Freemasonry is a post-collegiate mostly-all male fraternity dedicated to the social development of the member to form a broader sense of the self and their community.
BRYCE ON MANAGEMENT – It is also a universally applicable concept.
I have been writing on the virtues of craftsmanship for many years now. I have also given presentations on the subject and discussed it at length with different types of companies. Surprisingly, I find few people truly understand the concept. Perhaps the biggest misconception is that it is reserved for certain types of work effort. Some believe craftsmen are limited to furniture makers, machinists, or watchmakers. And, No, we are most certainly not talking about a line of tools from Sears. People seem surprised when I explain it is a universal concept applicable to any job.
My message is simple: Craftsmanship is a state of mind.”
Years ago, Arnold Toynbee, the legendary historian and economist from the UK, made the observation, “The supreme accomplishment is to blur the line between work and play.” Whereas some people like to separate their personal and professional lives, Toynbee rightfully makes the point there is physically only one person, and their personal and professional lives should be viewed as one and the same.
Craftsmanship is based on three rather simple principles:
First, in order to build self-esteem and give an individual a sense of purpose, we need to acknowledge, “Man must lead a worthy life.” This means people should be given meaningful work to perform, thereby creating the desire to master one’s craft. However, not everyone can be a wood worker, machinist, or watchmaker. Instead, they must find meaning in their chosen profession, which leads to our next principle…
Second, “There is dignity in all forms of work.” We should never look down our noses at anyone’s profession, assuming they are doing it competently and professionally. Regardless of the task, it is always a pleasure to be among people who know what they are doing, and perform it seemingly with little effort and a sense of class. In contrast, there are also workers who are apathetic, put forth minimal effort, and only watch the clock as opposed to the work product they are assigned to. Personally, it is difficult to respect such people.
Third, a simple recognition there are “right” and “wrong” ways for performing tasks. It takes discipline not to skip steps and put the work product in jeopardy. Understanding the differences between “right” and “wrong” is more than just training and experience, it also represents the morality of the worker. One reason craftsmanship is in decline is because of the eroding moral values of the country, such as the inclination to cheat.
These principles highlight the fact that craftsmanship is universally applicable. We can find it in any industry and any type of work, be it janitors, waitresses, programmers, managers, assembly line workers, hairdressers, teachers, engineers, athletes, musicians, the medical community, you name it. Craftsmanship is a state of mind. Think about it, who has impressed you not only by the job they did, but how they went about doing it? Inevitably, it is someone you respect, someone you will gladly give a reference to, someone you would like to emulate.
Craftsmanship requires more than just talent, it is a determination to be the best someone can be. Not surprising, there is a close relationship between craftsmen and the products they produce. Expressions such as “I built that” or “That was mine,” denote the pride they take in their work. Conversely, when someone makes a compliment about a product or service, the craftsman takes it as a personal compliment. The bond between craftsman and work product is so strong, the worker sees the product as tangible proof of their quality of work.
Years ago, people learned their craft through apprenticeship programs. Ben Franklin learned to be a printer at his older brother’s print shop. Likewise, young men learned a variety of crafts through such programs. Over the years though, we have drifted away from apprenticeships. Today, we rely on certification programs and college degrees, but this does not necessarily make someone a craftsman. It only denotes the student has learned something and passed tests and exams. Rarely does it give us insight into a person’s mastery of a craft, which cannot normally be evaluated until it is put into practice and studied over time.
In terms of skills, the craftsman must master several things:
The resources used in the product. For example, a wood worker will know the differences between types of wood, their strengths and weaknesses, their suitability for the product, and how to work with it. Likewise, a machinist will understand the nature of the different metals he must use in his work.
The methodologies to produce the product, representing the steps or processes of the project.
The tools and techniques to be used in the development of the product, all of which may change over time. This means the craftsman is a student of his profession and possesses a sense of history to his craft.
Craftsmanship is something we have taken for granted for many years. Consequently, it has been fading from view. Interestingly, when I teach these concepts to students and business professionals, they are usually surprised by the simplicity of the concepts involved. I warn them though that craftsmanship requires a personality which includes such things as discipline, an intuitive mind, pride in workmanship, a willingness to be the best in your chosen profession, and some good old fashioned morality. Craftsmanship is not for everybody, but we should celebrate those willing to lead such an existence, for they are the people who create the products we admire and cherish.
If you want a presentation on craftsmanship, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Keep the Faith!
Note: All trademarks both marked and unmarked belong to their respective companies.
Tim Bryce is a writer and the Managing Director of M&JB Investment Company (M&JB) of Palm Harbor, Florida and has over 30 years of experience in the management consulting field. He can be reached at timb001@phmainstreet.com
Or is it just isolated incidents? BRYCE ON SOCIETY
When did cheating become an acceptable form of behavior? Did I miss the memo? According to the Educational Testing Service (ETS) and the Ad Council, “73% of all test takers, including prospective graduate students and teachers agree that most students do cheat at some point, and 86% of high school students agreed.” Translation: cheating has reached pandemic proportions and is now an inherent part of the American culture.
It may start out innocently, but cheating rapidly becomes a lifestyle. We can now find it on school tests and exams, plagiarism, cheating on our taxes, etc. I have a friend who teaches illustration at a Midwest college. Recently he told me his students were copying the illustrations of other students as found on the Internet. My friend rightfully resents being turned from a full-time instructor, to a part-time sleuth to determine if his students are doing original work. I have heard of college students copying term papers, but artwork?
Students are also hacking into school computers to gain access to exams and alter grades and scores. A prime example of this was recorded last month in Los Angeles where eleven high school students were caught hacking into the school’s computers. Subsequently, they were expelled. This scandal captured the attention of the press, as well as the FBI who joined the investigation.
Cheating has also extended into the military where scandals have recently emerged, such as the Navy sailors who stand accused of cheating on tests training for nuclear reactors. Likewise, the Air Force discovered officers cheating on proficiency tests to launch nuclear weapons. These stories are particularly disturbing when you consider these people are managing our military nuclear resources. Obviously, we want people who can be trusted and are proficient in these positions, not someone of questionable character.
In the Information Technology community, it is not uncommon for employees to hack and steal program source code, thereby expediting the production of programming. This occurs so often, it is now considered SOP in many companies. Such attitudes obviously present a threat to intellectual property and a disregard for our laws pertaining to copyrights, patents, trade secrets, and trademarks. Frankly, it is a violation of the “Copyright Clause” of the Constitution (Article I, Section 8, Clause 8) whereby, “To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries.” From this perspective, cheating is unpatriotic.
If caught, cheating results in a variety of penalties, be it a fine, a suspension, an expulsion, etc., all of which becomes a part of a person’s permanent record, and I do not believe young people understand this until it is too late. Perhaps the biggest danger is it may do irreparable harm to a person’s reputation. To illustrate, I know of a student who, after graduating from college, produced a resume with false college scores to secure a well paying job. Remarkably, he was caught by the employer who pressed charges against him. Even though the matter was settled nearly forty years ago, his High School classmates have not forgotten and whisper about it at reunions, even to this day. In the eyes of the other students, his reputation remains in tatters.
Cheating ultimately denotes a person’s character; is he honest and capable of performing the work, or incompetent and inclined to cut corners? Even though cheating appears to be on the rise, evidently there is little shame in getting caught. Perhaps it is a new twisted red badge of courage awarded to those who somehow beat the system. If we are to believe the recent cheating statistics and scandals, we can reasonably conclude there is no longer any disgrace in cheating, and it will likely continue unabated. All of this reveals the declining moral values of the country.
Perhaps the only way to stop cheating is to make the punishments more severe. If shame cannot deter people, perhaps stiffer penalties are in order. Such should rightfully be the price of cheating.
Keep the Faith!
Note: All trademarks both marked and unmarked belong to their respective companies.
Tim Bryce is a writer and the Managing Director of M&JB Investment Company (M&JB) of Palm Harbor, Florida and has over 30 years of experience in the management consulting field. He can be reached at timb001@phmainstreet.com
Internet Masonry (or better called eMasonry) has grown in epic proportions in contrast to its brick and mortar real world counterpart of lodge Masonry. Why is this one may wonder outside of the usual distractions of modern life? One answer could be in the virtual life Masonic, the online world where grand lodge boundaries blur and disappear while social interaction takes place between flashing pixels hastily entered keystrokes. Is this online collective the future of Freemasonry? In this installment of the Sojourners, I talk to Blake Bowden who is the Founder and Site Administrator of the online community MyFreemasonry, one of the up-and coming online forums for Masons to discuss all things Freemasonry. The forum is a Mecca of discussion on current and past events and a safe forum for discussing new ideas about the ancient fraternity. Formerly the Masons of Texas forum, the Lone Star state site has grown beyond its already broad borders to encompass a bigger landscape of Masonic study and interactivity, much of which stemming from the keyboard and computer of Brother Blake Bowden.
