations might be an interesting case-study on how to address future issues.
Giving this a bit more thought... Our Craft originated with stone masons who traveled frequently to other countries for work. So, they would often reside for a period of time in a country that they were not citizens of. Thus, the admonishment to be a quiet and peaceful subject makes sense.
Thank you for this. It makes a great deal of sense.
My mother for example, who has lived in Mexico for decades, and who has legal status from the government of Mexico as such, is however precluded by law from participating in the local political process. If there were say a protest against some governmental action, the law precludes her from taking part. That seems appropriate to me as she is a guest within the Country, not a citizen of it.
But from a practical perspective, if she were to violate that, it would mean little. The worst she would possibly get for doing something like that would probably be an admonishment or a ticket.
But, long ago, when our rituals were created, punishments were a lot more extreme for even those offenses that we consider quite minor today. It would make a great deal of sense for, as you point out, a foreign worker to be very quiet and peaceful in his host country.
“So again, is it our duty, as Masons, to vote in civil elections?” Absolutely. We are citizens of this country. Voting is one of the key components of our engagement with our government.
“If it is, is it also our duty to become informed voters prior to doing so?” Yes, and I’ll go you one further. Once the official is elected, don’t put these items on a back-burner. Stay engaged. Pay attention to what your representative is doing. What bills they are creating, how they are voting on bills, etc. Yes, I know, it takes a lot of time to stay engaged, and I had one politically active Mason tell me that once we elect a Representative, Senator, etc. that we should just have faith that they’re going to do what we want them to do. I was surprised to hear him say that. I didn’t know that a Legislator could read minds. They’re going to vote according to the information provided to them. Stay engaged. The time many of us spend ranting and raving on Facebook about current issues would be time more constructive explaining your stance on an issue to your elected official. In a civil manner, of course. It’s amazing how much difference you can make.
>>>The time many of us spend ranting and raving on Facebook about current issues would be time >>>more constructive explaining your stance on an issue to your elected official.
As someone who has spent his adult life working with and in Legislative offices I can back your statement above 100%.
Not a single elected official gives a rat's a** about anyone's political rant posted on social media. It is nothing but noise, and ignored noise at that.
But, a well written, well reasoned email or letter? That will get attention.
I can also say that a form letter of any kind, a letter sent at the urging of one special interest group or another is completely worthless. No one reads them, no one cares.
If there is an issue that is important, and an interest group urges you to send a form email about it, don't bother. Instead, write your own email, politely, carefully, and using reason. That one single email will have more impact than a thousand form emails.
I find it hard to tell the character of a person from the small amount of information on the ballot. And I certainly will not vote for anyone who mails me an ad bashing their opponent. So I'm not left with any good options in most cases. So I usually end up not voting because I can't in good conscience vote for any of them. I would hope that if any brother were to run for any office that we would get a heads up and then I'd be most likely voting for that brother if I know him to be a good mason. The party does not matter to me, the character of the person is the most important.
You put your finger on a dilemma very frequently faced by candidates (in the US anyway) in most races.
I think that most want to run 100% positive elections, and would very much prefer to stay above the ugliness. Not all of course, but most. The trouble is, it largely seems impossible to win election without at least some percentage of one's advertisements going negative on one's opponent.
Another thing that plays into all of this is 'independent expenditures.' Even if a candidate resolved to run a 100% positive campaign, and stuck to that resolution, outside groups supporting his or her candidacy can and do run their own advertisements, most often extremely negative in nature. These are largely indistinguishable from the candidate's own advertising unless one reads the very small print.
It is the duty of every citizen to vote in his or her country. As masons we are supposed to help the community to become better, and voting is part of that. Respecting the law and the constitutions of our country (federal and state) includes doing our best to make sure those things aren't subverted.
This means that by extension, we should know and understand those documents. Most citizens can't even tell you what the bill of rights are.
And I agree, the changes made to our rituals and charges telling us to be subservient to the government had to have been added after the Morgan Affair and the anti-freemason movement.
Perhaps a couple of really interesting Masonic Education topics could be the reading and discussion of our Nation's founding documents? A discussion of the Declaration of Independence, and another of the Constitution?
Our good Brother Winston Churchill had this to say about voting:
“At the bottom of all the tributes paid to democracy is the little man, walking into a little booth, with a little pencil, making a little cross on a little bit of paper – no amount of rhetoric or voluminous discussion can possibly palliate the overwhelming importance of that point.”
I’ll vote, if for no other reason than to make sure I remember how to do it when the next election rolls around. Maybe that one will cheer me up.
I seem to always have at least one race on the ballot that interests me. This time it was the election for County Sheriff. My guy lost, but he gave a good run.
We're to be exemplary citizens of just regimes, which explains how the founding fathers get a pass, in essence. Trickier than even the founding fathers is the position of Masons like Albert Pike, fighting on the side of the Confederate states.
The trick has always been in what one considers a "just regime". There, best I can tell Freemasonry has nothing to say other than a general set of principles that each applies for himself. It is not my intent to get into a debate about whether the Confederate states "counts", just to point out that there are obvious differences here.
So then, let's take that lens and apply it to the question, is it a duty to vote in civil elections? If, in your judgment, we are presently in a just regime, then I'd argue yes. Our challenge it that not all present will agree that the precondition is met.
What an interesting and contradictory puzzle. In the face of all of that, we are to agree on common principles, and promote harmony in our own fraternity. That right there is a fascinating set of contradictions (to me).
part of what I'm getting to with this is that the "vote" question is a level above where the real problem is. If society is deeply and toxically divided, and Masons are of society, what does that mean for Masons? May we only remain united by studiously avoiding discussions of real things that impact everyone? Or are we not *actually* united? Or something else?
That's the puzzle. The vote is a minor expression of how one singular man chooses to navigate that puzzle.
Only the victors get to write the history books. In your confederate example, those that fought for the south felt just as much ‘right’ as the northerners did.
that's my point. Principles (be a peaceful citizen of a just regime) don't tell you what to do in particular cases, and people will decide differently
>>>We're to be exemplary citizens of just regimes, which explains how the founding fathers get a >>>pass, in essence.
Your point is very well taken, and it reflects how I personally view that part of the ritual as well.
Our ritual calls upon us to be peaceable citizens provided that the government we are living under is legitimate.
Our Founding Fathers here in the US made the case for themselves, and publicly, that the government they were living under was illegitimate. That is why we can honor our sitting Grand Master MW Joseph Warren who died in a hail of bullets while violently resisting the then government at the battle of Bunker Hill.