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Short Talk Bulletin Vol 06 No 09
SHORT TALK BULLETIN - Vol.VI September, 1928 No.9
THE FUTURE OF MASONRY
by: Unknown
Even a brief glimpse of the history of modern Masonry, its almost
accidental origin and its amazing evolution, gives one many problems
to ponder. It is an astonishing story, fit for romance, and no man
can read it without wonder. But in our days the minds of thoughtful
men turn to the future more than the past, thinking of the times
ahead, and they naturally ask: "What part, if any, is Masonry to
have in helping to shape a better world order?
The past is secure. Masonry had a silent but mighty part in the
making of America and in fashioning its fundamental life and law.
The story of the American Revolution might have been very different,
had not Washington and his Generals; most of them at any rate, been
held together by the peculiar tie which Masons spin and weave
between men. But what of the future of Masonry in America and in the
world? Obviously such an Order lies under special obligations to our
country in these tangled times. The closing paragraph of the ninth
edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica is very significant, doubly so
because the writer was not a Mason:
"As regards the future of Masonry, it is impossible, at least for an
outsider, to say much. The celebration of the brotherhood of man,
and the cultivation of universal good-will in the abstract, seem
rather indefinite objects for any society in this unimaginative age.
There is, on the other hand, a tendency to degenerate into mere
conviviality; while, if schools, asylums and other charities are
supported to that extent, of course the society becomes local and
exclusive in its character. In the meantime, Masonry is to blame for
keeping afloat in the minds of its members many of the most
absolutely puerile ideas. A more accurate knowledge of its singular
and not undignified history would tend more than anything else to
give worth and elevation to its aims."
Thus, even an outsider sees clearly enough that Masonry, as now
organized and employed, is not adequate to the demands of a realistic
generation, and that to go on making men Masons, as we are doing,
wholesale, without giving them an intelligent and authentic knowledge
of what Masonry is, or what it means, with no definite objects beyond
fellowship and philanthropy - objects to which other orders are
equally devoted - is for Masonry to lose, by ignorance or neglect,
what has been distinctive in its history and genius, and invite
degeneration, if not disaster. Indeed, not a little of the tendency
in our time to turn Masonry aside from its historic spirit and
purpose - to say nothing of the multiplication of extraneous,
initiative or associated orders, fanciful in purpose and fantastic in
program - is due to lack of knowledge of the history of Masonry and
the reason why has held so tenaciously to certain principles and
policies through so many years of storm and strife. The future of
Masonry, it is to have a future worthy of its past, will be
determined by its historic genius and purpose, not in lavish
adherence to details, but by local and constructive obedience to its
peculiar spirit and tenants. Otherwise our Lodges will become mere
clubs, like a thousand other such organizations - useful and
delightful in their degree, but in nowise distinctive - far removed
from the original meaning and intent of the Craft.
Hence, the desire and endeavor of our time, as indicated in the
three-fold purpose of the Masonic Service association of the United
States that Speculative Masonry shall once more be Operative by
becoming Co-operative in its spirit and labor. There is manifest in
the growing mind of the Fraternity today a wider realization and a
larger application of the time-honored and beautiful mission of
Masonry, as expressed in its oft-declared trinity of purpose,
Brotherly Love, Relief and Truth. Lets us take Relief first, since
it is so fundamental that nothing need be said beyond the famous
words of an eastern seer: "When man will not help man the end of the
world has come!" By Relief we mean the urgent necessities of
humanity in the time of woe, whether it be war, pestilence or
disaster - flood, fire, earthquake - which may, any day, devastate
any part of the world, helping not only our Brethren in dire plight,
but also, to the measure of our power, all who by affliction are made
helpless. An unknown poet puts it vividly, as only poets know how to
do:
Men in the Street and mart,
Felt the same kinship of the human heart That makes them, in the
face of flame and flood, Rise to the meaning of true Brotherhood.