Greg Stewart (GS) –Tell me about yourself, who is Blake Bowden?
Blake Bowden (BB) – It all started back in June 20, 1975, in a dusty west Texas town called Odessa. After enjoying the picturesque scenery of dust and tumbleweeds for five years, my family decided to relocate us to Gonzales, Texas, where I spent most of my time during my adolescence. There weren’t many activities for young kids in Gonzales, so I spent much of my time tinkering with computers and electronics. I remember the excitement I experienced the very first time I logged online. This wasn’t the Internet, but a dial-up BBS. My cutting edge 300 Kbps modem beeped squealed and even though call-waiting would kill the connection, it provided me a link to another world. Since then I’ve joined the Craft and now have the privilege of being the Administrator of My Freemasonry.
GS – How long have you been in Masonry, what bodies, groups or orgs do you belong to within the craft? Which do you spend the most time in?
BB – I was initiated December 2007 and recently finished up my term as Worshipful Master of Gonzales Masonic Lodge No. 30 A.F. & A.M. I’m also a member of the York Rite and Scottish Rite, however Blue Lodge is where I spend the majority of my “Masonic” time.
GS – What first drew you to Masonry?
BB – Growing up I remember my Mother describing what a wonderful man my Great Grandfather was. One day I was going through a little chest and ran across a funny looking coin. When I asked her what it was, she replied that it was his “Masons” coin. As time progressed, movies such as National Treasure caught my eye, but Masonry was still on the back-burner. It wasn’t until 2007 that I decided to take the first step in becoming a Mason.
GS – Did your first impression prove to be true or did it change? How so?
BB – The teachings of Freemasonry have not only met my expectations, but also surpassed them. What did change is my opinion of Grand Lodge. For some members, especially those in the hierarchy, Freemasonry is nothing more than a political game.
GS – How did you find your way into eMasonry and what led to the creation of the original Masons of Texas forum?
BB – Before I petitioned for the degrees of Masonry, I scoured message boards and watched YouTube channels for hours on end but the problem I discovered was that most of the information was anti-Masonic. I had to filter through the usual nonsense like Freemasons are devil worshipers or members of the Illuminati so I decided to do something about it. We started as a YouTube video promoting Freemasonry in Texas, then a district wide discussion forum using phpbb. After that I launched Masons of Texas and went statewide.
GS – So, the forum originally starting as Texas Mason, how did it evolve?
BB – One of the biggest issues I’ve encountered has been with the Grand Lodge of Texas A.F. & A.M. Back in 2007, their website was archaic, hard to use and offered next to nothing for those seeking to become a Mason. That’s where we stepped in. If you had a question about a particular law we had someone available to answer it. If you needed assistance finding a Lodge in your area, someone would be there for you as well. We were an independent website – not a mouthpiece which made the Grand Lodge nervous. For the first time Texas Masons were discussing taboo topics such as extending relations with Prince Hall Masons, dealing with racism within a Lodge or if it were possible for a homosexual to become a Mason, etc.
I’ll never forget being forwarded an email from our Grand Secretary who labeled our site “Anti-Grand Lodge”. I won’t detail my response, but I did receive an apology directly from Grand Lodge.
GS – Was that the reason to change to My Freemasonry?
BB – I wanted to bring the success we had with the Masons of Texas website to more Masons. I also felt that we’d hit a cap in both participation and membership so Masons of Texas was retired. My Freemasonry will continue to grow, but keep a lookout for Masons of Texas to be reborn later this year.
GS – Forum participants can be hotly protective about their home on the web, was there any internal discussion in the forum about the change?
BB – We actually changed our name a couple of years ago to “Freemason Connect” and it flopped. Most of our members were from Texas and preferred that it remained a site focused on Texas Masonry. Since then our membership has become more diverse so last year I decided to re-launch as My Freemasonry and so far the response has been phenomenal.
GS – With the forum in mind,do you think eMasonry has changed the landscape of how we view fraternal interactions? Was it for the better or the worse?
BB – Absolutely! For example I have numerous Prince Hall Masons with whom I interact with on a daily basis. Chances are that wouldn’t happen without Freemasonry being on the Internet. Bridges are being built, misconceptions are being addressed, and thoughts and ideas are being shared across all spectrums of the Craft.
GS – As the forum founder, administrator and moderator in chief for one of the larger Masonic messages boards on the web, what are your observations about eMasonry? How has evolved?
BB – I’ve noticed that Lodges and Grand Lodges are finally moving away from their circa 1999 GeoCities-class websites and developing quality ones.
GS – One of the trends with forums has always been freshness. What do you do to keep things fresh for returning visitors?
BB – This is the number one issue facing Masonic sites. If you don’t offer your visitors fresh content, they won’t come back. That’s why many of the early Masonic websites are stagnant in both content and membership. To keep things fresh I solicit articles from our members and once approved, they are promoted to our homepage. I also have our site pull RSS feeds from other Masonic websites, which not only brings new content to ours, but also sends traffic to theirs. Another is making the site personal. Whether you’re looking for a recipe, seeking family advice, discussing the latest movie, or even requesting a simple prayer for something you’re going through, we’re there.
My Freemasonry isn’t just about Masonry, but the Mason.
GS – This may get into the speculative realm, but how do you see the online world of eMasonry juxtaposed to the real world of lodge masonry? Do you think the former can operate or function in the same capacity as the latter? Why or why not?
BB – When it comes to Masonic Education, nothing beats eMasonry. I’ve learned more about the Craft being online than I ever would in Lodge. So many Masons are content with the business as usual mentality, which is why many Jurisdictions continue to see a decline in membership. Lodge meetings shouldn’t be just about paying bills or passing out fundraiser signup sheets and until Lodges start teaching Freemasonry and not going for the record of having the shortest meeting times, their memberships will continue to decline. That being said, nothing beats a handshake and a friendly smile that you receive when attending a Lodge meeting.
GS – Would it be to the fraternity’s advantage if it did embrace eMasonry?
BB – Yes, as they should compliment each other.
GS – Given your proximity to so many web-masons, do you get any feeling of a common theme or resonance from them by way of trends, questions, or movements?
BB – I believe that many Masonic websites and those who administrate them have become burned out. One could spend years building up a website yet gain just as many users in two weeks with a Facebook page. Is Facebook the same as a full-blown website? Of course not, however people are already checking on their Facebook and/or Google + so why not take advantage of it? I consider social networking an essential tool for our site, not a replacement. For example, every post on our site can be “Liked” and visitors can skip the registration process using their Facebook accounts. If something doesn’t drive traffic to our site, I kill it and move on.
As far as trends, I see eMasons branching out and utilizing social media more vs. launching full websites.
Most users don’t realize the time and effort required to run a successful website. Not only do you have to provide fresh content but fight off spam bots, update software, deal with hosting providers, communicate with developers, install plug-ins, test mobile app compatibility, pay developer fees, sign app certificates, fix broken links, copy articles across social media, admin social media comments not to mention the hundreds of emails we receive each week. I wouldn’t trade it for anything though.
GS – Do you see the interactions of eMasonry as building blocks to more lodge interaction or another distraction/detractor to an active lodge life? Is there a point of balance between the two or an enhancement that you think could be made out both?
BB – I believe it’s possible that the younger generation could become distracted as they may get more out of Masonry online than what their Lodge offers. The younger generation is hungry for knowledge and Masonic education but it’s becoming increasingly difficult to find a Lodge that provides it. I recommend using eMasonry as a tool to improve your Lodge. For example, I encourage all of our members to find an article, essay, poem or even some trivia and share it at their stated meetings.
GS – With the booming social media trends, how do you see My Freemasonry in that mix? Does it have much interaction beyond the occasional mention or link?
BB – My Freemasonry has a Facebook, Google +, Newsstand, Twitter and YouTube channel and their sole purpose is to drive traffic to the site. If I have an article, I post an excerpt with a link back. We also have mobile apps that keep our users connected while on the go. The key to a successful site, namely a Masonic one, is content and utilizing numerous methods to deliver it.
