lots of people in my lodge are thinking about this question (well really everybody is, even if they're not talking about it out loud)
This is a really, really bad situation for Freemasons (in my opinion) because society right now is very fractured. Coronavirus is where this shows up, but the virus itself isn't necessarily the problem. I…
lots of people in my lodge are thinking about this question (well really everybody is, even if they're not talking about it out loud)
This is a really, really bad situation for Freemasons (in my opinion) because society right now is very fractured. Coronavirus is where this shows up, but the virus itself isn't necessarily the problem. I'm not in WA but we have seen passive-aggressive resistance of GM orders for safety, motivated by political and freedom-oriented concerns from outside of the lodge environment. This has created an extremely mixed and muddled situation.
Here's the reality I see:
- Some brothers are vaccinated and come without any fear or hesitation
- Some are not vaccinated and are vocal about the wrongness of vaccination, and passive-aggressively resist district and state health rules
- Some stay away from lodge because of group #2.
It's all fine and well to say that masons don't talk politics, but this is super unavoidable because the issue is so politically charged, and if Masons can't talk about the political and social aspects of this pandemic...well...the environment is so charged that it doesn't make any of those things go away, it just means we don't talk about them, which is super unfortunate. We need to find respectful ways of talking about it without devolving into the usual tired partisan talking points.
I'm going to be honest, I am wary of certain brothers in my lodge because of this. When I spot a brother who argues that vaccination and masks are wrong, and who regularly attends large social gatherings with like-minded people...I need to establish some respectful boundaries there to take care of mine, without making judgements about that man or telling him what to do.
I am at a complete loss for what "whispering good counsel" should mean at this particular moment in history. The fundamental nature of the social divide is that one man's good counsel is another man's obviously false partisan politics. This is extremely sad; truth has indeed become relative.
GL leadership across many states is walking a super-tricky tight rope right now. Leadership needs to establish the right patterns for safety & model the right behavior, but it somehow has to acknowledge and deal with the fact that (due to social division) this *so* pulls against the desires of some masons, individual subordinate lodges need to choose between alienating members and permitting the rules to be flouted. This is a real situation on the ground.
lots of people in my lodge are thinking about this question (well really everybody is, even if they're not talking about it out loud)
This is a really, really bad situation for Freemasons (in my opinion) because society right now is very fractured. Coronavirus is where this shows up, but the virus itself isn't necessarily the problem. I'm not in WA but we have seen passive-aggressive resistance of GM orders for safety, motivated by political and freedom-oriented concerns from outside of the lodge environment. This has created an extremely mixed and muddled situation.
Here's the reality I see:
- Some brothers are vaccinated and come without any fear or hesitation
- Some are not vaccinated and are vocal about the wrongness of vaccination, and passive-aggressively resist district and state health rules
- Some stay away from lodge because of group #2.
It's all fine and well to say that masons don't talk politics, but this is super unavoidable because the issue is so politically charged, and if Masons can't talk about the political and social aspects of this pandemic...well...the environment is so charged that it doesn't make any of those things go away, it just means we don't talk about them, which is super unfortunate. We need to find respectful ways of talking about it without devolving into the usual tired partisan talking points.
I'm going to be honest, I am wary of certain brothers in my lodge because of this. When I spot a brother who argues that vaccination and masks are wrong, and who regularly attends large social gatherings with like-minded people...I need to establish some respectful boundaries there to take care of mine, without making judgements about that man or telling him what to do.
I am at a complete loss for what "whispering good counsel" should mean at this particular moment in history. The fundamental nature of the social divide is that one man's good counsel is another man's obviously false partisan politics. This is extremely sad; truth has indeed become relative.
GL leadership across many states is walking a super-tricky tight rope right now. Leadership needs to establish the right patterns for safety & model the right behavior, but it somehow has to acknowledge and deal with the fact that (due to social division) this *so* pulls against the desires of some masons, individual subordinate lodges need to choose between alienating members and permitting the rules to be flouted. This is a real situation on the ground.
Perfect. I totally agree and could not have said it better.