By the Truth we mean, in this connection, three vitally important
things in the service of which the modern Masonic Craft is enlisted
and devoted. First, let it always be remembered that Freemasonry,
today as in the past, by virtue of its principles and history, stands
for those "Great Freedoms of the Mind" by which men arrive at the
Truth. Our Craft is utterly committed to the principle of freedom of
thought - unhampered by political or ecclesiastical dictation - the
right, and also the duty, of man to seek everywhere and in every way
for the Truth by which no man is injured, but by which we have the
only basis for freedom and faith. Second, we mean by Truth our
devotion to the everlasting enterprise of Public Education without
which democratic societies cannot permanently endure. We insist upon
letting in all the light, and letting all the light all the way in,
driving ignorance. superstition and despotism off the earth. By the
same token, we mean that Public Education shall be kept clear of
party or class propaganda.
Which brings to us the matter of most importance, and that is what is
to be the future of Freemasonry, if any, in the field of Public
Service and with the world community. Without advocating any
innovation in the Body of Masonry - none is needed much less desired
- it must be plain enough that something else, something more, is
needed to meet the demands of our growing Fraternity, as well as the
needs of the society in which we labor, and that is an adaptation of
our methods to the spirit and needs of modern life. Masonry need not
change either its spirit or its principles - God Forbid - but its
Lodges must become increasingly as they were in the early days, civic
and social centers, leaders in whatever required to be done for the
common good in their communities, if they are to train, direct and
utilize for the highest ends the teeming life and abounding energies
of the Craft, which otherwise, as is now too much the tendency, may
find vent in other and less desirable ways. Just as the Churches
within the last two decades, without changing their faith or
principles, have adapted and continue to adapt; their method of work
and appeal is so marked a feature of our generation; so Masonry must
somehow find its place and take its part, or be left behind as
useless - just an order to belong to, nothing more.
Masonry, as some one said, has so far been a Fraternal Order founded
upon a philosophy of individualism, but it cannot remain so and be of
much use to the modern world. Individualism, of course, is
fundamental, and the work of training men in personal moral
excellence is indispensable; but noble private mindedness must become
public-mindedness, with a sense of social duty and service. While
Masonry rightly abjures political and sectarian disputes in its
Lodges, it cannot be inactive in that vast area of opportunity, with
which sectarian and partisan feuds have nothing to do, where most
important work of the world is done. Indeed, it can help to keep
political trickery and dickering out of the fields where they have
neither right nor value, as it is now doing in defense of the
American Public School System, to which it has pledged allegiance.
What will America be like in fifty or a hundred years hence? Even
today we find ourselves in a new and almost terrifying America, where
wild forces are at play and strange influences are at work. For
years we have been inundated by tides of immigration, not only from
lands friendly to our institutions, but from lands where our ideals
are like an unknown tongue. Those multitudes will be changed by
America, no doubt - by the alchemy of its large and liberal
fellowship - but America, in turn, may be changed by them, unless we
have a care, something very different from what our fathers meant it
to be. These, and like questions, are much in the minds of
thoughtful men, whether Masons or not, often with alarm, sometimes
with dismay, as they watch the procession of events. Surely there is
abundant room for the right kind of propaganda; sanely, wisely and
intelligently American, and here Masonry may find, and is finding, a
great opportunity.
Further afield, on the high and animated scene of world affairs, much
is taking place, the final issue of which no one can foresee. The
old balance of power among nations may easily give way to a new
alignment of races and colors, with consequences one dare not
contemplate, and possibilities that make the heart stand still.
Surely Masonry, by its spirit and genius internationally, has a
mission here, especially among peoples who have a common conception
of civilization. However, for such a ministry we need what
ultimately, sooner or later, must have some kind of Masonic world
fellowship. No sovereignty need be surrendered, no jurisdiction
invaded, no legislation enacted. But we must somehow make articulate
and effective the spirit of unity, purpose and aspirations latent in
universal Masonry, as an influence making for good will among men.