GS – Who or what gives you the inspiration to do what you do? What is the driving force behind your work?
BB – Making a difference. It brings a smile to my face when I receive an email from someone needing help to petition a Lodge and months later they’re sharing their initiation date. Just a couple of years ago the communication between Prince Hall and “Mainstream” Masons in Texas was virtually non-existent, now the floodgates are wide open. My Freemasonry isn’t successful because of me, but the thousands of blogs and posts created by our members.
Blake, thank you so much for taking the time to talk with me and share your thoughts. I definitely appreciate it and I know many reading it will appreciate the resources you’ve created for them on the web.
You can join the conversation on the web by visiting MyFreemasonry and interacting with the many conversations taking place about all aspects of the the life Masonic.
BRYCE ON SOCIETY – We’ve done management, systems, and project management, now how about Life?
We introduced the concept of “Bryce’s Laws” back in the 1970’s as a means to explain our concepts of systems, data base management, and project management. Over the years though, we introduced many other axioms applying to life in general which we hope you will find beneficial. Enjoy!
You cannot treat a patient if he doesn’t know he is sick.
A man’s trustworthiness is measured by the number of keys he holds.
Most children are raised by amateurs, not professionals.
Never trust a person who doesn’t have at least one known vice (e.g., drinking, smoking, swearing).
Don’t watch the clock, watch the product or service to be produced.
Lawsuits primarily benefit the attorneys and nobody else.
You eat elephants one spoonful at a time.
If you are not pissing someone off, you are probably not doing your job.
If the mind really is the finest computer, then there are a lot of people out there who need to be rebooted.
we tend to worry about the wrong things. This is like rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.
It’s hard to keep going forward when logic tells you otherwise.
Forget about today, build for tomorrow.
As the use of technology increases, social skills decreases.
There is more to building a team than buying new uniforms.
How we look and act speaks volumes.
Everything begins with a sale.
“Bullshit” is the most versatile word in the English language.
Just because someone understands what you are saying, doesn’t mean they necessarily agree with you.
Never let a job be held hostage by an employee.
The Baby Boomers will be more remembered for the problems they left behind as opposed to anything they accomplished during their tenure.
Youth is our only true vacation in life, and our most unappreciated.
There is no such thing as a bad cigar. It’s a matter of matching the right person with the right cigar.
We write to communicate, not to put people to sleep.
If you do something wrong long enough, you think it is right.
It’s not the time you put in, it’s the work product you put out.
Nothing irritates your opponents more than to see you succeed when you are expected to fail.
Do not underestimate the power of the company party.
Progress is arrested when we surrender to the status quo, that we no longer strive to exceed it.
If a single picture is worth a thousand words, imagine what a video provides.
It takes a brave soul to divert from the path of least resistance.
Appearances mean little if people can see through your disguise.
It is a fallacy that a cluttered desk is the sign of a brilliant mind.
The naysayers of the world take pleasure in chiding you as to what cannot be done.
Prove them wrong and return the favor.
Sometimes intelligence is nothing more than experience in disguise.
How to become financially responsible: Start each day by paying a bill.
The road to truth is rarely without bumps and bends.
The longer you delay admitting a mistake, the more expensive it will be to correct.
All arguments are settled at the cemetery.
There is always a heavy price to pay for keeping up with the Jones’.
Two irrefutable facts regarding investing in the stock market: The moment you purchase a stock, you can count on it declining immediately, and;
The moment you sell your stock, it will either immediately soar to new heights, split, or both.
You know you are getting older when you begin having arguments with inanimate objects, and you lose.
Everything eventually ends up in the garbage dump.
Traffic lights are green only when you do not have an appointment to make.
In every person’s life, you must eat at least one spoonful of dirt.
Keep the Faith!
Note: All trademarks both marked and unmarked belong to their respective companies.
Tim Bryce is a writer and the Managing Director of M&JB Investment Company (M&JB) of Palm Harbor, Florida and has over 30 years of experience in the management consulting field. He can be reached at timb001@phmainstreet.com
Some people attain the level of leadership just because they have been around a long time. Some people get to be “head honcho” because they are everybody’s friend and nobody’s enemy. Still others have risen to the top through wheeling and dealing and doing favors expecting favors in return.
Such leaders, after attaining power, rarely ruffle any feathers. They go along to get along. They do things the way they have always been done. They refuse to push people to greater heights or hold anybody accountable for anything. They revel in their honors but do little to further their organization.
None of this describes R. Lucille Samuel, Grand Princess Captain Lone Star Grand Guild of Texas PHA. Samuel is far from a “Do Nothing” leader. Rather she is the type that might say, “Let the chips fall where they may but we are moving forward embracing change.”
You will understand where she is coming from and what type of a leader that she is when you read her recent address to the Grand Guild, delivered at her Grand Session and in conjunction with the Grand Sessions of all the York Rite Bodies of The Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge Of Texas.
Read the words of a true leader:
2013 has been an awesome year for the Grand Guild. We have had very successful Regional Trainings and our membership continues to excel.
So where do we go from HERE?
Job 5:2
For wrath killeth the foolish man and envy slayeth the silly one.
We need to change our organizational outlook. We have no peripheral vision. Most of us can only see straight forward and any type of change is out of the question. You cannot be afraid of failure. Your success is not measured by the number of times you fall but upon the way you handle recovery. It is not how high you climb but how you got there. You must have the courage to take risks.
You cannot lead where you don’t go and you can’t teach what you don’t know. The key to being a successful leader is earning respect not because of your Title or position. People who work together will ALWAYS WIN!
You cannot lead an organization if you are afraid of change or what other people will think. You have to realize that people will always talk especially those that envy you. Unfortunately we don’t like to see others succeed. Instead of giving encouraging words of advice or wisdom we would rather watch others fail. You do realize that when the Leader fails so does the organization. A lot of times you will hear the phrase well THEY said. My interpretation of that is as follows.
The letters in THEY stand for: – T for Tongue which is a very sharp weapon used against others. H stands for Hateful things that people will do to see you Fail. E stands for ENVY of those that feel you are a threat to them. They aren’t happy so they feel that no one else should be happy. Y stands for YOU because THEY never said anything YOU did.
We cannot continue to use the same strategies that our Ancestors used. It may have worked great for them in their time but times have definitely changed, The phrase, “Well that is how we have always done it,” has to GO! If we wish to attract members into our organizations that are talented and well educated a Change must come. You cannot run a well oiled machine on tap water. There is no reason we should not have the largest membership Rolls in the world. What makes any other organization better than the Prince Hall Masonic Family?
I was told a successful person is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks that others have thrown at him. Well we don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings because they have been in the Order since the Last Supper. Their wisdom is always welcome. But we cannot continue to tip toe around others feelings. The ship needs to sail and those who can’t swim need to stay on the shore.
We are also afraid to share knowledge with others in fear of them replacing us. Knowledge is power and should not be used as a weapon. A great leader surrounds themselves with people that have talents and ideas which make the organization shine. It is a very selfish person that allows their personal gain to deter progress. Remember that not all people in charge are leaders. Sometimes it is by virtue of them being in the right place at the right time or there was no one else at the time available.
So what do we do to change that? Stop nominating your friends instead of the qualified person. Stop trying to run the Organization alone. We know you want all the credit and glory. Share your knowledge and information to all. Tomorrow is promised to no one. There should never be a time when one person steps out of a position and someone else cannot step in. When your organization is losing more members than receiving new members that is a sign. When your Annual Conference Registration continues to decline Houston we have serious problem!
We need to make a change. This is a volunteer organization and people will not continue to spend money on Registration and travel to attend meetings that continue to hold the same old programs. When you have Officers that do absolutely nothing during the Year and you continue to keep them in office people will not support you. It is so petty of you to threaten people or hold grudges against them just because they run for office against you. You are not doing anything so get out of the way! There is no motivation. When your Annual Session minutes state the same business every year and the only thing that changes is the DATE you are in trouble.
If we do not make a change the Prince Hall Family will dissipate into thin air. All of the hard work our Trail Blazers accomplished will be in vain.
We have to take charge now and work TOGETHER. Working against each other we will not survive. We have to have the Wisdom to know that Music means nothing if the audience is DEAF! We cannot go back and change the past but we can start today by making a new beginning and become the WINNING TEAM!
Holding grudges against someone for something that happened years ago will not solve anything either. Most of you don’t even remember why you are angry anyway. We are not here to become a Social Club but to conduct the business of this Great Order.
