You stated:
This suggested to me that you were saying that you believed that you should be allowed to join, be initiated as an EA, and then be investigated. I stated that this is ludicrous, which it is. If I misinterpreted your statement then I apologize.
I think you might misinterpret my free and accept initiation proposal, but I don’t think you owe me an apology. In fact, I thank you for having a discussion. Let’s further grasp the concept. First, we have to understand the reason why the process was applied in the old days. We did not have electricity, telephone, computer and Internet, and database at the time. To guard the West Gate, you have to trust a person that Mason brought in. We cannot effectively check this person background as comparing as we can do today by just simply google his name. In the the old days, we have to send a person on horse or use a pigeon to notify or send information. Because it was harder to keep secrecy, trust was the most important as before than is today. Trust is still important especially in conducting a relationship; however, we are no longer needed a trusted person to hand deliver a message because we can directly using an email now. Having said that, let me put this in another contexts. We no longer need to use cows to graze the rice field anymore. We can use a tractor now. Okay, let’ go straight to the point. There are differences in practices among businesses, relationships within institutions, clubs, fraternities, organizations, advocacy groups, and political parties, corporations, and more etc., if you insisted my proposal is ludicrous then I can assure you that we will find at least one ludicrous among all them. In fact, we cannot suggest that any Freemason that did not went through a traditional process is also a ludicrous could we? I don’t know about your experience, but for example, a person can be selected in advance that they will get hire or promote before they applied for it. This person can do a mock interview and submitted the paperworks afterward as a when through a process. Am I against this? It depends, for others “yes” for me “no.” Oh, that’s not fair.
In business practices, I think you don’t check a person background until you hired/accepted that person first.
In Freemasonry, I think a background check is still insufficient in many cases especially with a person that has an utterly motive or have other purposes other than brotherhoods and learning how to perfecting himself for an alternative path or maybe this is the only correct way to salvation.