Would you support a National Grand Lodge?

Winter said:

But your only response has been to start a feud with Brother Nagy over his responses which you perceived as insulting.

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coachn said:

When you joke and expect others to know that you are joking without getting hostile toward you, why shouldn't we expect the same from you when we joke? Double standards do not fly well here. You're exhibiting them more and more with every post.

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Glen Cook said:

I would not engage in the name calling to which you’ve resorted. Had you done that in my lodge, I might well object to your advancement.

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goomba said:

When I first became a Freemason I thought a national grand lodge would be a good idea. Now after being a member of four different grand lodges (one of which I have strong emotions about) I would fear bad leadership could ruin the nation. Whereas even if GL of X were to go dark other GL's next door could help charter lodges in the now vacant area. Additionally there are deep rooted traditions in each of the grand lodges that could be lost. Oh and lets not forget we do have many different "experiments" happening with the many grand lodges.

As to the 51st "grand lodge of state", most tend to forget the Grand Lodge of FAAM of the District of Columbia. This happens to be my grand lodge and it is awesome!

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Glen Cook said:

I was just having a discussion with one GM about another GM who also holds a national position. We both expressed our reservations about him being in the role, yet there he be, and now I am dealing with a decision he made without consultation. Two GLs have withdrawn recognition from GL AR. Without giving an opinion as to whether they should have done, it appears there is at least some concern about leadership. Indeed, in some of the national roles I fill, we can deal with unfortunate leadership choices for years. If someone were a national GM, what powers would he have? How many masons could poor decision making affect?

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Glen Cook said:

Two GLs have withdrawn recognition from GL AR. Without giving an opinion as to whether they should have done, it appears there is at least some concern about leadership.

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Glen Cook said:

If someone were a national GM, what powers would he have? How many masons could poor decision making affect?

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Glen Cook said:

...I don’t always agree with Br Nagy.

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Glen Cook said:

...I won’t say that Br Nagy leaves traps, but he does allow the opportunity for posters to critically examine their position and, if they’ve paid attention, they will be aware of his predilection and the construct he uses...

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coachn said:

Yes you do!

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Brother JC said:

Glossing over the arguments, my first question would be which ritual will you NGL be using? Because, as you mentioned, there are nearly one hundred GLs with varying ritual and I seriously doubt any of them will agree to change (as Bro Keith mentioned).

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Glen Cook said:

Shoot, son, I don’t even agree with myself half the time.

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Brother JC said:

Glossing over the arguments, my first question would be which ritual will you NGL be using? Because, as you mentioned, there are nearly one hundred GLs with varying ritual and I seriously doubt any of them will agree to change (as Bro Keith mentioned).

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coachn said:

Would not be a problem if it adopts the policies regarding ritual that the GLS uses.

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Glen Cook said:

And UGLE.

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MichianaMason45 said:

I am just going to make a few final remarks. I am not for or against a National Grand Lodge. I simply was hoping to pose a question and enjoy reading the informed responses. I have never in my life seen the level of knit picking as displayed here. If I was submitting an academic research paper, then knit pick grammar. But, I am writing from my cell phone on a informal discussion board. Honestly, I’m done. You would object to me advancing? How about you object to talking down to people? I may of used (extremely mild) insults but the treatment of I received because no one likes the idea of a United Grand Lodge is unfair. I truly believe some of these replies will turn people off to posting on the site.

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MichianaMason45 said:

I am just going to make a few final remarks. I am not for or against a National Grand Lodge. I simply was hoping to pose a question and enjoy reading the informed responses. I have never in my life seen the level of knit picking as displayed here. If I was submitting an academic research paper, then knit pick grammar. But, I am writing from my cell phone on a informal discussion board. Honestly, I’m done. You would object to me advancing? How about you object to talking down to people? I may of used (extremely mild) insults but the treatment of I received because no one likes the idea of a United Grand Lodge is unfair. I truly believe some of these replies will turn people off to posting on the site.

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MichianaMason45 said:

With all the different jurisdictions in the US(51 GLs and PHA GLs) would you support a National Grand Lodge? With a true American Grand Master? It would allow us to raise our visibility on a national level. Or would that play into the conspiracy theorist hands? With membership on the decline, would it make sense to consolidate our efforts? Maybe even regional GLs made up of several states? Just an interesting thought, what’s your take?

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Glen Cook said:

51 GLs, but to the point, as a member of a national GL, and an officer in national Masonic groups, I would not recommend it.

You will now have an additional layer of bureaucracy between you and the decision maker, with no guarantee the decision making will be any better.

There is a financial burden to participation at a national level which is not practical for some. Think of who can afford the costs to travel to campaign for office, and then to travel to national meetings. This will exclude a large portion of the membership.

You will have the added cost of the new national grand lodge.

If you think you have politics now, you ain't seen nothing.

There is the thought that a national grand lodge will avoid policies found to be distasteful. I am not convinced that will be the case. There is the possibility such policies will be perpetuated on a national basis. Then, some states will withdraw, and we’ll back to where we started.

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coachn said:

Good lord man, let it go. The bus left the station an hour ago.

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David612 said:

Hey look!
A newcomer, let’s alienate them.
A fun little stereotypical microcosm of masonry itself really.

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