People may forget what you said to them but they will never forget how you treated them.
Remember the pessimist sees the difficulty in every situation and the optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty. Be an Optimist!
Proverbs 14:33 Wisdom resteth in the heart of him that hath understanding; but that which is in the midst of fools is made known.
We will never have peace if we never let go of wanting to change the past and controlling the future. You will never be successful if you have to always ask “What’s In It For Me”?
In closing I ask that we all remember “Effective leadership is not about making speeches or being liked; leadership is defined by results and not attributes.
I will continue to lead BY THE CROSS,
R. Lucille Samuel
Grand Princess Captain
Lone Star Grand Guild of Texas PHA
Heroines of the Templars Crusade
International Grand Senior Shepherdess
International Grand Deputy of Texas
International Grand Court of Cyrene Crusaders
“BRING ONE TEACH TWO”
As the third writer on Freemason Information I’ll jump in with both feet and take a stab at this question. Both Tim & Greg have attempted to define Freemasonry as an intellectual enterprise of definition devoid of the feelings of individual Freemasons. And it is precisely those feelings that help define the Craft. Sometimes what counts is not reality but perception. One needs to get a sense of what motivates a person to join Freemasonry. Those reasons shed a lot of light on how Freemasonry is perceived, and how it is perceived is really what it is to flesh and bone human beings. The Craft then becomes not what one wants it to be but what it really is to its practitioners.
That is not to take to task my fellow writers for I do not disagree with their conclusions. I come not to bury Caesar but to praise him, which is a little twist on a famous quote. I just don’t think they take their cases far enough. Stewart tells us:
“As a fraternity, Tim’s conclusion is that while not a club, philanthropy, religion or political action committee, Freemasonry is a place where, and I’m paraphrasing here, moral men meet on common ground to act rightly to one another. He concludes saying that men gathered like this for no more reason than to associate so.”
“While I can’t find a disagreement on that conclusion, one has to ask gather to for what end?”
That’s a good question I will ask again and answer later. I don’t think Stewart ever really answered it. But first I would point out, as I have done many times before, that Freemasons are on different levels of Masonic development and practice. What one Freemason sees in the Craft another does not. What one man practices in Freemasonry another shuns. Some see Freemasonry as a philosophical society, some as a social organization, some as just a means to networking, some as a claim to prestige, some as a way of life and some as a bonding of like thinking human beings. I think what Stewart was saying is that they are all right.
What we perceive is shaped greatly by our personal experiences, our environment. I have had the pleasure to experience Prince Hall Freemasonry, unlike Bryce and Stewart who have not. And in that experience I have had the joy of some very tight bonding. Brothers in Prince Hall hug or embrace each other, always and often. There is a real concern for a Brother’s well being. We not only pray for a Brother in distress or mourning but we do the same for our sisters in OES and HOJ. We will not hesitate to provide direct aid. We tend to work together on projects outside of Freemasonry. There is one big word to describe this experience – FAMILY. In Prince Hall we are all family.
Now I am by no means putting down Mainstream Freemasonry in this regard. I am sure there is the same concern there. But to me and for me its “stiff upper lip” standoffness is a sharp contrast in demonstration of that concern.
I am at once reminded of the words of H.L. Haywood:
“Freemasonry does not exist in a world where brotherhood is a mere dream flying along the sky; it exists in a world of which brotherhood is the law of human life. Its function is not to bring brotherhood into existence just as a hot-house gardener may at last coax into bloom a frail flower, though the climate is most unfriendly, but to lead men to understand that brotherhood is already a reality, a law, and that it is not until we come to know it as such, and practice it, that we can ever find happiness, together. Freemasonry does not create something too fine and good for this rough world; it “reveals” something that is as much a part of the world as roughness itself. In other words, it removes the hoodwink of jealousy, hatred, unkindness, and all the other myriad forms of unbrotherliness in order that a man may see and thus come to know how good and pleasant a thing it is for brethren to dwell together in unity. The hoodwink of cloth or leather that is bound over a man’s eyes is not the real hoodwink at all, but only the symbol thereof; the real hoodwink, and it is that which Freemasonry undertakes to remove from a man’s eyes, is all that anti-social and unhuman spirit out of which grow the things that make life unkind and unhappy. “Brotherhood is heaven; the lack of brotherhood is hell.”
So Freemasonry is a brotherhood with camaraderie. OK, but what difference does it make what it is, isn’t it really all about what it does, especially for the individual Freemason? So what does Freemasonry provide to its members?
My answer is that it provides Community. Everybody needs Community, from the gangbanger to the single mother with 3 children to the Freemason. It is an inherent need of all humankind, the social animals that we are. If you have read Scott Peck’s The Road Less Traveled, Timeless Edition: A New Psychology of Love, Traditional Values and Spiritual Growthyou know what I am talking about. In case you haven’t Peck has a brief explanation of Community for us.
Inclusivity, commitment and consensus: Members accept and embrace each other, celebrating their individuality and transcending their differences. They commit themselves to the effort and the people involved. They make decisions and reconcile their differences through consensus.
Realism: Members bring together multiple perspectives to better understand the whole context of the situation. Decisions are more well-rounded and humble, rather than one-sided and arrogant.
Contemplation: Members examine themselves. They are individually and collectively self-aware of the world outside themselves, the world inside themselves, and the relationship between the two.
A safe place: Members allow others to share their vulnerability, heal themselves, and express who they truly are.
A laboratory for personal disarmament: Members experientially discover the rules for peacemaking and embrace its virtues. They feel and express compassion and respect for each other as fellow human beings.
A group that can fight gracefully: Members resolve conflicts with wisdom and grace. They listen and understand, respect each others’ gifts, accept each others’ limitations, celebrate their differences, bind each others’ wounds, and commit to a struggle together rather than against each other.
A group of all leaders: Members harness the “flow of leadership” to make decisions and set a course of action. It is the spirit of community itself that leads and not any single individual.
I think Bryce & Stewart are trying to make the symptoms the disease.
So if Freemasonry is Community we are back to Stewart’s question we promised to answer, for what purpose? First of all to be Community. That’s enough of an explanation in itself. But to personalize it more to Freemasonry, to be a very special Community of morality and purpose with a message, to practice all of the above – all that has been written in all 3 articles on this subject.
What do you think? Leave your thoughts on what Freemasonry is in the comments below.
The question of What is Freemasonry has been one I’ve tried to answer myself for many years. In a recent column, Tim Bryce took a stab at the elusive answer in a very astute and concise fashion coming to the ultimate conclusion that Freemasonry is a fraternity as “… an environment of companionship dedicated to the social development of its members.” While I don’t think his conclusion is to far from the mark, how he got there bares some consideration.
Did his conclusions go far enough?
In his conclusion, Tim says that Freemasonry is, at its core, a fraternity – debunking the notion of it being a club, philanthropy, religion or a corporation. So, allow me to begin by considering what exactly a fraternity is.
The word fraternity has it’s origins in Old French, fraternité , with even older use from Latin, fraternitatem, which was defined as brotherhood. Rightly so, the notion of the word frater, as Tim says, was the Latin equivalent of the word brother, a term still used in some esoteric groups in present day.
The notion of the term fraternity has even older origins dating back to antiquity in the notion of the mystery cults of Rome (such as the Mithraic rites) evolving through the centuries to the trade guilds later to be embodied in American Culture through open organizations of association, at least so the Encyclopedic entry in Wikipedia would suggest. That same article says that the American social enterprise that became Democracy was essentially an outgrowth of this notion of fraternity in that religious freedom gave cause for ideological association giving rise to a “nation of joiners” that Alexis de Tocqueville (1830) and Arthur M. Schlesinger (1944) saw fit to characterize American as.
But, that exploration may take us to far afield. I will say that the de Tocqueville and Schlesinger’s conclusion has been challenged in more recent scholarship not as outgrowths of democracy but as institutionalization’s of civil society and the need for public engagement – an idea that turns the no religion or politics onto its head given the depth to which both are, today, the main focus of our present society.
As a fraternity, Tim’s conclusion is that while not a club, philanthropy, religion or political action committee, Freemasonry is a place where, and I’m paraphrasing here, moral men meet on common ground to act rightly to one another. He concludes saying that men gathered like this for no more reason than to associate so.
