Gathering of 8,000 Drums

This Saturday, March 21, is the first day of spring. You are invited to celebrate the season by participating in The Gathering of 8,000 Drums, a continent-wide day-long event to "reactivate cosmic energy, heal historical wounds, and heal our Mother Earth...."

The local event will take place in the Cohutta Wilderness near Ellijay, Georgia. Other events will take place simultaneously at several locations across the United States and Mexico.

My friend Monika Ponton-Arrington, wife of a brother Mason, is coordinating the event here in the north Georgia mountains.

Children are welcome, as are all members of the brotherhood of humanity. I will be there with my 10-year old son to enjoy the spring equinox.

From the flyer:

You Are Invited

The Indigenous First Nations, Peoples, Communities and Organizations of the World and all Humankind According to a Prophecy of all Indigenous Peoples.

It is time to re-unify ourselves and rediscover for ourselves all the Seeds of the Four Directions in order to reactivate cosmic energy, heal historical wounds and heal our Mother Earth by respecting life and the liberty and dignity of our Peoples.

Coming together of all Peoples.

Indigenous Keepers of the Ancestral, Ceremonial and Medicinal
Sound of the Sacred Drums; Councils of Elders, Sages and Leaders of all Indigenous Nations, Peoples and Organizations; Indigenous Guides, Guardians and Spiritual Leaders, and All Traditions of Humankind and Elders of Georgia.

There will be a central fire.

On March 21, 2009, 11:00 a.m. to ? We will begin Drumming in Prayer and Song

Please bring your Drum.

This will be held on Old Cherokee Ball Field in the Cohutta Wilderness outside of Ellijay, Ga.

• There will be "Primitive Camping"!! No Electricity. There are local hotels. Please call for more info.
• You will be able to have your own personal area among the trees.
• Please bring your own firewood, food and water.
• This is a Gathering, not a Pow Wow. No vendors.
• This event is not limited to just Native Americans. All people are welcome.

Directions: Hwy 52 West toward Fort Mountain. From town circle of Ellijay, Ga. Go 5.0 miles to Gates Chapel Rd. on right. Stay on Gates Chapel till you hit gravel, then bear right on Wilderness Trail F 90 to Forest Road 68. Make a sharp right towards lake. Go to top of a large Y. Turn left going toward to Consuaga Lake. You will see signs stating the area. It is exactly 13.5 miles from Gates Chapel. Bring your tent or camper, or reserve a room at one of several hotels in the area. There is camping near a lake about a mile down from the Gathering area, with bathrooms. Please note this is the Wilderness area, with the nearest town 14 miles away. [Map]

Please email questions to drums8000@yahoo.com or contact Monika at 706-636-4919 and leave a message.

Note: This will coincide with other Nations and with Mexico's ceremony of Mayan, Aztec and Toltec traditions on the Otomi Grounds.

Masons | Gathering of 8,000 Drums | Native American Drumming | Freemasonry | Burning Taper | BurningTaper.com

Masonic brother shares hand-painted tracing board

Brother Emmanuel Dumigron from Mount Hermon Lodge No. 118 in Asheville, North Carolina recently completed this impressive hand-painted in watercolors Third Degree Tracing Board.

The original size of this painting is 19" by 28". The designs were created using only a square, a compasses, and a 24-inch gauge.

A limited run of 50 reproductions was then created. Contact Bro. Dumigron if you would like one of these posters.

Masons | Masonic Tracing Board | Freemasonry | Masonic Artwork | Burning Taper | BurningTaper.com

Jennifer Emick's symbol dictionary now online

Our friend Jennifer Emick is no longer affiliated with About.com. Her exquisite collection of symbols is now hosted at SymbolDictionary.net.

Subtitled "Religious Symbols: A Visual Glossary," you'll find page after page of religious and spiritual symbols and icons, along with their histories.

Here you'll find Asian, Celtic, Eastern, Egyptian, Norse and Wiccan symbols, along with astrological and alchemical symbols and designs, plus a whole lot more. Parts of Jennifer's collection was seen in the Ron Howard film The Da Vinci Code, in an early scene showing Prof. Robert Langdon, played by Tom Hanks, addressing students. The symbols flashed by on a screen behind him.

Surf on over to Jennifer's new site, and spend a while browsing through this astounding display of the world's symbolic history.

Symbols | Symbolic Dictionary | Jennifer Emick | Burning Taper | BurningTaper.com

Eyes wide shut: A kinder, gentler Burning Taper?

I once wrote that the flame of The Burning Taper may flicker and burn less bright for a while, but that it would never be extinguished.

And that's true.

But as you may have noticed, The Taper ain't what it used to be. Once (or so I choose to believe) it was the most-read Masonic-related blog in the world. Up to 14,000 unique visitors dropped by each month. I was sometimes writing two or three posts a day, often stirring up controversy or shining a light on the darker side of Freemasonry.

I enjoyed it immensely.

So what happened? Burnout? Apathy?

No.

Like the survivors on the television series Lost, who for a while were having their lives changed over and over by shifts in time, my life changed, in a couple of ways.

For most of the time I've published The Burning Taper, I had a nice, cushy job with an ample salary. Much of my work I could do with a few keystrokes on my computer. Writing articles for The Taper just came naturally, mixed in between button-pushing for work.

The recession hit the company I was working for early, late last summer, and along with several co-workers across the country, my employment contract was not renewed. I had to find new work, and join the majority of workers who actually get up and leave their house each morning.

So, obviously, my mind and my time were taken up with things non-Masonic and non-Burning Taper-related.

My intention over the past three and a half years in publishing The Burning Taper has never been to "destroy" Freemasonry, as some have suggested. What I have been doing is exploring and investigating Masonry, to discover what it "really" is, from my own perspective. From the first day I spoke to my investigating committee, it has never seemed like what I expected it to be, or what it is billed to be, or even what those men on the investigation committee assured me that it truly was.

