I didn't spend but 4 years in TX and I don't have a lot of experience in practicing Freemasonry, just a lot of book knowledge. I was raised in Hawaiian Lodge in 2001 and they recognized and had visitation with PHGLoHI. Our lodge was racially mixed, as was the PH lodges on the Island. I want to say it was because of the large military influence and the general multi-culturism of Hawaii, but TX has more members of the military and now is almost just as culturally diverse.
Something about the GLoTX seemed fishy to me, while I lived there. Every Brother I spoke with was great on an individual level, but I have noticed that when men are in groups they do things they wouldn't normally do, because they have anonymity and can hide behind that group. Call them out as an individual and they wouldn't hold the opinion they had just held as a member of a group. Seems like a lot of talking out of both sides of the mouth in TX.
I pray that things change in TX and I have just moved to Colorado and have yet to look at how they do business here. I hope it is more openminded.
as Freemasons, we should not allow worldly behavior to enter the oblong square, should we?
Unfortunately, the moral compass of a masonic lodge is calibrated by the local environment and not a national one. This is not a product of Masonry. This is a product of bad parenting. However, we as a nation fail to see the bigger picture. The Civil War was not that long ago. Look at racism when it comes to Masonry in the United States. It is originating from the exact place where that war was at its worst. Georgia.
Now, I do not know how long it takes for time to heal a society, but that southern society of slavery did exist and that southern society was burnt to the ground by the North both figuratively and literally.
The united states will always be Balkanized to a certain extent. So, unless there is some form cultural invasion in the south, I don't see it going away any time soon which is very sad.
Edited: Necro bump?
Freemasonry is perfect. People that practice it are not. People are shaped by those that influence them. Namely their elders and parents. They give us the good, the bad and the ugly in life. (whistle)The moral compass of a lodge should not be "calibrated" by "environment" but brotherly love relief, truth, the three theological and four cardinal virtues, the working tools, etc etc etc.
And yep, it's a necro bump.
It is not bigotry against older people. It is the natural flow of information from an older generation being passed down to younger generations. What information is being passed down to the younger generations in a state that experienced the worst of the civil war?Hmm. What's it called when we attribute a trait to an entire class, in this case, those of a certain age? Ironically, bigotry is being criticised using bigotry.
Having dealt with this issue, I assure you, it is not restricted to age. I have heard and been subjected to bigotry by a variety of ages.
You forget to add peers as influential, as seen by your allegations regarding the class based on age in your post. As peers teach racism, peers teach other prejudicesIt is not bigotry against older people. It is the natural flow of information from an older generation being passed down to younger generations. What information is being passed down to the younger generations in a state that experienced the worst of the civil war?
Racism starts with indoctrination. Who does the indoctrinating? Your kids? No, your parents.
I'm not trying to label a class of people. This "class" of people are the ones shaping young lives.
- parents
- grandparents
- teachers
- elders
Those with experience are the ones we look to in our formative years.