SHEDDING SKIN- A PRICE EXPECTED OF A TRUE MASON

Freemasonry was designed by thinkers, for thinkers.  The most realistic qualifier is how a man answers a fundamental question;  Do you read? 

Our history includes ignominious confrontation at various points with church and state.  We have had our  'ouch' moments as Professor Steven Bullock conveniently defined for us in the reaction of America to a version of masonry that had become overbearing dining on privilege.  The Order was shamed and routed, only to come out of the shadows into a changed political landscape forever ready to repel such behaviour.  

During a period when the superstitions of religions reined supreme, freemasonry was heavily sanctioned. When monarchs became uncomfortable, the Order was driven underground.  And we are reminded, when the sounds of battle echo in our ears, how combatants laid down their weapons drawn out by mason recognizing mason.    Doesn't it seem to trivialize an organization of thinkers, to declare freemasonry is a social organization?  

When gentlemen sit down to talk, good taste dictates cordiality.  Good manners among gentlemen expects good food and drink.  As we relax, we talk. As we talk we offer something worth saying.  We exchange ideas.  The best minds connect with the best music, the best literature, the best experiences. Life becomes a matter of exploration to satisfy curiousity. The close can't get in. Philistines can only mockingly accuse us of elitism. And the Order passes through time, absorbing the influence of philosophy. 

Is this the elixir against conservatism that comes with creeping old age?  One could argue, the lively ideas of our Order form what Ponce de Leon searched but never found.  Fountain of Youth?  Too radical?