I've discovered Freemasonry is a "whole 'nuther animal."

It isn't a giant conspiracy to control the world as the fundie Christian wackos would have us believe, though, as I quickly found out, there are conspiracies and cabals galore in Masonry, even in my own lodge.

Neither has it appeared to really be "dedicated to the holy Saints John, erected to God..." as we're told. Religious hypocrisy abounds, as I also soon discovered, again in my own lodge.

Don't get me wrong. I still love Freemasonry — the concept, anyway — and over the years I have come to know, love and trust many Masons who, like me, see in Masonry a real brotherhood based on compassion and mutual respect for our fellow human.

But by and large, especially here in the South, I've met or heard about way too many Masons who use their supposed "power" to try to control (and sometimes wreck) others' lives, or who use Masonry as a "cover" for their shenanigans, racism, and intolerance.

Even worse than that, though, are the Masons who remain in denial about the wrongs they see done in the name of Freemasonry, and the many sheep who blindly follow their "leaders" because they think their "obligations" are to men, not God.

A certain set of events last autumn is what directly led to me posting less regularly to The Taper, and to my having much less interest in Masonry in general.

I interviewed two Masons — one by email, and the other face-to-face in a three-hour conversation. One was a former member of the Royal Order of Jesters; the other was still an active member of the Jesters. One of the men is a fourth-generation Mason; his grandfather was Grand Master of his state's grand lodge. I saw an official printed "program" for a recent national Jester meeting. On that program I saw that a recent Grand Master from my own state was a Jester, and I recognized the names of other "high-ranking" Masons from Georgia.

Everything you're heard or read about the Jesters is true, according to my sources. The Jesters meet regularly, in four-star hotels all across the country, for what can best be called "sex parties."

My two sources told similar stories. They both said the actions of former judge Ronald Tills and his Masonic Jester pals in New York state, who have pleaded guilty to transporting prostitutes across state lines to attend Jester parties, are typical of Jesters, and are not simply "isolated incidents" of a "few bad apples."

I have no reason to doubt them.

Upon advice of several brothers whose counsel I value and trust, I never published these interviews, and won't, because neither source wanted his identity revealed. And without "verification," who would believe them?

Would these interviews put The Taper on the front page of The New York Times? I doubt it. Corruption, law-breaking and "perversion" don't attract headlines like they once did, unless the subject is mega-famous. People still love Michael Vick and Michael Phelps and Michael Jackson. Why would they care that a bunch of wrinkled old Freemasons like to get naked and jack off while watching a hooker go down on the new guy?

Would most rank-and-file blue lodge Masons even believe my sources? I doubt it.

I'm not disgusted that this kind of activity goes on. Whatever consenting adults do behind closed doors is okay with me.

But I am disgusted that it goes on under the umbrella of Freemasonry.

---

That's the last I intend to say about the Jesters, and hopefully the last "negative" thing I write about Freemasonry. If you want to know more about the Jesters, search this blog. There have been several articles about them in the past year or so.

When I begin posting regularly again to The Burning Taper, I intend to focus on positive, uplifting ideas about how we can heal and improve ourselves physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. The Taper won't be about Freemasonry per se, but it will, I hope, encourage true Masonic tenets and ideals. Life is much too short to focus on the negative, as I have for the past few years, and now that I've taken both your consciousness and mine to the lowest of the low in the "family" of Freemasonry by discussing the Jesters' whoring around, the only place we can go is Up.

Masons | Royal Order of Jesters | Freemasonry | Burning Taper | BurningTaper.com

It ain't Bible

Religious people continue to amuse me and sometimes baffle me.

Whether it's the Pope being asked to resign over lifting the excommunication of a Holocaust-denying priest, or the Reverend Ted Haggard making talk-show rounds hawking a book about his sexual sins, the behavior of godly men often provides a chuckle.

But it's the fundamentalist Christians who often make me do a double-take.

A few days ago I was driving along a highway in north Georgia, the buckle of the Bible-belt. I came up behind a late-1990's lavender-colored pickup truck.

Attached to the rear of the truck were two large white vinyl magnets. One of them bore a representation of the two tablets of the Ten Commandments. I couldn't read the wording over the tablets.

I had no trouble reading the other magnet, though. Emblazoned in huge block letters, it said:

IF IT AIN'T KING JAMES
IT AIN'T BIBLE

Eventually, I passed the truck, and couldn't resist checking out the driver. Long blond hair was all I could see. Just as I was thinking, "Aha, a young woman caught up in a Christian cult!," the driver turned, revealing a thin, 50-something year old man with a cheesy pencil-thin blonde mustache of the type I haven't seen since the 1970s. He looked more like an aging hippie than he did a "mountain man."

After I passed him, the incongruities increased again. The front of the truck bore a license plate painted with what I always considered a Catholic symbol: the bleeding heart of Jesus.

Christians | King James Bible | Religion | North Georgia | Christianity | Burning Taper | BurningTaper.com

Happy 200th Birthday, Charles Darwin

In our never-ending quest to bring you news of anything even remotely related to monkeys, The Burning Taper invites you to participate in Charles Darwin's 200th Birthday Celebration.

Nearly 34,000 Facebook users have already joined the Facebook group "Happy Birthday Charles Darwin." The group is shooting for 200,000 members by Feb. 12, Darwin's birthday.

For more information, to join, or to submit movies of your favorite monkeys singing "Happy Birthday" to Chuck, check out the Happy Birthday Charles Darwin website, or go directly to the group's Facebook site.

