Age 18?

[jonesvilletexas]

How many believe the age 18 is good for the fraternity if so why?

 

[caeservi]

I think it should be 21. Granted, there are the occasional 18 yr olds who have the maturity for the fraternity (we have one in our lodge, we just passed him the week before thanksgiving, and his father is an officer) but in general, they are a rarity. There needs to be some maturity to understand what they are undertaking.

 

[cpmorgan2]

I think it should be 21. Granted, there are the occasional 18 yr olds who have the maturity for the fraternity (we have one in our lodge, we just passed him the week before thanksgiving, and his father is an officer) but in general, they are a rarity. There needs to be some maturity to understand what they are undertaking.

I've met quite a few masons of the older persuasion that are VERY immature. That comment my brother is I think prejudice. The younger Generation like that in DeMolay work hard at what they do they deserve as much of a chance as next, if an 18 y/o wants to be a mason, I will give him the the considerations I would give a 40 year old immature man. Please forgive me if I seem to forceful with my opinion, but that is what this website is about.

 

[TCShelton]

I'm good with 18. If he isn't ready (often times he won't be at 21 either), then the investigation committee should sort that out.

 

[nick1368]

I'm good with 18. If he isn't ready (often times he won't be at 21 either), then the investigation committee should sort that out.

I agree with you Bro. that is why we have an investigation committee. Those Brothers are charged with making sure the canidate is ready for our Great Fraternity...

 

[scottmh59]

18's good

 

[HKTidwell]

I'm good with 18. If he isn't ready (often times he won't be at 21 either), then the investigation committee should sort that out.

If a person is old enough to die for their country in war, be a peace officer, fire fighter, or otherwise help a nation stand on its' feet I think they are old enough to petition.

As has been said we have a process in place that should a person not be suitable then they should be weeded out before they become a member. The petitioner is not an issue, our process if a person who is not suitable gains admission has broken down because of the individuals involved in it. Then we must look at the people involved in the process and take responsible steps to change it. I guess I view each of us as the gate guards, we have a responsibility and must stand up and partake in those responsibilities.

 

[Payne]

I8 , You can vote, Join the military Why not join the Craft..?

 

[Hippie19950]

I have no problem with 18, but it is a biased opinion... At 19, I was notified by President Nixon, I WOULD be reporting for duty, no questions. I was given training, and sent to places far, far away. I made a trip home to get married, and had to have my Dad sign so I could get the license. I could not buy the champagne, or even consume it after the wedding... But I was old enough to die for My Country. If there is a problem with 18, let's send them through Boot Camp. Oh, wait, we already do in some respect!!

 

[JTM]

picking an arbitrary age is pointless, imo. the brothers should be able to discern whether a man is mentally old enough to join.

 

[owls84]

I'm good with 18. If he isn't ready (often times he won't be at 21 either), then the investigation committee should sort that out.

I put no opinion. I think as with every person that petitions. It should be a case by case basis and should be investigated. Just because someone petitions doesn't mean they should get in.

 

[MGM357]

We just had an EA on an 18 yr old last Thurs. I was on the investigating commitee, we made sure told the young man how serious our fraternity was. We made sure he wouldn't crack under any peer pressure.

I understand the going to war and voting when you turn 18. Maybe a canidate needs to at least graduate high school.

 

[fairbanks1363pm]

how many 18, 19, 20 year olds do you think have joined since we passed the law? how many blackballed or got thi ea and not finished. i think it would be an intresting study for th gand lodge to do. i have no problm with 18. i think bing able to go fom the dmolay to the blue lodge may assure some of the dmolay kid before they go off to college.

 

[rhitland]

If 18 is good for the govement than it is good for me. I would want to be on the investigation team though.

 

[Traveling Man]

I still voted for 21. I have to agree I too have seen 21 year olds that weren't mature enough. The exception I would have would be a "Lewis".

 

[Joey]

If a person is old enough to die for their country in war, be a peace officer, fire fighter, or otherwise help a nation stand on its' feet I think they are old enough to petition.

As has been said we have a process in place that should a person not be suitable then they should be weeded out before they become a member. The petitioner is not an issue, our process if a person who is not suitable gains admission has broken down because of the individuals involved in it. Then we must look at the people involved in the process and take responsible steps to change it. I guess I view each of us as the gate guards, we have a responsibility and must stand up and partake in those responsibilities.

Great response :001_cool:

 

[Beathard]

I vote for 18. We have 2. Voting on 1 Monday. One is about to sit for his certificate. Why turn them away.

 

[tom268]

I think it should be 21. Granted, there are the occasional 18 yr olds who have the maturity for the fraternity (we have one in our lodge, we just passed him the week before thanksgiving, and his father is an officer) but in general, they are a rarity. There needs to be some maturity to understand what they are undertaking.

You took the words out of my mouth. You would surely get a push on membership, but that is short sighted. On the long run, you just increase the number of those who quit.

 

[Beathard]

Are you implying that 18 year olds will quit when 21 year olds won't quit? My lodge has better retention on under 30s than we do with the 40-60s. Maybe we need mature, but not to set in their ways. Mature but not stale? Maybe we should get everyone to sign a contract guaranteeing they won't quit to soon?

Of course I'm being sarcastic here, but is everyone reading the forum? We need members, but not these members or those members. We need members that really want to be here, but we have to entertain them and give them steaks and alcohol to keep them. We need ladies in lodge... We need Martians in lodge...

Sorry, maybe it is the post operation pain pills that are making me talk like this, but are we being hypocritical in saying we need more people, but only certain ages, types, etc?

 

[tom268]

First of all, I never said, that we need more members. We need masons, not fee-payers. Second, yes, it is exactly my opinion, that we need certain members, not everyone, who can not run away fast enough.

And to come to the point of my former posting, I just wanted to say, that the changes in the life of an 18year old boy is much much greater than of an older man. And many of these changes will bring them away from masonry, intentionally or circumstantially. The minimum age of 21 is OK, but I see the best age for joining in about 28-35.

And no, I don't think, it is the pain killers, we just have different positions and experiences, that we both believe in.