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ENEMIES LIST
by W:.Tim Bryce, PM, MPS
timb001@phmainstreet.com
Palm Harbor, Florida, USA
"A Foot Soldier for Freemasonry"
"Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer."
- Sun-tzu, Chinese general & military strategist (-400 BC)
During the Watergate years of the 1970's, it was discovered that the Nixon
Administration was maintaining an "Enemies List" of any and all antagonists
to the policies of the White House. This became a "Who's Who" which included
radical extremists, political opponents, members of the press, labor leaders,
financiers, celebrities, even athletes. The activities of the people on
the list were closely scrutinized by the administration and where necessary,
life was made difficult for them by the administration. This, of course,
was not without precedence as Lyndon Johnson had J.Edgar Hoover of the FBI monitor
the activities of select rivals as well. I'm certain Nixon and Johnson were
not alone in this regard, both before and after Watergate. Such enemy lists
are developed for political purposes and opens the door for "dirty tricks" to
be played on people whose names appear on them.
It has come to my attention that a similar type of list is being maintained
and circulated within Freemasonry. In other words, a list of Masonic trouble
makers to be wary of. I might understand such a list being maintained on a
jurisdictional basis, but what I am hearing of is a secret list that is being
circulated among Grand jurisdictions at the highest levels. I don't know if
there is any truth in this, but it wouldn't surprise me.
I suspect if you are placed on this list, your actions are being closely watched and
any infraction of the rules are reported accordingly. Even close Masonic friends
whom you normally trust are charged with monitoring your activity. I know such
talk smacks of paranoia, but it makes you wonder what is being recorded in
your membership jacket at Grand Lodge.
The people I suspect are on such a Masonic enemies list are all Brothers who
have vocalized their discontent with current policies of the Grand Lodges.
They are not people who want to see the fraternity destroyed, but rather
improved and brought into the 21st century; people who can think beyond
the confines of the Lodge room and jurisdictional boundaries; Brothers
who believe in the universality of Freemasonry and how it should be run.
If, in fact, such a list exists, I would probably consider it an Honor Roll
of Masons, a sort of Red Badge of Courage for speaking from the heart and
trying to improve the status quo. In all likelihood, if you rock the boat
you can probably expect to be added to the list. More importantly, the
existence of such a list would be proof that Freemasonry has been politicized
which would be scarier than just appearing on the list. After all, we should
be acting more like Masons than like the Mafia.
Keep the Faith.
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NOTE: The opinions expressed in this essay are my own and do not
necessarily represent the views or opinions of any Grand Masonic jurisdiction
or any other Masonic related body. As with all of my Masonic articles herein,
please feel free to reuse them in Masonic publications or re-post them on Masonic
web sites (except Florida). When doing so, please add the following:
Article reprinted with permission of the author and www.FreemasonInformation.com
Please forward me a copy of the publication when it is produced.
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Copyright © 2007 by Tim Bryce. All rights reserved.
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