I've found no evidence that Charles Darwin was a Freemason, but based on both "legitimate" Masonic websites and conspiracy websites, we find that Chuck's grandfather, whom some conspiracists say passed on his evolutionary beliefs to Charles (nevermind the fact that grandpa had been dead seven years when Chuck was born), was in fact a Mason, as was at least one of his sons and grandsons. This passage reportedly from Mackey's Encyclopedia of Freemasonry, as quoted in John Daniel's book Scarlet and the Beast Volume II, discusses the Darwin-Masonic connection:

Before coming to Derby in 1788, Dr. [Erasmus] Darwin had been made a Mason in the famous Time Immemorial Lodge of Cannongate Kilwinning, No. 2, of Scotland. Sir Francis Darwin, one of the Doctor's sons, was made a Mason in Tyrian Lodge, No. 253, at Derby, in 1807 or 1808. His son Reginald was made a Mason in Tyrian Lodge in 1804. The name of Charles Darwin does not appear on the rolls of the Lodge but it is very possible that he, like Francis, was a Mason.

Whether Charles Darwin was a Mason or not, The Burning Taper wishes him a happy 200th birthday.

Masons | Charles Darwin | Evolution | Freemasonry | Burning Taper | BurningTaper.com

Help for the Widow's Son

After hearing about several brothers and friends being laid off their jobs or fearing potential layoffs, and especially after reading the sad story on Bro. Greg Stewart's Masonic Traveler blog today about the brother who took the lives of his family and himself as a result of his financial difficulties, I decided to do my part in helping relieve brothers who may also have found themselves facing financial or employment difficulties.

I have created an email list wherein Freemasons can share information about job opportunities and job needs, post their resumes, and otherwise share brotherly love by helping each other in these financially uncertain times. The list is a way for Masons to share with other Masons on a more personal level than on an open forum or blog.

For now, this list will be unmoderated and open to anyone, Freemason or not, who wishes to contribute to it or read it.

It is my hope that the list will enable Masons with opportunities to connect with Masons who are seeking opportunities, and to bring together brothers who just need someone to listen or talk to on a more personal level.

The list is not intended as a place to discuss Masonry; it is a service to help others and to find help. Spam, arguments, and unmasonic comments are not acceptable, and those who violate this will be removed from the list.

To join the list, simply sign up here ( http://lists.burningtaper.com/listinfo.cgi/masonicjobs-burningtaper.com ).

Once you have created your account, you will be given the email address to send your posts to.

Your email will be forwarded to everyone else who has joined the list, and they can reply to the list as a whole, or to you privately.

Be patient; the system may take a day or two to properly propagate across the Internet.

Feel free to post the link anywhere Masons gather — online as well as on your lodge's bulletin board. Tell your grand lodge officers about the link. Let's network all of Masonry to help each other weather this economic tsunami.

Though I personally have been using the screen-moniker of "Widow's Son" online for the past several years, I am well aware, as I hope you are, that we are all The Widow's Son, and that yes, there is help — and hope — for us all.

Masons | Masonic Charity | Jobs | Freemasonry | Employment | Burning Taper | BurningTaper.com

The stink of the missing link

The Burning Taper has long been fascinated by monkeys, and has written many times about them.

I believe it was the late Robert Anton Wilson who once wrote that the basic difference between monkeys and men is that monkeys mark their territory by flinging feces, and men mark their territory with ink on legal documents.

The two concepts clashed on Monday in San Diego when a defendant in court suddenly smeared his attorney with feces, then hurled poo at the jury box.

The judge declared a mistrial and increased his bail from $250,000 to one million dollars.

Monkeys | Feces | Anthropology | Robert Anton Wilson | Burning Taper | BurningTaper.com

... And the Great Architect is thus honored

Michael Hoffman's article began reasonably enough, by quoting the New York Times.

His story was a look into last week's Great Flub, when Justice John Roberts misquoted the Presidential Oath while swearing in President Obama.

Was Obama officially president at noon, or not until he actually took the Oath? Or was he not president until he properly repeated the Oath verbatim later? These are interesting questions, though not earthshaking except perhaps from a (now) historical point of view.

Or is there something more sinister going on, he wonders.

The Great Reveal only comes in the final few paragraphs.

Yep, it's a Masonic conspiracy!

Read it here.

And then read the comments following the article. Wingnuts from both sides of the axle have offered up their own conspiratorial tangents.

Masons | Masonic Conspiracy | Great Architect | Freemasonry | Barack Obama | Burning Taper | BurningTaper.com

Wishing you the best in 2009

I wish for all my brothers and sisters, Masonic and otherwise, a New Year filled with all the best. May all your visions, goals and dreams come true in 2009.

— Widow's Son

Image: New Year's Eve 2007, Sydney, Australia

Masonic Corral #2

For the past week or so, there's been a hitch in the giddy-up over in the Masonic Corral. It looked like newer comments weren't being posted, yet the "new posts" section over on the right of every page indicated there were new posts.

It seems the Corral has outgrown its fences after a nine month pregnancy.

The newer posts are actually being logged. However, on the main pages, apparently there can only be 200 posts.

But if you click on the fine print "- 208 posts -" (currently, 208; this will continue to increase if you continue to leave comments there) just below the title "Masonic Pissing Contest Gets Corralled," it will take you to a page showing the 200 original comments. There's a link at the bottom of that page that says "newer." Follow that link to comments numbered higher than 200.

But let's make things simple.

Consider THIS entry, the one you're now reading, as your new Masonic Corral.

If you've forgotten its purpose, please read the original post again. Then return to THIS post if you feel the need to violate your obligations by speaking ill of your Masonic brethren, or if you want to play "My Masonry is better than your Masonry."

— W.S., still sheriff of these here parts


Masons | Masonic Corral 2 | Freemasonry | Burning Taper | BurningTaper.com

That's bleeping bull bleep!

Some anonymous someone said, "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me."

Bro. Rudyard Kipling wrote, "Words are, of course, the most powerful drug used by mankind."

And the late George Carlin informed us that, at least in 1978, seven particular words will "infect your soul, curve your spine, and keep the country from winning the war... 400,000 words in the English language and there are seven of them you can't say on television. What a ratio that is. 399,993 to seven."

