The Good, The Truth, And The Salt Grass

By James C. “Chris” Williams IV – Staff Writer 

I don’t know if I ever told y’all, but my Lodge has what we call a “Philosophic Roundtable” every quarter where we meet at a local restaurant and have dinner and good Masonic fellowship.  After dinner we pose a question or problem about some facet of Masonry and allow every Brother to address the group on his personal views concerning the selected topic.  The topic being revealed only just before the discussion makes the discussion more spontaneous and elicits some very interesting and varied responses.  Bottom line, it’s a heck of a lot of fun as well as interesting Masonic education.  Anyway, there we were….  sixteen of my Brothers and me just sitting down for dinner at the local Salt Grass Steakhouse, when my phone went off.  I looked at the display and saw that it was John and I figured he was calling to tell me he would be in town for lunch the next day.  I answered, “Hello this is the overeating hotline…….  would you like to talk to a counselor?” I waited and there was only silence and then the line went dead.  I broke out laughing and everyone who was standing next to me wanted to know what the heck was going on.  I started to tell them when the phone rang again.  Seeing it was John again I answered the same way and again the line went dead.  Every Brother within earshot had heard what I said, and they all wanted to know who I was talking to.  I told them it was Big John Deacon just as it rang again and as soon as I answered, before I could say anything, he growled, “You can’t fool me a third time cause I looked at the number before I dialed it this time.  Now if you will tell me where you are so I can meet you this evening I will spare you any more of my wrath.” “Hey John,” I said, a little surprised.  “I didn’t know you were in town.  You should have called me earlier.” I told him where I was, and he was adamant about coming to the discussion and having dinner….  especially when I told him we were at the Salt Grass Steakhouse.  I hung up and apologized to everyone that John was going to be joining us.  They all seemed glad that he was coming, and a few hadn’t met him yet.  It sure didn’t take him long to get there and I introduced him around and put him at the end of the table so he would have a little more room.  He promptly waved at our waiter and ordered range rattlers, a rack of BBQ ribs, and the large chicken fried steak….  with extra gravy and those garlic mashed potatoes.  Most of the guys at the table couldn’t hear what he ordered but when the food came there was shock on their faces as they saw what he was going to eat for dinner.  John had been carrying on a conversation with several Brothers at his end of the table but as soon as he got his food he lapsed into total silence while he ate.  Actually, the food was darn good and the conversation between everyone had slowed to almost nothing.  We got through dinner without incident which was surprising.  I got up to lay out the topic and question for the discussion and laid out the rules.  Now, one of the rules is that what is said inside that room in the discussion is not to leave the room.  Not that there are any earth-shattering comments made usually, but it is so that every Brother will feel comfortable sharing whatever point of view he has on the subject.  So, keeping that in mind I am going to just allude vaguely to what transpired.  First, the topic/question had to do with explaining your thoughts on a certain part of the Master’s degree.  I realized early on that it was a pretty deep subject as a couple of Brothers bypassed their turn so they could collect their thoughts a bit.  The comments were as different and as varied as you could imagine.  We now have a total of eighteen Brothers there and just as many opinions it seemed and several strayed from the original topic and went off in a different direction.  When it came to John’s turn, I told him that since it was his first time he didn’t have to participate.  He shook his head and said, “I would like to say a few things, but I am going to off the subject a little.” In all the time I had spent with John I had come to know that he was both a literal, as well as a philosophic thinker, but I really didn’t know what to expect from him in this situation.  When he said he wanted to say a “few” things I got a little uneasy because I had told everyone that they had three minutes to say what they wanted to say.  I knew how long winded he could be sometimes.  The last thing I wanted was to have him talk for thirty minutes.  I looked around and everyone seemed agreeable, so I nodded to him to go on.  He was the last one and several of the Brothers had not used their full amount of time so I figured it would be okay.  Instead of standing, he just leaned forward in his chair and said, “Brethren, Brother Chris and I have been meeting every month for quite a few years now and we have some good old Masonic discussion which he writes down and then he puts it in that newsletter of y’all’s and calls it profound pontifications.  I don’t know how profound it all is, but I was passing through this afternoon and wanted to talk about the article and when I found out y’all were having this philo….  .phila….philashificle …ahhhh….  this…… discussion… I wanted to be a part of it….and I was hungry too.  What I came to talk to Brother Chris about is something pretty serious and it is something we should all be concerned about.  How many of you read the pontifications column in the newsletter?” Most of the hands went up.  He nodded and took a deep breath and looked at every Brother at the table with a look of sadness in his eyes, he said, “My Brothers, I know it seems like I whine and moan about stuff all the time, but I do it to point out things that in my opinion are wrong. I had one of my Lodge Brothers the other day come up to me and tell me that I was a complainer.  I gotta tell you Brothers that it was like a slap in the face.  I never thought of myself as a complainer.  I thought that I was just pointing out things that we could get better at as a Fraternity.  What I want to talk about today is not good….  again.  I am sorry…but… when I get done you might think that this is the absolute worst I have ever done for your newsletter and all the brothers who read the column…….and (looking at me) I will understand if you just throw it out.  But I want you all to know and understand that everything I am going to say, I say out of love for this Fraternity….love for my Brethren and my passionate belief that this wonderful Fraternity CAN realize its true purpose…... and overcome the evil in this world by changing it ……one person at a time.” He paused before continuing, “Brothers, I want to talk about what, I think, stands between our Fraternity as it is and our Fraternity as it should be.  I think it can be summed up in two short words.  These two words represent the most basic principles of this Fraternity and, in my opinion, have been thrown by the wayside, trampled on like some insignificant and unnecessary afterthought never intended to be any more than words that feel good and sound good.  And those words are TRUTH and RIGHT.  All Masons should tell the truth and all Masons should do what is right or make every effort to.  Our Brothers were good men when they were accepted into our Fraternity.  We assume that since they were good men to start with and then they had the benefit of the lessons of the three degrees, at least, that they couldn’t possibly violate our laws and regulations……that they would follow them without question.  But, in an alarming number of instances, we are finding that just the opposite is true.” He paused to take a long breath and I thought to myself ….” I have been a Mason for plenty of years and I have seen a few things done that were not right and I suppose that most were unintentional.  I knew what he was talking about, and I realized that it was probably the wrong time to say it, but I just felt like I had to say something.  I looked up and down the table and then blurted out, “But John, I realize it may be a problem, but the majority of our Brothers, I think, are honorable Masons who always strive to do the right thing.” “That may be mostly true, my Brother,” he said.  “But should that be enough?  Is it enough that “most” Masons do the right thing… ….and is it enough that “most” Masons follow the rules and abide by the Laws?  And is it enough that “most” Masons set a good example to those around them?  I say no!  For some strange reason our society today thinks that close is ok, that almost is good enough, and that mostly is all we should expect. And I say emphatically, hell no!!! We should be better than that... …we should because it is expected of us….  because we swore, we would……and….and just because.” I looked around and I saw most of the Brothers were nodding their agreement.  And I realized that no one had noticed that he was already over his three-minute limit.  I decided not to say anything as he was already rolling on, “I see Brothers all the time, not just pushing the limits of their obligations, not just toeing the line between right or wrong, but totally disregarding those obligations and the Laws and doing what they want to do instead of what they should do.  I see way too many times, Brethren trying to make Masonry meet their own desires and attitudes instead of making themselves, as Masons, conform to the principals of the Order.  That attitude is a direct reflection of the current state of our society.  In every degree we take an obligation and make a solemn promise, to God and to ourselves, to abide by the rules and regulations under which we are governed.  We do not promise to abide by only the ones we agree with or only the ones we want to follow.  Heck, I don’t agree with every rule or law but, by God, I promised with my hand on the holy book, and so did you, to follow them….no questions asked.  And thankfully, I have an avenue to change those laws if I don’t think they are right.  But until a law is changed, I must follow it.  That we even need to talk about this is baffling to me.  Did you know there are good men and Masons who are internally conflicted between the friendship and acceptance of their Brethren and what they see those same Brothers doing that are clear violations of Masonic Laws and regulations, and it bothers them?  