Stand Proud, Brother Mason

Stand Proud,

Brother Mason

In our first introduction to Freemasonry, we are warned not to let our attachment to the Fraternity to allow us to debase the dignity of ourselves and the Craft through quarrel with the ignorant. A quick Google search will suffice to convince even the most optimistic Mason that there is plenty of ignorance, to say nothing of hatred, toward Freemasonry in the profane world. From conspiracy theorists claiming that Masons control the world’s governments to religious extremists perpetrating the false notion that Masons worship evil deities from Baphomet to Lucifer himself, hate and fear born of ignorance is found across the political and social spectrum.

As any person who has spent much time observing the rituals of government can recognize, argument, even with the best of intentions, rarely effects a shift in a person’s basic belief system. Someone convinced that we as Masons are lying, secretive worshippers of Satan are unlikely to be swayed by even a well-reasoned discussion.

This leads us to a quandary. If we cannot sway the conspiracy theorists through reason, how are we to maintain the honor and dignity of the Fraternity in the eyes of the general public? The answer, I believe, lies in our visibility. So many people in

Christopher R. Trueblood, PM

Fraternity Lodge No. 54

the world have only the vaguest ideas of what Masons are; brief glimpses of Shriners in parades, shadowy legends surrounding the 33rd Degree in Scottish Rite Masonry, a square-and-compasses ring that belonged to a great-grandfather. And yet Masons do so much. From language disorder clinics to children’s hospitals to eye health and even small-scale contributions by individual Lodges and Brothers, Masons do an enormous amount of good to the larger world in the pursuit of our goal of making good men better. This is not to say that we should outrightly publicize our charitable and other efforts for the sake of PR; such would be vulgar. At the same time, however, to educate and set an example of what Masonry is and what Masonry does at an individual and smallgroup level would do immeasurable good in building the public esteem of the Fraternity and marginalize those who would spread lies. It is much easier to believe falsehoods about an anonymous group than it is to believe the same about a coworker, a brother, a friend. So, let us all be proud of our Masonic affiliations and be not shy in publicly claiming them, both for our benefit and for the benefit of our beloved Craft. n

A Special Opportunity for Federal Employees:

Please consider including the Masonic Foundation of the District of Columbia as part of your charitable giving to the Combined Federal Campaign (CFC). The CFC number for the Masonic Foundation is 48808 and is listed in the “local agencies” section of this year’s campaign catalog. If you are not a Federal Employee but know someone who is, please ask them to consider our Masonic Foundation.