What makes a word "dirty," or "vulgar," or "profane"?

Earlier this week, on consecutive days, a judge in Cincinnati sentenced two men — one a black gangmember unhappy his trial wouldn't begin until February, the other an attorney representing himself in a civil matter — to six months in jail for contempt for using one or more of Carlin's dirty words in his courtroom.

Millions of English-speaking people use Carlin's words in their normal daily dialogues, and their listeners aren't offended. Millions of other English-speaking people are also familiar with those words, but find them objectionable and offensive.

Why do some consider certain words proper for use anywhere and at anytime, and others feel they are so "bad" that people should go to jail for using them?

Does the offensive power of certain words reside in the words themselves, in the sound vibrations of the words, in their meanings, or is it that some people are just "programmed" to be offended by them?

Jamel Sechrest reacted to the judge telling him he would have to remain in jail until his case came to court in February by saying, "That's fuckin' bullshit." The judge immediately said, "You don't say bullshit in my court," and cited him for contempt.

The next day, as attorney Michael Brautigam and opposing attorney Peter Koenig turned to leave the bench after conferring with the judge, Brautigam called Koenig a "fucking liar." The judge overheard him, and cited him for contempt, sentencing him to the same length of time behind bars as he had Sechrest the day before.

I'm not saying the judge should have, or shouldn't have, done what he did. That's his prerogative. His house, his rules.

I'm just wondering why some words offend some people.

Some of you probably winced when you read those two "awful" words above.

Why?

Both are simply descriptions of natural functions that all humans and animals do regularly. Neither act is foreign to any of us.

And, oddly, if we use Latin words to describe those same acts, no one takes offense. In fact, we tend to "worship" people, like medical doctors, for example, who use Latin words to describe bodily functions and body parts.

Coitus. Feces.

Those words have little or no "power," and usually offend no one.

Yet their Anglo-Saxon synonyms do.

Why?

Why do words that describe copulation and defecation upset people, yet words like "hate" and "kill" have no ill effect?

Granted, I don't like it when I'm out in public with my 10-year old son and we overhear someone — usually a teenager or young adult — using certain words. I don't want my son to hear those words, or to ever use them. I'm certain he knows them, and he knows — because we've discussed it — that certain words are "crude," or that they offend certain people, and his mother and I have taught him to be respectful, courteous and thoughtful.

But still... I wonder WHY those words, and not others, are offensive.

In the case of the two men in court, yes, they were being disrespectful to the judge's sense of courtroom decorum. But would the judge have reacted the same way had Sechrest said, "That's a load of crap!" (which would mean the same thing as what he did say) or "That's not fair!"? Was the judge upset that someone would question his authority, or was it that someone used one (or two, in Sechrest's case) of the Carlin no-no's?

To those of you who winced when you read the actual "dirty words" I wrote above when I could have used the modern newspaper codes of "the F-word" and "the S-word," I ask: Why is the code less offensive to you than the actual words, since you most certainly know what words the codes refer to. Those words are already in your brain and nervous system. You've simply chosen to have a different response/reaction to those words than other people who don't find them offensive.

These are things I wonder about when instead I should be doing something more productive.

In closing, let me quote the words of Jason Mraz, who sang, "Well, I'm almost finally, finally out of words."

Words | Burning Taper | BurningTaper.com

Black and white North Carolina Masons sign 'peace treaty'

Last week the "white Masons" and the "black Masons" in North Carolina stopped pretending each other didn't exist, and got together in a two-hour "ceremony full of formality and speeches" to sign a resolution of recognition the Charlotte Observer called a "peace treaty" and a "reconciliation."

"Today's a historic day, because we're here to say we're brothers again," said M.W. Bro. David Cash, a Methodist minister from Kannapolis and grand master of the Ancient, Free and Accepted Masons of North Carolina.

Sitting at the same table in the old House chambers of the state Capitol where North Carolina's resolution to secede from the Union in 1860 was signed, Bro. Cash and M.W. Bro. Milton "Toby" Fitch Jr. of the Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of North Carolina and Its Jurisdictions, signed the document officially recognizing each other's Masonry.

"We are of the same family," said Bro. Dan Blue, a Prince Hall Mason and state legislator from Raleigh. "This is an opportunity to complete a circle."

Congratulations, North Carolina brethren!

Okay, now it's Georgia's turn. As I've done each year since The Burning Taper went online, I call upon the newly "elected" Grand Lodge of Georgia and its new grand master, M.W. Bro. Edward Jennings, Jr., to recognize Prince Hall Masons.

Just do it!

Image: N.C. grand masters Toby Fitch and David Cash in prayer, Nov. 21, 2008

Masons | Prince Hall Freemasonry | Freemasonry | Grand Lodge of North Carolina | Burning Taper | BurningTaper.com

For what are you thankful?

It's Thanksgiving Day, 2008.

Our nation, our world, our economy, our politics, our brotherhood, and perhaps even your own life, are in disarray, change, flux.

What eternal ideals and anchors remain for you? For what are you eternally thankful? What does Thanksgiving Day mean to you?

Masons | Thanksgiving | Freemasonry | Burning Taper | BurningTaper.com

Pentecostal preacher provokes protests of pot pipe peddling

That old maxim taught in Quantum Mechanics 101, the one about how the experimenter always affects the experiment, holds true in the Macro World as well. Yesterday, my observation of a public event led to some strange interactions.

About 4:30 Thursday afternoon, I was driving home from a business appointment in Dawsonville, Ga., about 40 miles from my hometown. As I passed a shopping center with a gas station/convenience store out front, I noticed a large gathering of people lined up along a 200-yard stretch of the highway. I was driving too fast to read most of their signs, but I was able to catch one of them: "Bongs are wrong."