While I can’t find a disagreement on that conclusion, one has to ask gather to for what end? Personally, that conclusion has the taste of a mutual appreciation society, where members merely gather to congratulate one another on rank promotion and fine regalia acquisitions while debating on the cost of linen cleaning and the use of pasta sauce. This might sound glib, but if that were the case, why include the initiatic trappings to make an individual a Mason in the first place? It is in that rituals, and the ideas behind them, that I see the difference in there mere aspect of being a fraternity of self congratulators.
Blind Men Appraising an Elephant Artist: Ohara Donshu, Japanese, died 1857 Medium: Ink and colors on paper Place Made: Japan Dates: early 19th century Period: Edo Period
But, let’s take some time to analyze the elements Tim suggests the fraternity is not. To do this, I we need to invoke an old Hindu parable on avoiding dogmatism.
In the parable on how to define an elephant we might find a good approach to how to define this conundrum of what Freemasonry is by describing its parts, or more precisely, the elements that Tim says Freemasonry is not. The Hindu telling of the parable goes something along these lines:
A number of blind men came to an elephant. Somebody told them that it was an elephant. The blind men asked, ‘What is the elephant like?’ and they began to touch its body. One of them said: ‘It is like a pillar.’ This blind man had only touched its leg. Another man said, ‘The elephant is like a husking basket.’ This person had only touched its ears. Similarly, he who touched its trunk or its belly talked of it differently. In the same way, he who has seen the Lord in a particular way limits the Lord to that alone and thinks that He is nothing else. – Ramakrishna, an Indian mystic of the 19th-century
The conclusion of the parable is that no one individual is capable of defining the elephant by merely describing its parts. That only in the summations of their totality was any consensus possible as to what, exactly, the elephant was, and even then a deaf man could still draw other conclusions rendering even further definitions. Ultimately, the moral is that while we seek to define something, the only way to do so is by adequately and completely describing its parts.
In his piece, Tim gives us several of components saying that Freemasonry has variously been defined as a club, a corporation, a religion, a political action committee, and philanthropy. To each of these he says that they miss the mark in defining the institution coming to the conclusion that it is merely a fraternity of association where these elements may, or may not, take place. I argue that, to the contrary, Masonry is all of these things at various levels and at the same time while cloaked in the old fraternal notion of a fraternal society of common cause.
Is Freemasonry a Club?
While a seeming antiquated notion today, at one point in the 20th century clubs were about as diffuse as the subjects they gathered to associate about. Garden clubs, chess clubs, book clubs, motorcycle clubs, car clubs, hunting clubs, gun clubs, card clubs… the list could go on and on. DMOZ, the open source directory, lists 132,542 clubs and more than 10,000 organizations. In some respects, Freemasonry is one just another one of these affinity clubs.
Is Freemasonry a Corporation?
The U.S. Small Business Association defines a corporation as “an independent legal entity owned by shareholders which means that “the corporation itself, not the shareholders that own it, is held legally liable for the actions and debts the business incurs.” In Tim’s piece, he rightly states that a corporation is profitable in nature, which is the argument he makes for why Freemasonry is not a corporation. Yet, without some profit, the organization cannot grow or anticipate any developments that might necessitate some capital investment (a new lodge, educational materials, new jewels, and so on). At some level, even as a non-profit organization Freemasonry should function as a 501(c)10, which the IRS describes as:
A domestic fraternal society, order, or association must meet the following requirements:
It must have a fraternal purpose. An organization has a fraternal purpose if membership is based on a common tie or the pursuit of a common object. The organization must also have a substantial program of fraternal activities.
It must operate under the lodge system. Operating under the lodge system requires, at a minimum, two active entities: (i) a parent organization; and (ii) a subordinate organization (called a lodge, branch, or the like) chartered by the parent and largely self-governing.
It must not provide for the payment of life, sick, accident, or other benefits to its members. The organization may arrange with insurance companies to provide optional insurance to its members without jeopardizing its exempt status.
It must devote its net earnings exclusively to religious, charitable, scientific, literary, educational, and fraternal purposes.
It must be a domestic organization, that is, it must be organized in the United States.
So then, in this configuration, essentially, Freemasonry, under the Grand Lodge system, is a Corporation that does not take a profit, dedicating its net earnings exclusively to religious, charitable, scientific, literary, educational, and fraternal purposes. This may not apply at the lodge level, but I would suspect that most TempleBoards function as corporations to manage the infrastructure investment of the lodge building. Does this make Freemasonry a corporation? I would say yes and no in that while not a “corporate body” with the many denominations of Freemasonry, at its management level, it is a corporation where the lodges annually elected leaders (Worshipful Masters) to vote at shareholder meetings annually in the Grand Lodge communications electing new corporate leadership.
This corporate idea is probably most observable in the Shrine and in the Scottish Rite, both of which having many nonprofit corporations under their dominion.
Is Freemasonry a Religion?
Tim makes another point in his piece that Freemasonry is not a religion, and while nearly every tract written, published and produced repeats this mantra (right down into the very landmarks of the institution) it does promote a religious lifestyle. Further, it embraces a wide acceptance of religious thought (empirically) seeing all faiths as equal by 1) acknowledging all faiths and 2) embracing them in common cause in the lodge.
Interestingly, the early Unitarian preacher William Ellery Channing (d.October, 1842) would say that “there is but one thing essential in religion and this is the doing of God’s will” but in doing so in communion, in the same sermon he says:
It is not with the voice only that man communicates with man Nothing is so eloquent as the deep silence of a crowd A sigh a low breathing sometimes pours into us our neighbour’s soul more than a volume of words There is a communication more subtle than freemasonry between those who feel alike How contagious is holy feeling.
The point of making this reference is that while Freemasonry does not espouse a religious practice, it certainly exudes a devout religious timbre that its religious tolerance allows to resonate through its many parts.
Is Freemasonry a Political Action Committee?
This was an interesting inclusion and one that I had not considered before in conjunction to Freemasonry. The purpose of a PAC, says Opensecrets.org, is the “raising and spending money to elect and defeat candidates” representing “business, labor or ideological interests.”
While no Masonic PAC exists (you can check yourself by consulting PACRONYMS, which is an alphabetical list of acronyms, abbreviations, initials, and common names of federal political action committees (PACs) identifying committees when their full names are not disclosed on campaign finance reports. My search yielded no Masonic named organizations)
What is interesting is what defines a PAC. At the Federal Level, a PAC is an organization that receives or spends more than $1,000 for the purpose of influencing a federal election. Politics is that flip side of the coin to religion as taboo topics to discuss in lodge, a point Tim makes succinctly. But another point that Tim makes is that while Freemasonry believes (and actively promotes) patriotism, citizenship, and good government, its history also boasts a healthy degree of civic activism, especially in it’s fraternal political patriarchs in the likes of Famous Freemasons George Washington and nine of the original signers of the Declaration of Independence. Even the Boston Tea party, while unverifiable, was planned in a ‘community center’ that sported a square and compass above its door.
Does that make Freemasonry a Political Action Committee? Probably not, but what it does suggest to me is that the gathering of like minded individuals given to common cause of idealism and faith, could still organize an activity of a political nature outside of the regular opening and closing of a lodge room in the same way they could plan a fishing trip together or organize a lodge movie night.
Is Freemasonry a Philanthropy
Tim makes a good point here in saying that Masons help others within their capacity to do so, without mandate, and peripheral goal. While I see this as fundamentally correct, I think he equates the notion of philanthropy as holding weekly cupcake sales or canned food drives. While I don’t mean this as a slight to Tim, I think when you look at the many charities that Masonry in some way started, influenced, or contributed to; one can’t help but be overwhelmed by the idea of just how much philanthropy is at work behind the scenes. Remember, too, one of the chief articles of incorporation is to give to charitable causes, a task often instituted at the Grand Lodge level. But some other past examples of tremendous Masonic philanthropy include the George Washington Masonic National Memorial, built with millions of contributions,subscriptions and donations, in an era of much higher income disparity, to the present day Shrine Hospitals for Children and Scottish Rite Speech and Language programs.
While institutionally, neither of these two examples predicates the reason for being as an organization, both are examples of a deeply invested attribute of Freemasonry, namely brotherly love, which, by its Latin name, is Charity. So while masonry itself may not be philanthropic, its does encompass the notion of a love towards mankind in its expression of brotherly love (hence the maxim brotherly love, relief, truth). In some sense, philanthropy is the very thing that Masonry is trying to instill in those who seek out that common cause.
So What is Freemasonry?