Most don’t say anything but quietly agonize about it, some go away and continue their Masonic journey at another Lodge or Masonic appendant organization (sound familiar??) and many just go away and leave the Fraternity altogether.  We have Lodges whose Brothers are being bullied to do things that they know are not right but feel that they have no power to push back or are afraid to try.  These Brothers need to know that the Lodge is a Democratic form of government and any Mason who bullies, coerces, or even suggests to another Mason to do something that either of them knows is wrong or against the laws or regulations of our Grand jurisdiction is committing at the very least a moral offence, if not a Masonic offence, and there are consequences for both.  Going along just to get along when you know it is wrong is not acceptable.  We have even lost new Brothers as well as Master Masons from Lodges because they saw things being done without regard to the Laws or principles of Masonry and were treated badly when trying make them right and felt their only option was to quit.” He was talking faster and louder now but I knew I couldn’t stop him.  He was in high gear ….  “How in the world can we tell men who are interested in Masonry who are sick and tired of being lied to by different institutions and entities in their lives and people doing bad things and justifying their bad behavior without taking responsibility for their actions, that we teach a system of Moral behavior where honesty, truth, and integrity are the bedrock principles of our organization?  And then they see after going through their degrees that there are those who “don’t care what the rules are because ……that’s the way I am going to do it or that’s the way we do it here in our Lodge.” He was temporarily out of breath, and he paused for a few seconds before continuing.  He pointed at the Brother on his right and asked, “What would you say, if you found out that there was a Lodge that decided that it was not necessary to teach all the required memory work for each of a Brother’s degrees?” “The Brother looked uncomfortable but answered quickly.  “I would be shocked that it could ever happen here.” “But if it did,” he shot back.  “What would you think?  What would you do?” He thought about it for a second and finally he said, “I think I would feel betrayed.” John’s eyebrows went up in surprise, “Betrayed?” he repeated.  I didn’t expect that word.” “It was the first word that popped into my head,” the Brother said frowning.  “It’s like they were stealing from our Fraternity.  Stealing away our integrity, stealing away our good name and good deeds.” Another Brother next to me said pleadingly, “Please don’t tell me that this is real …….  It’s just a hypothetical situation, right?” John shook his head again sadly, “It is true…….and what is worse, is that when the new Brother in this situation found out that learning the rest of the work was required and he asked about it, his Brothers……those same Brothers who brought him into Masonry got angry and told him that he should have kept his mouth shut.” “No way,” I said, not wanting to believe it!! “You’ve got to be kidding.  This cannot be happening in a Masonic Lodge!  This is a Clandestine Lodge, right…one of those that are not real Masons and don’t follow any laws or rules?” “I am sorry, but it is all true,” he said even sadder than before.  “And you can be sure that this is not the only things wrong there.” “I hate to even ask, John, but what happened with this new Brother if all of this is true?” John just stared at me for a few seconds and then looked down at the table.  I saw his jaw clench as he prepared to talk and then he looked up and said…., “He quit.  He handed back his EA card …, and he quit.  He walked away from Masonry completely disgusted.  He said that he had lived forty-five years of his life without being a Mason and he could live the rest without us too.” The Brothers at the table looked like they were in shock and one at the other end of the table asked, “Well what is a Brother supposed to do John, when he feels he can’t change anything that he knows is wrong?” “Well,” he said.  “There are several options.  First, they need to know that they are probably not the only one in their Lodge that sees and knows things are not being done right and who would like to see things changed.  They need to find those Brethren (and there will be more than they can believe) and start to build a consensus.  And they need to start voting and changing their Lodge and it can and will happen.  It will require some pain and there will be hard feelings but in the end the Lodge will emerge as a good Lodge, with “Just and Upright” Brethren….and good Masons doing things right.  Secondly, and while this is an option, it is not one that I would recommend….but it would need to be made known by a Brother or Brothers who seek to make the proper changes to their Lodge that those who are violating Masonic law will have charges filed against them. Then those who are guilty will either change their ways or they will leave….  or they will have charges filed.  This is ugly and uncomfortable but, if necessary, the right thing to do to save the Lodge and start doing things right.  And thirdly, if the previous options are not feasible then there are plenty of Lodges out there who ARE following the laws and regulations.  