I turned around as soon as I could, and pulled into a nearby bank's parking lot, and took in the scene. Next to the bank was a Chevron station/convenience store. Four or five teenagers were playing catch with a football, and four sheriff's cars were in the parking lot, with a small group of people and the officers standing around. Along the highway were about 80 people, including probably 20 children aged 10 or under, holding paperboard signs. I couldn't read the signs, as their backs were to me, but on several of the signs' backsides, I could make out pro-life, anti-abortion messages. Apparently, the people were into conservation, getting double-use out of their poster paper. (I found out later this group also used to conduct protests outside an adult bookstore a mile further down the road.)

I walked into the store's parking lot, and hearing nothing of interest other than an employee from the nearby McDonald's trying to get a deputy to stop people from blocking access to the restaurant, I went towards the man with the megaphone and his nearby disciples.

"Don't shop at Chevron!," Megaphone Man (later, I found out he was a local Pentacostal Pentecostal pastor) shouted. "You can buy that gas elsewhere," he yelled at people at the gas pumps.

I was wearing a business-suit yesterday, looking quite spiffy in a white shirt and tie. I'd left my jacket in the car. I looked quite out of place, and apparently ominous, in the crowd of sweatshirted, bluejeaned protestors.

"What's going on?," I asked someone in my best blog reporter voice.

"We're protesting this store selling drug paraphernalia," one man told me. I asked if the gathering was impromptu or planned, and who was behind it. Apparently, one or more local churches had been planning it for some time, and it had been mentioned the day before on local TV. Interesting, local TV in Dawsonville would mean one or more of the Atlanta stations, as there is no local TV in north Georgia. Odd, there were no reporters at the event yesterday. Except, well, me.

Apparently, for the past two years, several stores in the area had been selling rolling papers, bongs, and, according to the protesters, "crack pipes." In Georgia, these items can legally be sold to adults by stores holding a license to sell tobacco as long as they pretend they are just for tobacco.

Four of the five stores had bowed to public pressure and stopped selling the offending merchandise, I was told. The Chevron station was the last holdout, and the fundamentalist churches were hopping mad.

"We love you," the preacher shouted at the store, "but we love our children more." This line varied during the event, with "children" sometime being replaced with the word "community."

"Stop killing our children!," the preacher continued.

I politely asked a few questions, and politely listened to the answers, remaining neutral, just wanting to know what was going on. I had no dog in this fight. I don't buy bongs, I don't go to a Pentacostal Pentecostal church, and I didn't need gasoline.

Then one man asked me, "Do you support us?" and I politely replied, "I'm just an observer." Apparently in this particular religious community, you're not allowed to not have an opinion, as I found out soon enough. It's more of that "either you're for us or against us" mentality that was so obvious during the recent national election season, a topic I've been thinking of writing about here on The Taper for the past couple of weeks.

One man proudly beamed, "Isn't it great Christians can come together in civil disobedience like this?!"

A man further down the line told me just as proudly, "We even have a permit for this gathering!"

Some civil disobedience, huh, having a parade permit?

I moved on down the line of people, taking snapshots with my cellphone camera. Everyone was happy to smile and have their picture taken, proudly showing off their signs.

About ten prepubescent girls were doing a series of cheers and a dance routine, singsonging something about Jesus being their "high."

I was about halfway down the line when a woman, probably around 30 years old, someone whom I'd already passed by without photographing, shouted out, "Don't let the man in the white shirt take your picture!"

Of course, I immediately turned around, walked in front of her, and said, "Say cheese."

Before I could snap her photo, she screamed at me, "You take my picture and I'll sue the pants off you!" I can't recall the last time I saw anyone flare up with so much anger so quickly.

From out of nowhere, a self-appointed bouncer [see top photo] stepped in front of her and said, quite menacingly, "Don't you take her picture!" I took his instead.

This man, whom I found out later was an off-duty sheriff's deputy, spent the rest of the time I was there walking along behind the line, watching my every move, like one of those big security guys you see standing in front of the stage at a rock concert.

Why would a woman standing along a public highway, supporting a cause by waving a sign, think she wasn't fair game for being photographed? It was attention she and her fellow sign-wavers were seeking, wouldn't you think?

I meandered on down the line, snapping more pictures of the protesters without protest. Like before, the sign-toters smiled and waved their signs as I walked by.

I went back to the parking lot and leaned against my car, still fascinated by what was going on. My workday was done, so I just kicked back and watched the show, pondering how interesting it was that two tenets of our national way of life were clashing here, free speech vs. free enterprise.

Cars and trucks were zipping by on the highway, many slowing to repeatedly blow their horns. One car slowed, beeped, and then "burned rubber." Immediately, an unmarked law enforcement vehicle took off after him, and pulled him over still within sight.

More people were showing up to participate in the event, and parked near me. A few cordially greeted me as they walked by. A couple of older gents stopped and chatted with me. One told me the man with the megaphone was Ricky Stepp, the pastor of a local ministry known as "The Father's House." (Google it — I'm not giving them a free link. The pastor's website shows that he has two congregations, one in Dawsonville and one in Toccoa, Ga. His evangelical churches are affiliated with the donation-supported Crown Financial Ministries, which teaches scripture-based home-budgeting, as well as with A Beka Book home-schooling curriculum programs which teach creationism to its students. That fact might also explain the many misspelled words I saw on their hand-printed signs.)

And still, the Bouncer stared at me.

On the highway, a pickup truck slowed, and its youthful passenger shouted to the crowd, "Fuck you crazy Christians!"

Other than the foul-mouthed passenger, most passersby seemed to be honking their horns in agreement with the protesters.

Suddenly, the man (he was no older than 25, perhaps much younger) who had asked me earlier if I supported them walked up to me. He introduced himself, and proffered his hand to shake. I shook his hand, and told him my first name.

"And...?," he replied.

"And what?"

"Most people who introduce themselves to me give me their first and last names."

"Do they?," I responded, and left it at that.