This brings us back to the ultimate conclusion then of what the fraternity is to those who have sought it out. Is it the sum of its parts or the individual definitions of its pieces? How can it be none of the things Tim described when, in its operation and its roots it is, essentially, all of those things? To quote from Tim’s piece:
Freemasonry, therefore, is not a club, philanthropy, a religion, or a PAC. Using symbols from ancient operative Masonry, Freemasonry is a place where men meet “on the level” (to promote equality), act “by the plumb” (rectitude of conduct), and part upon “the square” (to practice morality).
To the contrary, I would suggest that Masonry is a club that, ultimately, promotes philanthropy and religion in the same way a PAC or a corporation functions to grow and promote its own prosperity and agenda. That, the ideas of the fraternity do go back centuries, but go well past the common vernacular of the 17th century to their more ancient usage in antiquity to the mystery cults of association by common cause. The only difference is in how we choose to see ourselves – as the individual that the corporate body represents, or as the incorporation of the idea itself in the individual?
Can Freemasonry, like the elephant, be defined in its totality based upon the descriptions of its parts? Or is it a philosophical idea merely codified in its organization for its conduct? I think Tim got it partially right, but I don’t think you can sum the totality of Freemasonry without rightly considering its parts.
What do you think? Leave your thoughts on What Freemasonry is in the comments below.
Interesting people do interesting things and some of the most interesting to me are Masonic artisans or craftsmen. The cream of the crop are those who are multi talented having expertise across a number of fields. When I wrote about Patrick Craddock I noted:
Successful people are multi- talented and multi-faceted people. If you take a look at Brothers David Naughton-Shires and Ryan Flynn you will notice that they have interests and expertise in a wide range of different areas. What they do in one field is buttressed by what they know in another. When you combine a working knowledge of mathematics, science, history and religion with such sub headings of scholarship perhaps such as numerology, sacred geometry, historical preservation, symbology, ancient mystery schools, Gnosticism, computer science and other such studies, you become a well rounded person able to pull from other areas for your vision.
Here are some of these multi talented Freemason artisans and craftsmen who have graced the pages of Freemason Information and Phoenixmasonry.
Now it is time to add another multi talented Masonic artisan to the group, Right Worshipful Brother Walter Hunt, Grand Historian for the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts AF & AM. Hunt is a most remarkable man who has been a writer all his life and a full time professional since 2001. He is the author of four science fiction novels by Tor Books – The Dark Wing series, which has been compared to the works of, Orson Scott Card, Frank Herbert, David Weber, and J.R.R. Tolkien. The series has been published in English and German and The Dark Wing has also appeared in Russian.
Dark Agent
Dark Wing
Dark Path
Dark Crusade
Since these works he has written “A Song In Stone,” which deals with the mystery of Rosslyn Chapel and the secrets of the Templars.
Hunt writes of his inspiration for A Song In Stone:
“In the summer of 2005, I had the opportunity to visit Rosslyn Chapel, an extraordinary site just seven miles from Edinburgh. The final scenes in the best-selling novel The DaVinci Code take place there; it’s said to be the resting place of the Ark of the Covenant and the Grail, among other things. It also has Masonic and Knight Templar connections. My tour guide that day was a fellow Mason, who was very knowledgeable about the place – both the traditional lore and the somewhat more esoteric stories. While I was standing with him in the northeast corner of the chapel – highly significant, that, as my fellow Masons will attest – he and I had a conversation similar to the one below.”
“Look up there,” he said, pointing to the ceilings. I could see the pendant bosses hanging down from the place where four arched supports met; each arch was decorated with hundreds of boxlike projections and an assortment of carvings and decorations – animal and human figures, angels and devils, nature emblems and Green men.
“Extraordinary,” I managed.
“Unlike anything else,” he said. “There are countless numbers of places of worship, holy places, all across Europe and the world. But this is different, Ian. This is not merely a work of art: it’s a text written in stone. More than that – it’s a song.”
“I don’t quite get your meaning. A song?”
“Take a look around the arches. There are seven slightly different shapes for those boxes. There are seven notes in the scale. In fact, if you’ve a good ear, you could strike each of them and hear a slightly different sound.
“Now imagine if all of them – there are more than fourteen hundred – were arranged as music . . . It’s the healing music of Rosslyn,” Madson said softly, looking away from me as if he were trying to remember something.
“I don’t think that was in my briefing.”
“No, it wouldn’t be,” he said. “But if it could be found . . .” “What happens then?”
“It heals the world.”
. . . And, as sometimes happens in my line of work, I had a moment of inspiration. A song, I thought. A whole plot dropped into my head; what if that song was truly the key to healing the world – what if it unlocked something of great importance? People have been trying to unlock the music for centuries; someone claims he’s actually done it, though my guide suggests that this falls short of the true “healing music”. But if the music was more complex, there might be an even more complex reason for it to have been encoded in the stones of the Chapel. From such small things are great things born. By the time I headed for home a week and a half later, I’d sketched out a plot for a new novel; by Labor Day there were five chapters. Within a year, there was an entire book. It was the first book I’ve written that isn’t part of the Dark Wing universe. The quoted portion above is from that book.
He goes on to describe Rosslyn Chapel:
The Apprentice Pillar, which is said to be tied to Freemasonic legend. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Even the dimensions have meaning. As I began to plan out the plot of A Song In Stone, I became more and more aware of the strange field of sacred geometry – the way in which medieval builders created remarkable structures without resorting to advanced mathematics, computer-aided design, or any other modern convenience. There is a great confluence between the Gothic architectural style and the mathematics of music. It shows at Rosslyn, at the great cathedrals such as Chartres (explored later in the book, and to be described in a later post) . . . and at Rosslyn as well. Rosslyn is rightly called a “mystery chapel” – and it deserves better than to be an anticlimactic footnote. From the Lady Chapel to the decorated ceiling, from the pillars to the sacristy, Rosslyn is full of little mysteries waiting to be discovered.
Lately Hunt has a few more irons in the fire. He is writing a sequel to A Song In Stone titled A Word In The Air.He is also working on another novel titled King & Country. “It’s an alternate-history timeline” he says, “an America with no United States; the American Revolution never happened. In fact, there is no hint of a revolution: the Atlantic colonies never consider the possibility of separation, because their relationship with the mother country is on a fundamentally different footing.”
Now so as you get the picture that is a very serious author who does not just dash off a bunch of words and slap them into a book, here is his reading list for research for this undertaking:
The Earlier Colonial Period
Andrews, Charles M. The Colonial Period of American History. This work is the definitive text on the colonial period. It is in four volumes, though Volume 1 and Volume 2 are the most important, as they provide the most complete descriptions on the origins of the British colonies (including offshore and Caribbean ones).
Bourne, Russell. Gods of War, Gods of Peace. An excellent insight into the religions of native societies as they came into contact with European ones.
Cordingly, David. Under the Black Flag. A real-life history of piracy, with considerable information on the lives of the most notorious pirates.
Fischer, David Hackett. Albion’s Seed. An excellent study of the cultural origins of English-speaking colonies in America. While not as historically in-depth as the Andrews book for facts and details, it’s an easier and more fluid read. 0195069056
Jones, Daniel P. The Economic and Social Transformation of Rural Rhode Island. A dry discussion of early Rhode Island economics, particularly informative for the period just after King Philip’s War. 1555531210
Mandell, Daniel.Behind the Frontier. A study of the role of native peoples in Massachusetts Bay Colony during the eighteenth century. This is a good companion piece to the excellent Taylor book on New York natives (see below). 0803282494
McCormick, Richard P. New Jersey From Colony To State. A Rutgers University study of the transformation of the Jersey shore settlements up to the creation of the United States. (New Jersey’s development is less linear and more complex than other colonies, so this is a very useful book.) 081350662X
Mason, Laura. Sugar-Plums and Sherbet. Subtitled “The Prehistory of Sweets”, this book is an insightful discussion of the development of sugar and sugar products. 1903018285
Peckham, Howard H. The Colonial Wars: 1689-1762. Detailed discussion of the “forgotten wars” in America (not forgotten here, needless to say!) prior to the French and Indian War. 0226653145
Salinger, Sharon V. Taverns and Drinking in Early America. A well-researched book about the culture of taverns and the social mores of drunkenness in colonial America. 0801878993
Singleton, Esther.Social New York Under the Georges. A wonderful source of information on New York life – furnishings, etc. – with pictures. Great stuff. 1406770493
Taylor, Alan. American Colonies. One of the best all-around books about colonial development in America. I had a conversation with a reenactor at Jamestown in the summer of 2007 who had some issues with Taylor’s conclusions, but the book is comprehensive and detailed. 0142002100
Vaughn, Alden P. The New England Frontier. A detailed discussion of relations with natives in New England during the seventeenth century (before King Philip’s War). 080612718X
Warden, G.B. Boston 1689-1776. The 19th of April was famous in New England long before the Revolution – it was the day that Bostonians took Sir Edmund Andros prisoner in Fort William. This very informative book begins with that event and takes the reader all the way through the coming of the American Revolution. B000NOYL1M
Zemsky, Robert. Merchants, Farmers and River Gods. Zemsky’s book is a study of leading citizens in Massachusetts Bay Colony prior to the Revolution. This B000KLXLY6
Eighteenth-Century Britain
Buchan. Crowded With Genius.
