Like millions of Americans I watched in horror last week as the institutions of our nation were attacked. The United State's Capitol was stormed by a mob, and while receiving much less attention, the fence surrounding our own Governor's home was broken down.

As Freemasons, as members of the greatest Peace Society this world has ever known, we must stand against this. This post stands against this.

I know that at least half of the people who read these words will be from the political right. In this day and age, far too many of us disregard anything said by anyone on the other side.

Before those of you on the right dismiss this post out of hand, please allow me to remind you that I also stood, in a public way, against the political left's riots that shook our nation this past summer. If desired, that post can be read at: The Unsparing Ravages Of Barbarous Force.

I agree with the famous words of Senator Barry Goldwater:

“Extremism in defense of liberty is no vice.”

What we are seeing in the political landscape of 2020, and now 2021 is not extremism in the way Senator Goldwater used the word, rather it is hate.

The active political left, in large numbers, actually now hates those who disagree with their positions. Likewise, the active political right, in equally large numbers, actually now hates those who disagree with their positions.

This hatred is on full display, each and every day, all across social media platforms.

Unfortunately, far too many men who claim to be Freemasons have embraced this hatred of their fellow man.

I hear, each and every day, about some new political fight between those who are supposed to be Brothers breaking out on Facebook. I'm sorry to have to say it, but this nonsense is completely un-masonic, as pointed out in our own ritual:

“Among whom no contention should ever exist but that noble contention, or rather emulation, of who best can work and best agree.”

Not to mention the fact that it destroys any hope our Ancient Fraternity has of communicating our true principals to the public at large.

Consider our ritual:

“Where were you first made a Mason?”

If you are a member of our Fraternity, then you know the answer to that question. If you know the answer to that question, then you also know that you can not hate your Brother on social media, and have truly become a Freemason. The profound lessons of our institution clearly didn't make the impression that they should have.

Let us be clear.

Each of us has an absolute right to hold whatever political beliefs we want to hold.

Each of us equally have an absolute right to express these political beliefs as we desire to express them, provided that in doing so we don't trample upon the rights of others.

These rights are granted, not by man, or government, but by God himself.

That is indeed the very founding principal of the United States.

God did not however grant us the right to hate those who disagree with our political beliefs, especially for no other reason than that disagreement.

As Freemasons in this time of political hatred, we would do well to consider the lessons of those Masons who were enemies during our Civil War, yet took the opportunity to assist each other when needed most.

As I close, I would just like to remind all of the Freemasons of this great Jurisdiction that Civility, Civil Society, and Civil Discourse are sacred principals to our Gentle Craft.

“We are now about to quit this sacred retreat of friendship and virtue, to mingle again with the outer world. Amid its concerns and employments forget not the duties which you have heard so frequently inculcated and so forcefully recommended in this Lodge.”

#CivilSociety #CivilDebate #SocialMedia

-Cameron

Cameron M. Bailey Past Grand Master The MW Grand Lodge F&AM of Washington

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“The lapse of time, the ruthless hand of ignorance, and the devastations of war have laid waste and destroyed many valuable monuments of antiquity, on which the utmost exertions of human genius had been employed. Even the Temple of Solomon, so spacious and magnificent, designed and constructed by so many celebrated artists, escaped not the unsparing ravages of barbarous force.”

Those of us who are Freemasons have heard the above quote many times. I think that it, and the larger passage surrounding it, speaks quite directly to what we are seeing across the United States in this negative period of our history.

We have all watched as our statues have been ripped down. Statues of our nation's Founding Fathers, statues of both Confederate and Union soldiers, statues of our Presidents, statues of abolitionists and slave owners. Not even Masonic statues have escaped the destruction.

Personally, I do not honor the lives nor supposed accomplishments of many who have been immortalized in statuary. In cases, I wonder why it was ever thought that such were worthy of that tangible form of memorial.

It is certainly reasonable for one man to admire someone from our shared history whom another man does not. Such is the natural situation faced by any group of 330 million diverse and unique individuals.

That said, more importantly, it is never wise, nor proper to attempt to erase history. Indeed only totalitarians and totalitarian systems of government make such attempts, not free people and free governments.

It is a timeless truism that if we allow our history to be erased, we will be bound to repeat the mistakes of the past. We ignore this lesson from history at our own peril.

It is a fact of history that no man was ever created perfect. All people have flaws. Our Founding Fathers made mistakes in their lives and held some misguided beliefs. Our Generals and Presidents have all been far from perfect, just as all people are far from perfect. The Freemasons we admire from our fraternal past were likewise flawed people, just as I am a flawed man today, despite the lofty title my Brothers have given me.

Today we are allowing statues to be ripped down, burned, sledgehammered. I fear that if we allow this to continue, tomorrow we will see books being burned in our public squares. When the mob burns books, tries to wipe whole ideas from society, well when that is allowed to happen, then civilization dies. This is not my opinion, history has proven it to be fact, over and over again.

Civil Society and Civil Debate. These are cornerstone principals of Freemasonry. We are called always to support them.

#Lectures #History #CivilSociety #CivilDebate

-Cameron

Cameron M. Bailey Past Grand Master The MW Grand Lodge F&AM of Washington

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