He then asked me, quite seriously, assuming he already knew the truth, if I was the attorney for Chevron. See what wearing a dress shirt and tie in north Georgia will do to you/for you?

I told him, "No, I'm just passing through and found this interesting."

I'm certain he didn't believe me.

We chatted for a couple of minutes. I asked him if he was a Baptist, and he proudly said, "No, Pentacostal Pentecostal."

What began as a discussion of the meth problem in north Georgia (not that bongs in a convenience store have much to do with crazy meth addicts blowing themselves up cooking the stuff or killing themselves using the stuff) quickly turned into him ranting about how "God's will as given in the Bible must be done before the end times." I stopped paying attention. He clearly had already made up his mind about everything, and discourse and communication became impossible. Besides, in his mind I was an unrepentant, sinful, lying lawyer intent on "killing the children."

He went back into the crowd, and probably reported me to the pastor and the bouncer as being Chevron's on-the-spot attorney.

Too bad he didn't see the Masonic emblem on the back of my car. What would he have thought then?

A man from the protest line shouted at me, "Brother, do you want to hold one of our signs?!"

"No, thank you," I replied.

From the parking lot came a young man of maybe 22, an educated, nerdy-looking guy, talking on his cell phone. I couldn't help but overhear his part of the conversation, which went something like this: "We should all take off work right now, get our "Bongs not Bombs" t-shirts, and get over here."

It was starting to get dark, so no one would have noticed his t-shirted friends anyway. The bullhorn preacher called his flock back into the fold, i.e., a large huddle, where they all joined hands.

I overheard one young man say to another as they were walking back to the preacher, probably in response to a car that had flashed its headlights at them, "Lord! Blind them!"

"They're already blind," his partner replied.

As I expected, the hand-holding huddle held a prayer, the words of which I could not make out. Perhaps they prayed for me, too, the "man in the white shirt."

A megaphoned "Amen!" accompanied each participant's shouted "Amen!," and the crowd erupted in applause. Several horn-honks from cars who had been taking up space in the Chevron's parking lot filled the air.

As the crowd broke up, one man shouted to me, "We love you, brother!"

I got in my car and drove home.

Images: A protest rally at the corner of Ga. 400 and Ga. 53 in Dawsonville, Ga., November 13, 2008. Click on the photos to enlarge.

Update, Nov. 25: This article has been revised to correct the spelling of the word "Pentecostal."

Pentecostals | Protests | Dawsonville, Ga. | Freemasonry | Burning Taper | BurningTaper.com

How to be a (modern) gentleman

I came across some advice originally printed in the London Times, advice that all of us might well follow, but more especially, those of us who are Freemasons.

Feel free to add your suggestions to the list.

How to be a (modern) gentleman

1. Some things don't change: say please and thank you and ask questions about other people rather than talk about yourself.

2. Be punctual. Tardiness does not make you look important, it turns you into an arrogant incompetent who thinks that his time is more important than other people's.

3. The modern gentleman cares about the planet. Be environmentally aware (but not obnoxious about it).

4. Open doors for people and stand up when they enter a room, but do this for men as well as women. The modern gentleman doesn't treat women like porcelain.

5. Be modest. Bragging is distinctly ungentlemanly.

6. Be a good father. Nothing is less charming than a man who leaves childcare to women.

7. Be honest about wherever you have come from in life. Pretension is spineless.

8. Flirt — with everyone. Good flirting is a form of politeness. Pay compliments and put your companion at ease.

9. Do not phone/text/check your BlackBerry incessantly.

10. Dress tidily. Whatever style you are going for, scruffiness just isn't in.

Masons | Masonic Gentlemen | How to Be a Gentleman | Freemasonry | Burning Taper | BurningTaper.com

Toward a stronger, more vibrant Freemasonry

This is the ninth in our series of essays from guest bloggers on the topic "Masonic harmony, unity and discord." This one is by Bro. Nick Johnson, publisher of the Masonic blog "Millennial Freemason." My thanks go out to Bro. Nick and to all who are participating in this project.

Toward a Stronger, More Vibrant Freemasonry
by Bro. Nick Johnson

All nature is but art unknown to thee;
All chance, direction, which thou canst not see;
All discord, harmony not understood;
All partial evil, universal good;
And spite of pride, in erring reason's spite,
One truth is clear, whatever is, is right.

— Alexander Pope

Before I begin with my analysis of the theme, Masonic harmony, unity and discord, I would like to thank the Widow's Son for giving me this opportunity to take part in this wonderful and insightful series of essays.

Let us begin: What's the problem with discord? It is my simple belief that although conflict may promote the problems of Freemasonry, it can also carry the hope of our Fraternity's future. In fact, through the promotion of both discord and harmony, in equal measures, we, as a Fraternity, can grow stronger and more vibrant. While studying conflict and human societies (particularly Freemasonry), it is essential that we look to history and the modern research in Conflict Studies to fully understand this subject.

The word "Discord" originates from the Roman goddess Discordia who had a counterpart in Greece named Eris. In Greek, the name Eris means "strife." Strife was commonly regarded in Greece to have two different personas. The first was equally abhorred and praised, as she caused harm but also strengthened the constitution of men. The second was feared and involved the murderous killings of war and was the sister of Ares. The most famous incident involving Eris was when she threw the Apple of Discord amongst the three major goddesses in the Pantheon, Aphrodite, Athena or Hera, when she was uninvited to a banquet for Peleus and Thetis’ wedding. Inscribed on the Apple was the phrase, "καλλιστι" or transliterated, "Kallisti" meaning "for the Fairest." As Zeus did not want to get involved, he gave the choice to Paris. As we all know, this choice eventually led to the Trojan War. This little trinket, a single apple, led many men to suffer and die.

As is always the case in the pantheon of Greek Gods, Eris had an opposite named Harmonia; in Rome, she was Concordia. As her name implied, she was the goddess of Harmony and represented a love for civic order and unity. And as always seems the case in Greek mythology, she was to be cursed. As a wedding gift, she was given a necklace, a necklace which brought misfortune to all who wore it.