McLynn. Bonnie Prince Charlie.
Preble. Glencoe.
Preble. The Highland Clearances.
Schama, Simon. A History of Britain (3 vols, DVD)
Treasure. Who’s Who In Early Hanoverian Britain.
Treasure. Who’s Who In Late Hanoverian Britain.
French and Indian War
Anderson, Paul Crucible of War
Harvey A Few Bloody Noses
Jennings. Empire of Fortune
Parry Trade and Dominion
American Revolution Era
Allgor Parlor Politics
Middlekauff. The Glorious Cause
Middlekauff. Benjamin Franklin and His Enemies
Schecter. The Battle for New York
Early 19th Century
Key, Jane Holtz. Lost Boston. A photographic essay on the city of Boston, 1558495274
Middle 19th Century
Land and Sea Warfare
Black, Jeremy Warfare in the Eighteenth Century
Herman To Rule the Waves
Lavery, Ship of the Line (2 vols)
Hunt says this bibliography is a bit out of date as he has added to it. My goodness, that is a lot of reading to do for one book!
But before he completes this epic work he is going to publish a 1632 novel with the help of Eric Flint. It is set in 1636, and takes place mostly in the New World.
Hunt has still another work in progress, this one almost complete. The Book is title “Elements of Mind,” a novel that is set around 1860, and deals with mesmerism – a sort of pseudoscience that swept England in the middle 19th century. The principal characters are almost exclusively real people, though in many cases their histories have been altered or elaborated to fit the story.
Hunt doesn’t just limit himself to writing, however. He is also the designer of a board game called Rails of New England.
If this is all Hunt did it would be quite an accomplishment. Yet this man is also an active Freemason. Grand Historian,Right Worshipful Walter Hunt is a member of Norumbega Fraternity Lodge, Grand Lodge of Massachusetts AF & AM, which was originally a merger of Norumbega and Brookline Lodges, 03/12/1984, where Hunt was Master in 1993-1994 and then that merger merged with Fraternity & Fuller Lodge to form Norumbega Fraternity Lodge,10/05/2001. Hunt is also Past Master of Mount Hollis Lodge of the same jurisdiction where he served as Master in 1999 and 2006.
Hunt writes for the Trowel, the magazine of the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts AF & AM. He has an ongoing series right now of in depth looks at Massachusetts Past Grand Masters you have never heard of. When the editorship of the Trowel became available recently Hunt was one of two semi finalists for the position.
Here is a list of articles that he has authored for the Trowel:
Summer 2009: “A Grand Historian For Our Grand Lodge.”
Winter 2009: “Masonic Team-Building.”
Spring 2010: “Our Grand Master Visits Our Brothers in Panama.”
Fall 2010: “Grand Masters of Massachusetts: John Cutler and Samuel Dunn.”
Winter 2010: “Grand Masters of Massachusetts: Isaiah Thomas, Benjamin Russell – Printers, Patriots, Freemasons.”
Spring 2011: “Grand Masters of Massachusetts: Joseph Jenkins, John Abbot – The Builder of the Temple and the Defender of the Craft.”
Summer 2011: “Grand Masters of Massachusetts: Joshua B. Flint.”
Winter 2011: “Grand Masters of Massachusetts: Paul Dean – Careful Steward.”
Spring 2012: “Grand Masters of Massachusetts: George Randall – Apostle in the Wilderness.”
Summer 2012: “Browsing the Proceedings of Grand Lodge.”
Fall 2012: “Grand Masters of Massachusetts: John T. Heard.”
Winter 2012: “Grand Masters of Massachusetts: Augustus Peabody – A Profound Thinker and Good Man”
Spring 2013: “Grand Marshal to Grand Master.”
Summer 2013: “Grand Masters of Massachusetts: Charles C. Dame – The Fraternity Rebuilds.”
Fall 2013: “Grand Masters of Massachusetts: William Sewall Gardner – Holding the Scales in Equipoise.”
Spring 2014: (pending): “Grand Masters of Massachusetts: Claude LeRoy Allen – A Different Time.”
But his crowning Masonic achievement, the pièce de résistance , is his website Masonic Genealogy.
MasonicGenealogy is intended for use as a research tool for Masonic historians. It is the synthesis of readily-available sources presented in the form of a wiki, a searchable database consisting of pages connected by links. The content is constantly evolving and enlarging, and all material on the site is subject to change as new material becomes available.
Here is how this project came about in Hunt’s own words:
“The primary author was at the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts at one of its Quarterly Communications in the fall of 2009, and met three Brothers from Rufus Putnam Lodge in Rutland, Massachusetts. These Brothers were interested in finding out information about their Lodge’s history.”
“Their initial inquiry ran up against one of the greatest problems with our otherwise-terrific Grand Lodge Library and its extensive records, the Proceedings which chronicle the doings of our Grand Lodge from 1733 to the present: there is no comprehensive index. There are indexes in some of the more than 140 volumes of the Proceedings (though not all), and there is a card catalog (incomplete) composed around 1951 that covers some (but not all) of the topics – people, places, lodges, events – from our long history. But there is no overall, up-to-date index.”
“And so began the quixotic notion of creating an index – by, as another of Masonic Genealogy’s principals says, “turning every page.” Thus, over a series of months, every page of the Proceedings from 1792 to the present has been turned (the work is ongoing). The site now contains pages for every lodge ever chartered, and virtually every lodge for which a dispensation was ever issued, in Massachusetts. Similar data sets exist for other states. There is a page for every year of the Grand Lodge’s history (the work is ongoing), listing all of the events of that year, in some cases illustrated by pictures from the Proceedings and elsewhere. Other topic pages are being developed; see the Current events page to see what exists and what’s new.”
It is real genius placing a cataloging system into a wiki. Hunt explains some of the benefits:
By referencing a Year page, the user can readily see the events of that year, including the Grand Master, the dates and events of Quarterly Communications, elections and decisions, and necrology information from that year. Each year also includes a summary of all lodges in existence during that year, both chartered and under dispensation.
By referencing a Location page, the user can see a list of all lodges that met in that place, along with the years they met there. It is intended eventually to list the building locations and information about those buildings, but that is not yet in place.
By referencing a Lodge page, the user can see information about the lodge of that name, along with a list of years the lodge was active; where the date appears in bold, there is a reference for that lodge in the corresponding year. Each lodge page also includes the charter and dispensation date, the Grand Master issuing the charter, the places it met, and the current disposition of its charter, if known.
From a layman’s point of view the wiki format has obvious advantages. It is on a database not web pages. It doesn’t exist until you click on it. There is no realistic limit to how much data you can enter. It’s easy to set up and has the ability to rapidly locate things. It is very fast!
And the links, did I mention the links? You can put links on a page which link to another page which has numerous links to other pages which when you link onto them have still more links. And this goes on forever and can bring you back to where you started. It’s like one big circle. Hunt says, “Think of a wiki as a roll top desk with pigeon holes.”
Some of the other advantages are that a wiki has an edit link for every page. It writes the html for you. Most wikis store old copies of pages and often will show you what changes you have made on those pages.
Creating New Pages Is Simple With Wikis: Wikis let you link to pages that don’t yet exist. Click on a link that points to a nonexistent page, and the wiki will ask you for initial content to put in the page. If you submit some initial content, the wiki will create the page. All links to that page (not just the one you clicked) will now point to the newly-created page.
