The Third of Bro Meagher's entries into the Grand Master's literary competition, finally, He has taken the time to approach a subject in a serious manner...
On the Relevance of Freemasonry to the Modern man
Often, in a world full of instant connectivity, “old school” institutions are seen as irrelevant, slow, and unfortunately, as an anachronism.
Unfortunately this is the perception of the general population in regards to Freemasonry. … something that my Grandfather used to be… indeed, often we fool ourselves into believing that “old school” men were always “old” - forgetting that modern men of every age are modern on there own time.
We, as Masons, all know the above perception is incorrect, the challenge that we are faced with today is how to reverse this notion & maintain our relevance; to be seen as an intrinsic piece of the modern man's life as the craft was in times past.
I would like to put forward the following train of thought, that the Motto of Freemasonry that “We Make Good Men Better” is as relevant today as it ever was. This very motto, is the defining point of the crafts place in Modern Society.
At a time where it is incredibly easy to appear connected to Society via the all pervading illusory social media accounts, Freemasonry allows the Modern Male a chance to ACTUALLY connect with Real people & improve himself via our esoteric practices.
By taking time out to “DO lodge” IN lodge a modern man gains those couple of hours of precious “me” time where he is not bothered by phone & social media concerns.
By participating in a Masonic Lodge, the Modern Man is proving the relevance of the Craft to himself. A lodge that is active & growing proves that The Craft has a place in Modern Society.
By learning charges and performing work in the temple, men are learning important life lessons on How to speak in front of audiences; How to learn to “stay on topic” when tasked to explain, How to move about a room with dignity, How to associate with other men in formal and informal senses - I would argue that all these skills are as relevant today as they were to our Masonic forebears
In terms of the infrastructure of Freemasonry, by assisting in a Lodge, the modern man gains that deep understanding of charity and the meaning of labour, thus the Modern man becomes connected to the community for no other reason than feeling good about himself.
The relevance for the modern man by Providing fellowship in a manner that is not illegal or has any other agenda is as priceless in current times as ever. Unlike the other types of fraternities, such as motor cycle gangs who generally gather for illegal purposes or the learned bodies, trade guilds & unions who meet for the financial benefit for members Freemasons meet purely for the joy of each other's company. I'd argue this is as relevant to the modern man as it has always been.
Freemasonry is a great forum that Providing a forum for an Intergenerational dialogue. The Modern Man benefits from this as much as the modern man of the 1970s, or the modern man of the 1870’s.
The relevance of freemasonry is still intrinsic to the craft, what the craft is faced with currently, is how to market and promote ourselves and the benefits of membership, to a generation that is accustomed to the quick turnaround times, on demand viewing and omnipresent social media. Thus by engaging with the modern man we will further prove the relevance of the Craft to ourselves.
The challenge of modern masonic practice is breaking the market. .. for too long, Freemasonry has had a rule not unlike the Fightclub motto “The first rule of fightclub is no-one talks about fight club”. How is the world's largest fraternity supposed to appear relevant if no men know about us? We must engage in the modern world and prove our relevance by actively self promoting our relevance.
In closing, the relevance of freemasonry is and always will be in Providing a safe environment to be a Better Man!
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