HOW A DIGNITY HAS BEEN RESERVED

We need to look no further than a Lodge to understand why a dignified, thoughtful attitude toward Masonry resonates so deeply. Lodges are the cells that are necessary for masonry to exist. It is pure speculation to suggest one element is more important than another. Each cell has a prescribed function. Some operate at a high level. Domesticity gives way to philosophy, erudite conversation, ethics and operationalizing the obligations.  Each member is a fluid. At once bringing out the individual experience and function while flowing into an organic function. Our antiquarians and biographers continue to supply us with insights.  As time goes by, the fascination with personality and celebrity has faded. In a noisy, chaotic, crazy world, there is symmetry and a beautiful calculus that we may not fully understand, drawing minds toward the Craft. In a sense, we are more aware today that the world is spinning with more outcomes, more innovation from more locations than one can cover in a walking casually through a library.  We are such an interesting creature forever fascinated with the newest forms of communication. 0.01% of all lifeforms, directly accountable for 83% of extinctions of life-forms. This information is daunting, though indispensable to the Craft. To suggest Masonry has a foot on the brakes, ignores the progressive however unpopular message of universality. We lean into the challenge with our foot on the accelerator.  We are out ahead of urbanization and population growth. We are aware of the street optics where the chafing of assimilation is happening. We hold political ideologues accountable for the unstated effects of their policies that are far more opaque than understandable. And if we are dedicated scholars of the Craft, we stop stumbling like the proverbial toddler learn to walk and speak thoughtfully about challenges facing humanity.  True masonry displaces pessimism with dignity. Carry on.