Wikis Simplify Site Organization: As wikis work like hypertext databases, you can organize your page however you want. Many content management systems require you to plan classifications for your content before you actually create it. This can be helpful, but only if what you want to convey fits a rigid mould. With a wiki, you can organize your page into categories if you want, but you can also try other things. Instead of designing the site structure, many wiki site creators just let the structure grow with the content and the links inside their content. But you don’t have to have it either way. I do all three on my own site. Visitors can navigate the site by following a storyline, drilling down through a hierarchy, or they can just browse with the natural flow of the internal links. Without the wiki, such complexity would be a nightmare. Now that I use a wiki, I also find my site structure easier to manage than when I used a template system and a set of categories.
Wikis Keep Track of All Your Stuff: Because a wiki stores everything in an internal hypertext database, it knows about all your links and all your pages. So it’s easy for the wiki to show back links, a list of all the pages that linking to the current page. Since the wiki stores your document history, it can also list recent changes. Advanced wikis like the Wikipedia can even show a list of recent changes to pages that link to the current page.
Hunt tells us again, “A wiki grows organically. Take things in any order, in any time. Look at any page and see its history.”
Some come with me now to explore Masonic Genealogy. Under regional sections on the right click on Massachusetts. Click on Lodges and we will look up one of my former Lodges. Go to the P’s and click on Paul Revere. Now under Anniversaries or Visits by Grand Master, take your pick, click on 2006- 150th anniversary. Now we find ourselves on the Jeffrey Hodgdon Grand Master page for 2006. Scroll down the page to Special Communications and find 10/14 2006 Brockton. Click on Brockton and then Paul Revere and we are back where we started.
Now this is a very simple route that we took. But you might have noticed along the way all the options you had to go elsewhere and make a bigger circle or a longer route. The cross referencing in this wiki presents you with the best cross referencing you have ever seen and you can use it without getting lost.
Lately Hunt is working on expanding and explaining all the annotations in the pages of the Grand Constitution.
The bottom line is that this is a tremendous tool for research and getting to know your Grand Lodge. It is the new Grand Lodge Search Engine!
Walter Hunt, a historian, writer, author, science fiction buff, board game aficionado and Freemason is making his mark on society and Freemasonry. His Masonic Genealogy will be a model for every Lodge in the United States if not the world and will bring Grand Lodges fully into the 21st century Information Age with both feet.
BRYCE ON SOCIETY – The Baby Boomers versus the Millennials, and beyond.
There is a divide widening between the Baby Boomers and its succeeding generations, the Millennials. Both sides are frustrated and do not understand the other. What was commonplace in the Boomer generation is not so anymore, and the other generation look upon the Boomers as fossils who should be put out to pasture (and out of their way). The truth is both sides need each other if, for no other reason than to accommodate a smooth transition from one to another.
The differences between the two groups are primarily based on perspectives and priorities; to illustrate:
A Different Sense of “Class”
Office organization and decorum has changed considerably. Offices used to be very structured and tidy. This was done for two reasons: it was believed an organized office ran better if people knew where everything was, and; to demonstrate the professionalism of the office to its customers, thereby leaving a favorable impression and encouraging a longtime business relationship. Offices today are noticeably less tidy and more relaxed thereby allowing employees to think of it as a second home. Customers are no longer offended by disorganization in the workplace as it is essentially no different than their own office. Instead of encouraging craftsmanship and seeking perfection, there is now a tendency to settle for second best.
Focus of Attention
Instead of focusing on work products, the emphasis today is on the amount of time spent. Whereas the Boomers would think nothing of working nights or weekends to complete a task, their successors are obsessed with the number of hours they spend at work.
Compensation
Back in the 1970’s you could hire a programmer fresh out of college for as little as $15K/year. Not anymore. Today, college programmers expect as much as $85K or higher, plus a signing bonus of perhaps $20K. According to a recruiter friend of mine, the idea of a signing bonus originated with pro-sports. If the student-athlete can get such a bonus for joining the pros, why not everyone else? In other words, young people fully expect hefty salaries without having to demonstrate their abilities. The concept of apprenticeship is no longer accepted. This is the antithesis of yesteryear where you started low and proved your worth over time. This represents a delineation of entitlement versus responsibility. Whereas the Boomers sought responsibility in order to demonstrate their worth, the Millennials expect entitlement. Not surprising, there is no corporate loyalty, and “job hopping” is the norm today.
Sense of History
Whereas the Boomers were taught the background of their craft by their predecessors, the Millennials frankly couldn’t care less. By learning their craft, the Boomers were less inclined to repeat mistakes.
I’m not really sure how well history is being taught to the Millennials. Recently, I overheard a college professor of management make the observation, “The PC did away with middle management in the 1990’s.” When I asked him to explain, he admitted he had generalized a bit but insisted the proliferation of the PC led to a reduction of many types of jobs, and claimed studies suggested a reduction in middle management due to this technology. I had a hard time swallowing this. During the 1990’s there was an effort to flatten bloated organizations a la General Electric’s Jack Welch (who earned the nickname “Neutron Jack” for such efforts). Interestingly, this approach was derived from Joseph Stalin’s purges of the Soviet government, not from the proliferation of technology.
True, the PC helped reduce clerical staff, but I did not see it have much of an effect on eliminating middle management. However, it displaced clerical burdens on management; e.g. word processing, spreadsheets, etc.). Today, you do not see many secretaries in offices, which is a shame in my opinion. A good secretary could make an office run like a top. I still question the need to place clerical burdens on management. For example, consider air-travel; instead of contacting an in-house or commercial travel agent to arrange ticketing and reservations, we now spend an inordinate amount of time performing this task ourselves (with frequent screw-ups being common place). By doing so, we have substituted the professional with the amateur.
Interpersonal relationships
Whereas the Boomers were taught to master skills involving human relationships, such as persuasion, negotiation, presentations, interviewing, etc., the Millennials are more inclined to rely on technology to get their point across. Instead of trying to understand the requirements of their customers, there is more of a push to simply juggle numbers. This means people are viewed as nothing more than objects and not treated with respect.
This phenomenon regarding generational divide is essentially no different than when the Greatest Generation was being replaced by the Boomers. To the Greatest Gen, the Boomers were perceived as more permissive, more tolerant of mistakes, and somewhat lazy. This shouldn’t be surprising when you consider the Greatest Gen survived the hardships of the Great Depression and World War II. The difference though was both sides found a way to bridge the gap. To illustrate, during the 1990’s, when aircraft manufacturers cleaned house and retired their older workers, they found themselves helpless when technical problems arose (anybody remember Clint Eastwood’s “Space Cowboys”? Same idea.). Because of this, companies are not so quick to eliminate older workers in the event of a reduction in the work force.
Neither the Boomers or the Millennials understand each other and, as such, can find no room for compromise. Thereby the generational divide expands and gridlock ensues. The Boomers perceive the Millennials as addicted to technology and easily swayed by the media. They appear to lack social skills, work ethic, and empathy for others. Because of this, it should not be surprising that micromanagement is on the rise. This suggests the Millennials tend to go on auto-pilot and prefer to be told what to do.
Each generation wants to leave its mark on the world, and each sees it a little differently. Perspectives and values understandably change over time. What one generation considers normal and rational, may not be so by another. It’s called “change” which is actually quite natural. The Baby Boomers learned the practices of the Greatest Generation, adapted, and modified them to suit their needs. Not so between the Boomers and the Millennials where the younger generation is ignoring the Boomers and inventing their own sense of reality. By not studying the past though, they are likely to commit the same mistakes as their predecessors. In other words, they are doomed to learn the hard way.
The question next becomes, how will the Millennials relate to Generation Z who is now going through school and is much more imbued with technology than their predecessors. For example, 25% of two year-olds now have a smart phone. Their dependence on technology is much stronger than the Millennials. I suspect such technology addiction will cause another divide between generations, but not to the degree we are currently experiencing.
Regardless of the reason, be it parenting, the Boomers dropping the ball, the effects of technology addiction, the brainwashing by the media, or changing moral values, a growing chasm exists between the Boomers and their successors, and I can see no way of stopping it other than to simply reach out to the other side and talk, and listen as well.
Keep the Faith!
Note: All trademarks both marked and unmarked belong to their respective companies.
Tim Bryce is a writer and the Managing Director of M&JB Investment Company (M&JB) of Palm Harbor, Florida and has over 30 years of experience in the management consulting field. He can be reached at timb001@phmainstreet.com
My answer is that it provides Community. Everybody needs Community, from the gangbanger to the single mother with 3 children to the Freemason. It is an inherent need of all humankind, the social animals that we are. If you have read Scott Peck’s 
Is Freemasonry a Religion?
