A VIEW OF MASONRY IN A WORLD OF CHANGE

No good act goes without punishment?  I don't remember who passed along that adage- but it came to mind while thinking about the movement of masonry through time.  I cannot tell you whether it is drawn or pushed forward. But I know it moves because we can trace the ideas that have formed masonry back to early societies that continue to exist in the imagination. Is the truth that masonry conceals a malevolent nature?  Such a reasonable question must be asked.  Was the science behind  E=MC2 without valance? Clearly not.  Science had been weaponized. Despite the cautions and fears of chemists and physicists who recognized the potential for harm, mankind succumbed to our Achilles heal-  aggression, and fear.  By using the Socratic method, masonry has been able to produce compelling answers based on values that drive an ethical worldview.  We have not hesitated to ask the question ourselves.  Are we up to mischief?  Hard as it may seem, would a good man waste his time participating in an Order that has mischief at the core? Would a reasonable man, exposed to mischief become mischievous himself?  Would he be able to conceal that mischievousness?   Our membership grows old together. The risk if there is one is of being predictable, of being charitable for not gain.  In some ways, the Order pits the lower nature of society against itself.  In that sphere, nothing is to be trusted at face value.  Exploitation being at the heart of our marketplace and Politik, though it is not seen in the agora, someone is, therefore, being fleeced by Masonry. This is the obvious and convenient explanation for their secrecy.  And that dear brethren is an example of false confidence.  If one is fearful and anxious, best go with false answers than face the unknown.  The response given by masonry is not by argument. The answer is by example and with humility.