We, as Freemasons, seek to receive the Golden Apple only to find it is out of our reach or in the hands of someone else. We become jealous with our neighbor, and find faults to take away from him what we believe rightfully belongs to us. Yet, this will to strive for what is better or what we deserve is not, in and of itself, an evil characteristic. Also, at times when we are given gifts, we become complacent which attracts misfortune. In fact, conflict occurs everyday and it is how it is dealt with which determines if it is constructive or destructive. Conflict is actively explored in academic circles to understand its origins and quell its harmful effects.

While attending law school, I participated in the Dispute Resolution Institute's certificate program. One of the required classes was Theories of Conflict. Theories of Conflict explores these themes of harmony and discord, separate struggles and unifying causes. The underlying theme in the course was not if conflict was inherently bad; it was the exploration of controlling conflict, especially when conflict becomes escalated.

According to Pruitt and Kim, authors of the book, Social Conflict: Escalation, Stalemate, and Settlement, conflict is a "perceived divergence of interest." Conflict is not merely a battle between parties, with winner takes all as the goal, but what we perceive as a divergence that leads to a zero sum game. This divergence gives parties the impression that there is only one solution, "mine not yours."

Sometimes conflict is very constructive. The best, current example is the presidential election. Both candidates disagree on certain issues and we, as citizens, must decide who we believe will do the best job as president. We may yell at the TV during the debates and chastise the attack ads, but we all agree that a President must be chosen and our emotions must be in check once the election is over.

Conflict involves both physical and psychological aspects. So if, as a Freemason, we find a policy unacceptable, for example, PHA recognition, we perceive a divergence of interest with the brother on the other side. We become physiologically shaken and psychological shocked by what our brothers say, but we may still live in relative peace. It is when a conflict is escalated, that it can become more destructive and lead to acrimony among the parties, and can quickly get out of control.

Escalation is the concept whereby one party begins to use stronger tactics to put increased tension on the other party. During a conflict, parties regularly use tactics to “win” a conflict. However, as these tactics become more and more contentious, the parties will increase the type of tactic used to match or beat the other's tactic. This trading of barbs slowly turns into a spiral of escalation until the conflict reaches violence or another factor has begun to slow the climb and halt its progress.

Escalation is incredibly common in Freemasonry. Every person, from regular Mason, irregular Mason, and anti-Mason, uses power and stronger tactics to attempt to win a Masonic argument. We may attempt to ingratiate a person to come to "our" side. We may attempt to belittle the other side. However, it is often the case that these arguments begin up the spiral of escalation. I, myself, have been wrapped up in these fiery debates throwing words as darts instead using them as tools. As the Masonic conflict continues, we become less concerned with the disagreement and more concerned with "winning." It is at this time, that we become entrenched and it is only by deescalating the situation that we can keep Masonic harmony. But how do we deescalate this contentious situation?

We can deescalate it by remembering the precepts of our Fraternity: Brotherly Love, Relief and Truth. When we get into an aggressive argument, we lose our fraternal bond, we become less concerned about relieving his suffering and we lose sight of what the truth is. So, what can we, as Masons, do about all this discord? Here is my advice: to those that believe that discord only brings destruction and suffering, remember that it is only through chiseling into a block and destroying its original character that we create something beautiful. And to those that believe that harmony must always be continued, at all costs, why is your gavel and chisel laying on the ground? The work is not over and you are behind schedule. We may have a disagreement with how we are working but we all agree that we are building a better society. Only by understanding both discord and harmony can we appreciate the unity that Freemasonry gives to all of its members.

"Our life is full of discord; but by forbearance and virtue this same discord can be turned to harmony." — James Ellis

— Bro. Nick Johnson

Masons | Masonic Harmony | Freemasonry | Millennial Freemason | Burning Taper | BurningTaper.com

Small town fun at the drive-in theater

There's a drive-in theater just up the highway about 15 miles from me. It's one of a small handful left in Georgia, and the only one within at least 100 miles of me. They always play first run movies, and it's always a lot of fun, whether I take my young son and his friends or I take a date there.

Just a moment ago, I checked its website, to see if there was anything playing this weekend that my 10-year old son (and I) would enjoy. There isn't. Beverly Hills Chihuahua is this weekend's feature. Even my son isn't entertained by those talking animal movies anymore (thankfully!).

But I noticed something kind of interesting is happening there tomorrow afternoon and evening, and thought I'd share it with you. It's a benefit for the local Shrine Club. From the Swan Drive-In's website:

The Swan Drive In Theatre is hosting a Fund Raising Event for the North Georgia Shrine Club on Thursday, October 23rd, 2008.

100% of all proceeds, admissions and concessions will go to the North Georgia Shrine Club.

From 5 PM until 7:30 PM will be Karaoke provided by Jimmy Stanley's "Showtime Karaoke." This is an open mike event. We encourage everyone who wants to participate in Karaoke to come out and sing.

Harold Lee will be performing as Elvis from 7:30 PM until 9 PM.

9 PM, the movie "Hancock" starring Will Smith, Rated PG13

Bring your lawn chairs and/or blanket, wear your poodle skirts if you want to, Elvis will have you Rocking! A Full Concession will be available, TRY OUT THE FUNNEL CAKES!

Classic Cars and Motorcycles, Car Clubs, Street Rods, etc. are urged to participate.

You can arrive at any time from 4:30 PM thru the entire evening.

Movie will end at approx. 10:30 PM

Admissions will be $6.00 for Adults, $3.00 for children, ages 4 thru 11.

Come join the fun and help raise funds for a good cause. This is a great opportunity to have fun and give support to North Georgia Shrine Club.

This actually sounds like fun.

