We Are The Elites!
If that's true, then...
Freemasonry is, or should be an elite organization.
What do I mean by that?
I mean that the best men in our community should be attracted to our organization. By best I don’t mean the wealthiest, or the most powerful. When I write best, I mean good men, leading good lives, who are honestly pledged to becoming even better men who lead even better lives.
This is what it means to be elite.
To live with purpose.
To honestly reflect on one’s failings in order to not repeat those failings.
To live in such a way as to protect one’s honor and nobility.
Living in this way, is living the Masonic way.
Recently I noticed something really odd happen at a Masonic Lodge. A non-Mason, a long time employee of the Lodge, got angry at a dinner and stormed out.
I wasn’t sure what had happened.
I asked around, but wasn’t able to get a straight answer.
A few weeks later, the answer finally came my way.
A long time member of the Lodge called me. He explained that due to the age of this particular Lodge, and due to the financial resources of this particular Lodge, the members of the Lodge believe it to be elite. That they themselves, when gathered together as a Lodge, believe that they are elite due to nothing more than the fact that they belong to this particular Lodge.
And that made a great deal of sense to me. That’s always been my perception of this particular Lodge.
Then the Brother went on to explain to me that due to this feeling among the members of the Lodge, they tend to treat those who help them as servants, with all of the negative connotations that word implies.
That the fellow stormed out because after well more than a decade of being treated poorly he just couldn’t take it anymore.
Treating people badly is not Noble.
Treating people as somehow ‘less than’ is not a sign that one is an elite individual.
Indeed, doing so communicates that one is the exact opposite of these things.
If we do things that communicate to other people that we believe them to somehow have less value than we do, or that they are somehow less important than we are, well, we aren’t demonstrating a noble character, rather we are demonstrating that we are an asshole.
I’m troubled by the attitudes of this small group of men. I wonder how they missed that most basic lesson of Freemasonry, so beautifully illustrated in our ritualistic work here in Washington:
“…every human being has a claim upon your kind offices.”
Treating everyone we encounter with respect and acknowledgement of their human dignity demonstrates nobility of character.
Doing otherwise just proves that we aren’t worthy, no matter how elite we may mistakenly believe ourselves, or our Lodge to be.
And no, wearing a well fitted tuxedo doesn’t change this most basic of facts.
Looking for some more from me? Everything I wrote last week is gathered together on my LinkTree.
It's disappointing whenever Masons think we're better than anybody else just because we're Masons. It's great that we're trying to be better but part of that should be allowing the possibility that just about everybody, in their own way, is likely trying to do the same thing. Thinking that we're better than anyone else is proof that we're not.
A couple of weeks back, Washington York Rite held their Grand Session (similar to Annual Communication), over in Spokane, WA.
It was at the Ruby River hotel. A quaint little hotel with 5 or 6 buildings and conference facilities. The size is just right for the number of York Rite Masons who attend.
The schedule for day one was a little tight. The restaurant for the hotel opened at 7:00 AM, so that meant breakfast at 7:00 AM, however, the first session started at 8:00 AM. You can imagine 40 plus people descending on the restaurant at 7:00 AM, along with other hotel guests, and get a picture of chaos. The service started out slow and you could tell the servers were a bit overwhelmed. Our table was gracious and understanding and we made sure to tell the server that we understood and not to worry. Others were, apparently, not so gracious.
At the opening of the meeting it was noted that some Masons were downright rude and yelled at the staff. I was told later that the hotel was on the verge of asking us to not come back next year.
The Grand Illustrious Master of the York Rite Council was visibly upset and spent about 5 minutes reminding the brethren that we are Masons and that kind of behavior does not paint us in a very good light.
So, indeed, forget about the tuxedo or the eliteness of a lodge or fraternity, if we forget the basic principles of what it is to be a Mason, we have fallen down. Recall our EA lecture. We regard no man on account of his worldly wealth or honors. And as you indicated, our closing charge sums it up nicely. Every human being has a claim upon your kind offices. Do good unto all.