THE HINDSIGHT AND CONFIDENCE THAT IS MASONRY

Can you imagine trying to live the life of another person or  in another time?  It's possible in the imagination.  Reconstructionists may be dreamers. They may be trying to live in another time, but try as they may the result is the same. Life goes on in the moment.  Does it matter ?  What happens when masonry slips into this disguise?  Trying to live in the past objectives the craft and is at odds with a process.  So  yes- it matters greatly because so many men come to our doors asking - is that all there is? Whether thousands claim the earth is flat, it travels and reacts as if it is a globe.  Whether we objectify Masonry, the curiosity of thoughtful men is fed by ideas drawn together by an irrepressible force. I've been reading again and I'll use the author to illustrate my point.  Duff Cooper- Viscount Norwich had an  important job in Britain during WW11. Few even know his name but his contribution to victory is part of history.  But that isn't why I bring him up.  His writings reveal a thoughtful, well-educated man; a keen and subtle observer of human nature.  The title of his first book- Old Men Forget- is a truism; not a challenge but an observation.  Unless we have an unvarnished grasp of our history,  we pasteurize it into what we want to believe.   Accuracy is important. If we fail to realize the importance of past events and understand that importance positive or negative, we cannot inform next generations  and the book on what was learned is forgotten.   Try as we will to perpetuate confusion, if you will, trying to change the course of time, each generation lives in its own time with all the advantages and challenges that life places on us.  Are the goals and objectives of freemasonry  dated? Or does each generation of masons relearn, accept and repeat the validation of timeless knowledge?