The age-old policy of Masons not to discuss religion or politics in Lodge is a very good one, but after living through last year's Presidential campaign and the current special senatorial election in Massachusetts, I find myself a little bit disillusioned.
Even if members of a lodge observe that policy (and many of the older, conservative Brothers in my neck of the woods don't), what if you've added them as contacts on Facebook? There's no Masonic code of conduct that says you can't talk politics around other Masons outside of Lodge, so watching Brothers (liberal and conservative alike) let fly on Facebook can be eye opening.
It doesn't bother me that a Brother might have a political difference of opinion with me, but it absolutely bothers me when I see a Mason making false logic or ad hominem attacks against the ideas, members, or candidates of another political party... because when I shake a Brother's hand in Lodge, I don't want to be wondering if he secretly holds me in contempt, too.
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The opinions expressed herein are strictly my own, and should not in any way be construed as representative of the opinions or positions of my Lodge, the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts, or any other Masonic body or organization.
1 comment:
All Craftsmen are obliged to study logic, and live by its precepts (we also have to study and use proper grammar, but that's another story). We are also encouraged to study and use rhetoric. Masons are encouraged to be active in politics, and we always have been, but the prohibition is on discussing partisan politics (and sectarian religion) in lodge.
Many of my brothers have very different political stances than I do, and some of them are pretty harsh in their condemnation (in general) of those who espouse a different political slant than themselves. But as long as they receive me with Brotherly Love when I see them in lodge, I don't intrude on their vitriol.
That being said, I try not to stir the pot in lodge, and if a brother inside a tyled lodge sought out my political opinions and then excoriated me for them, I would regard that behavior as un-Masonic.
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