I’ll check out Christopher’s essay. I always admire his deep thoughtful work. What I liked best about Masons while growing up was their dedication to constantly improving the community. It’s seems my Dad was involved in projects every week that uplifted our community. Being from a small town, its noticeable to feel their presence gone today. They left a long time ago, and our community suffers because of their absence.
I think that the Masons of today remain just as interested in helping our communities. Part of the problem is as you point out, we have a lot fewer Masons today than we did decades ago. The other thing I see is that so many people are disconnected from community today. We don't get out to know our neighbors anymore, we often are so focused on what is happening on a worldwide scale that community scale isn't noticed.
What a great essay. The decline of something even as simple as manners is a great illustration of how bad our society has become from even, say, 50 years ago.
Agreed. But I'm not sure that the young men of today don't want to reclaim many things we could call gentlemanly behavior, or even as was put in the essay, nobility. Perhaps we could do well by figuring out ways to inculcate those things within our Lodges?
I enjoyed the essay very much. Like WB Glenn shared, the downfall of simple manners has become overtly noticeable. Chivalry has certainly gone to the wayside, a victim of “toxic masculinity” (which I’m still not sure what that means). As Masons, I like that we dress for our Stated Communications. Simply putting on a suit and tie lifts you to a more noble place. Walking tall and with purpose in your stride will also lessen the likelihood of becoming a victim. Speaking without being vulgar is also noble, and confers intelligence and a command of language skills, all forms of nobility.
I'm not talking politics here, but I think one of our more famous politicians kind of illustrates this well. Senator Fetterman, the Jr. Senator from Pennsylvania.
The dude dresses like a slob in his shorts and hoodies (even in the Senate) and because of that when he first came to my attention some years ago I simply blew him off as an obviously unserious person. A moron not fit to sit in the Senate. And I've no doubt but that lots and lots of people saw him the same way.
But, once he was elected, and acclimated to his new position, it became clear that he is really sharp, principled, and strong. This is not to say that I agree with him politically, but that I was wrong initially (based on his decidedly un-gentlemanly behaviour) and he certainly is worthy of the position he holds.
So, I guess what it comes down to in my mind, is that our mothers were right. People judge us by how we dress, how we act, how we communicate, and how we carry ourselves. And it is really, really hard to overcome a bad judgement once it is made.
Yes. I think you hit upon one of the most important, and least thought about, benefits of Freemasonry. On becoming a Mason, I encountered Masons whom I wanted to emulate. Worshipful Masters who modeled great WM's for me. I still have a PGM or two who I look towards for emulation, because when I see them, I see what a great PGM is.
I’ll check out Christopher’s essay. I always admire his deep thoughtful work. What I liked best about Masons while growing up was their dedication to constantly improving the community. It’s seems my Dad was involved in projects every week that uplifted our community. Being from a small town, its noticeable to feel their presence gone today. They left a long time ago, and our community suffers because of their absence.
I think that the Masons of today remain just as interested in helping our communities. Part of the problem is as you point out, we have a lot fewer Masons today than we did decades ago. The other thing I see is that so many people are disconnected from community today. We don't get out to know our neighbors anymore, we often are so focused on what is happening on a worldwide scale that community scale isn't noticed.
What a great essay. The decline of something even as simple as manners is a great illustration of how bad our society has become from even, say, 50 years ago.
Agreed. But I'm not sure that the young men of today don't want to reclaim many things we could call gentlemanly behavior, or even as was put in the essay, nobility. Perhaps we could do well by figuring out ways to inculcate those things within our Lodges?
I enjoyed the essay very much. Like WB Glenn shared, the downfall of simple manners has become overtly noticeable. Chivalry has certainly gone to the wayside, a victim of “toxic masculinity” (which I’m still not sure what that means). As Masons, I like that we dress for our Stated Communications. Simply putting on a suit and tie lifts you to a more noble place. Walking tall and with purpose in your stride will also lessen the likelihood of becoming a victim. Speaking without being vulgar is also noble, and confers intelligence and a command of language skills, all forms of nobility.
I'm not talking politics here, but I think one of our more famous politicians kind of illustrates this well. Senator Fetterman, the Jr. Senator from Pennsylvania.
The dude dresses like a slob in his shorts and hoodies (even in the Senate) and because of that when he first came to my attention some years ago I simply blew him off as an obviously unserious person. A moron not fit to sit in the Senate. And I've no doubt but that lots and lots of people saw him the same way.
But, once he was elected, and acclimated to his new position, it became clear that he is really sharp, principled, and strong. This is not to say that I agree with him politically, but that I was wrong initially (based on his decidedly un-gentlemanly behaviour) and he certainly is worthy of the position he holds.
So, I guess what it comes down to in my mind, is that our mothers were right. People judge us by how we dress, how we act, how we communicate, and how we carry ourselves. And it is really, really hard to overcome a bad judgement once it is made.
Our birthright is nobility, over ourselves. It is difficult to claim that nobility without mentors or role models. Masonry, on a good day, has both.
Yes. I think you hit upon one of the most important, and least thought about, benefits of Freemasonry. On becoming a Mason, I encountered Masons whom I wanted to emulate. Worshipful Masters who modeled great WM's for me. I still have a PGM or two who I look towards for emulation, because when I see them, I see what a great PGM is.