They should find one and make a change.  I know it’s hard to leave your mother Lodge, but you cannot and should not give up on Masonry because of a few un-informed Brothers.  You and your journey are worth more than that.  I think that we need to remember that we are here to take those principles of the order and put those working tools to use to become better men….  moral men.  (He was lightly pounding his hand on the table as he made his point) We are here to serve each other…to serve our families and our communities….and to serve mankind.  That is the purpose of Masonry.  Our Masonic lessons teach us to do right and to do good in all things.  There is pride in doing things right……but there is no pride in not doing them right.  I recently went on an investigation of a petitioner and as I usually do when he answers the question about why he wants to be a Mason by simply saying that he wants to be a better man, I refuse to accept that as an answer.  I ask him again and get a similar answer.  The third time I ask, I want to know where the first idea came from to become a Mason and why.  This particular man blew me away because he looked down for a couple of seconds and when he spoke, he said that he decided that he was sick and tired of being lied to by, it seemed, everyone….  the media, the government, even his own friends.  He was sick and tired of people doing stuff wrong and then not taking responsibility for what they did, and he heard about the Masons and because of what he had read and researched wanted to become a Brother….  to be around men who told the truth and did things right.  That, my Brothers is what Masonry should be….  that man’s ideal picture.  But what happens when he becomes a Mason only to find out that all Masons don’t do the right thing or tell the truth……what then?” We all looked at each other trying to decide who was going to answer only to realize that he was being rhetorical because went right on.  “And doing right should extend to everything we do as Masons…….  We should expect of ourselves and our Brothers excellence in all things Masonic and in our private lives as well.  Excellence in the ritual, including opening and closing the Lodge, and in all degree work.  Do we demand perfection?  No!  But excellence, yes!! When a Brother enters his Lodge, it should be a special place where he knows that the burdens of life can be put aside for a time and that he knows that what is done in his Lodge is done right.  And that feeling is what draws him back to the Lodge again and again, and to his Brethren.  It is a great feeling of pride and accomplishment when a Brother belongs to this kind of Lodge and when he walks out the Lodge door and steps back into the outside world, because of the lessons he learns and the principals he adheres to within the Lodge he is reenergized to carry on his work as a just and upright Mason and make that difference in his life as well as the lives of others. A lodge that does not practice excellence and adherence in all things Masonic is a Lodge in turmoil and unhappiness.  Peace and harmony, does not mean just some Brothers in the Lodge….it means all Brothers in the Lodge.” And as he sometimes does, he abruptly stopped and leaned back in his chair.  Myself and the other seventeen Brothers at the table just sat there staring at John, nodding our heads….  waiting for him to continue.  And when they realized he was done, several applauded and others told him he was right and that they agreed with him.  His sashay down a completely different path than the one we started the discussion on made everyone forget what we were talking about in the first place.  It was interesting that he had talked for almost seventeen minutes, and no one pointed out he was over the time limit.  I got up and thanked everyone for coming and one by one all the Brothers shook hands all around and filed into the outer room to pay their checks.  Soon John and I were the only ones left in the empty room.  He just sat there and didn’t seem to want to leave.  I moved down to a chair next to him and asked him if he was okay.  He said in a low voice, “I am sorry for the gloom and doom Brother.”  “It was a hell of a talk John,” I replied, and I added, “Someone had to say it.” John looked at me, smiled without humor, and said, “You don’t understand Brother Chris.  We shouldn’t have to talk about this…….  we shouldn’t ever have to talk about this.” He slowly got up and shook my hand and gave me a John Deacon hug and said in almost a whisper, “Who is going to show the world what good is and what truth is if not us?  Who?  ……And he turned and walked out the door.  We had asked the wait staff not to come in the room during our discussion and they had complied well.  But as I sat there alone and contemplating, two of them came in to ask me if they could clean up and I nodded.  As they were cleaning one of them turned to me and told me that the waiters all took a vote and decided that we were part of the illuminati.  I could only laugh and shake my head no.  He turned to the other one and said, “They are Freemasons I’ll bet, but don’t ask them cause they won’t tell you.  So, I spent the next thirty minutes telling them what Masonry is and what Masons do.  And yes, I had to pay for John’s tab.