Nonage
At what age are we ready for Freemasonry?
Every Jurisdiction’s ritual may be a bit different, but here in Washington, when we become Freemasons, we agree that we won’t support any male who hasn’t yet reached maturity becoming a Mason.
Here we call that ‘nonage.’
Additionally, my Jurisdiction (as I assume most do) sets a minimum age for Petitioning in our Masonic Code.
That’s all well and good, but just because a young man has reached the minimum age set forth in the Code, should we Initiate him without looking further?
Recently I’ve been doing some reflecting on my life.
I don’t think that I matured overly slowly, but I certainly did some really childish things when I was eighteen. And I did some really childish things when I was twenty-one. Things that I wish I hadn’t have done, decisions I wish I would have made differently.
I’m not certain when I stopped doing childish things, certainly well before I hit thirty, but there was definitely a time when I was considered legally fully adult, but I was still making the occasional childish decision.
Why?
Because in some ways, I was still a child. I hadn’t fully matured yet. Probably because I lived a rather charmed life so didn’t have to mature quickly.
I imagine that others fully mature sooner. Certainly, I have to believe those who go to war on our behalf must. Probably lots of others too, if circumstances demand it.
But, lots and lots don’t.
We can see this plainly, each and every day, if we visit a college or university campus. I might have a bit of a leg up here since I have a college across the street from my house.
So I wonder, how do we judge when a man is mature enough to become a Freemason?
I wouldn’t have been at eighteen. Maybe not at twenty-one. Certainly I was by thirty, I had roughly one hundred and twenty people working for me when I was that age.
But how do we judge that?
Can we simply rely upon our code’s definition of nonage, or must we dig deeper into a young petitioner’s maturity.
Heck, is that need to dig deeper even limited to young men? In my life I’ve known a man or two in his fifties who were still largely children in their decision making and actions.
What do you think?
I know that I wasn't ready for such thinking as I ended my time in a DeMolay Chapter. At the end of my University Engineer Degrees, I won a Lottery (my birthdate popped up as a number under 40 in the "Draft Lottery")! Ha.
So the US Army was in my life, first as a National Guard enlistee, then as a graduate of the NY Army Nat'l Guard's Empire State Military Academy. As a 2LT, I was a Project Leader building Latrines for Female Cadets at Camp Buchner when West Point was about to go COED (supervised about 10 soldiers).
I considered myself too busy with my Civilian Career M-F plus NYARNG weekend duties, to consider a Masonic Petition. Finally, in my mid-30's, I did so.
The discussion we had at several lodges on this topic revolved into distinguishing Adults from Children... It is not only age--except legally, when certain things can occur at ages 16, 18, 21.
Rather, there is a stage in-between childhood and adulthood which interferes with the transition.
It is called Adolescence... K12 and higher education have been massively contributing to Extending Adolescence in children--regardless of age: ooohhh it is not your fault; ooohhhh the tests are too difficult; the tests are racist;
Teacher never tell a kid: it is YOUR fault
We see it in people in the workforce: ooohh it is not my fault--it was his fault, her fault; I woke up late--the alarm did not work;
These adolescents are readily distinguishable, and it can easily come out during the Discovery Process (early meetings over coffee, breakfast)
An adolescent is anyone over the age of 18 who wants all the Privileges of Adulthood--but with the Responsibility of a Child....
Guarding the West Gate means deciding (Judging!!) if someone is actually owning their own life, and the consequences of their choices....
Listen closer the next time someone talks about their life, work success and failures....