Masons | Shrine Club | Small Town Freemasonry | Freemasonry | Swan Drive-In | Burning Taper | BurningTaper.com

Space ice conks sleeping woman on head

Tin-foil hats probably won't be much protection, but you might want to consider sleeping in a hard hat, after a six-pound chunk of "space ice" crashed through a sleeping woman's roof and bonked her in the head.

"Something woke me up," said Mary Ann Foster, who lives in York Township, Pennsylvania. "I felt my head and I had kind of a big — a kind of a bump."

The giant ice cube left a two-feet-across hole in her ceiling, WGAL reported. The iceball broke into three pieces after hitting her.

"If I had been over further, if I had be laying on my back, if a bigger piece had hit me, I could be dead," she said. "Just remember, you never know what's going to happen. Just enjoy everyday."

There you go. Enjoy every day. You never know when you'll get conked on the head by space ice.

Space Ice | Burning Taper | BurningTaper.com

CSA: The Confederate States of America

This week I've been working with a 26-year old, college-educated, happily married black man in Chattanooga, Tennessee. He's not a Mason, but after noticing my Masonic ring, he struck up a conversation about Freemasonry. He knows a few Prince Hall Masons from Pennsylvania, men he went to college with.

After getting past the "do you guys really worship Satan?" stuff that had gotten into his head from too much Internet surfing, we discussed Masonry in an interesting and unique way, with him telling me some things he knows about the workings of Prince Hall lodges.

He also provided me with a unique perspective on what it's like to be an African-American in the South.

He lives in Georgia, right on the border with Tennessee, which is much more "integrated" than the lily-white county where I live in rural north Georgia. He asked how he could join a regular lodge in Georgia. We talked about how he'd never be allowed to do that because of the unwritten rules of racism here.

Granted, I've known him less than a week, but I've spent all day with him several days, and based on what I've seen so far, once I've known him the required time, I'd have no problem with signing his petition and recommending him based on his character.

He's as law-abiding as you or I, yet he's had much more interaction with the police than most of you reading this. Traffic stops, he says, have been and are so routine that he checks his brake and tail lights every couple of days, and always drives under the speed limit.

Once, he told me, sitting a stop light, he was approached by a police officer who told him he'd done a "random" license-plate check and discovered that the car he was driving was not the same color as shown in the records. The tag was on the proper make and model of car, but was light blue instead of white. He'd recently had the older model car repainted.

Apparently, this type of thing is fairly common when you're black in the South. Not being a cop or a black man, I wouldn't know.

But imagine how much worse it would be if the South had won the Civil War.

That's the premise of an intriguing 2004 film called CSA: The Confederate States of America. It's showing tonight — Friday, Oct. 10 — on the Independent Film Channel (IFC). Set your DVR to record it; parts of it you'll want to see more than once.

Imagine a world where the South won the War. Slaves weren't freed. Abraham Lincoln wasn't assassinated; he fled on the Underground Railroad, was captured, imprisoned and then exiled to Canada, where he died in 1905 lamenting that he had never "truly cared for the Negro." Jefferson Davis moved into the White House to run the country. Mexico and South America were eventually conquered by the CSA. America supported Hitler. Television programs and commercials were blatantly racist; you can even buy slaves from home shopping channels.

The movie is presented as if it's a British documentary about the history of America, and you get the feeling that you're watching it on a cheesy UHF channel late at night. During station breaks you're presented with news updates and local and national commercials.

Parts of the movie are high comedy and satire, but some of it is dead-on frightening in its depiction of institutionalized racism.

First in the alternative history of the nation, and later in news updates about current events, you meet a Kennedy-esque dynastic clan that has been involved in national politics since the Civil War. What happens to a fifth-generation senator with higher political ambitions is cruelly hilarious.

In this alternative world, blacks in America were kept subservient and uneducated; this point is counterbalanced with interviews with educated blacks from England and Canada, discussing the state of their brothers and sisters within the CSA borders.

I hope you get a chance to see this film. You can watch a trailer here.

Masons | Racism | Confederate States of America | Freemasonry | Burning Taper | BurningTaper.com

Bro. FDR's fireside chat: More comforting than anything Bush, Bernanke, Paulson, McCain or Obama has said

If you're feeling stressed these days over the world's financial, moral and intellectual meltdown, you're not alone.

As Bro. Paul Harvey liked to say, "In times like these, it always helps to remember there have always been times like these."

If Bro. Harvey's colloquialism doesn't especially comfort you, perhaps words from another famous Freemason, one who steered this country through our previous economic depression and through much of World War II, here's a link to Brother and President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's Fireside Chats.

His very first fireside chat, given via radio on March 12, 1933, was titled "On the Banking Crisis." If you prefer to listen to the chat instead of read it, click here.

FDR was born in 1882, and died in 1945 while serving as the 32nd president of the United States. He served as president longer than any other person, being elected to four consecutive terms. He died in office, and was succeeded by his vice president, Bro. Harry S Truman.

Bro. Roosevelt was initiated October 11, 1911 in Holland Lodge No. 8, New York City. He participated in the Raising of his son Elliott (1910-1990) on February 17, 1933, in Architect's Lodge No. 519, also in New York City. He was present, but did not participate in the Degrees when two other sons, James (1907-1991) and Franklin D., Jr. (1914-1988) became members of Architect's Lodge on November 7, 1935.

FDR was made the first Honorary Grand Master of the Order of DeMolay on April 13, 1934 at the White House.

He was governor of New York from 1929-1933.

Bro. Roosevelt concluded his first chat, about the banking collapse of 1933, with the following words. They're more inspiring than anything coming out of Washington or New York these days:

...[T]here is an element in the readjustment of our financial system more important than currency, more important than gold, and that is the confidence of the people. Confidence and courage are the essentials of success in carrying out our plan. You people must have faith; you must not be stampeded by rumors or guesses. Let us unite in banishing fear. We have provided the machinery to restore our financial system; it is up to you to support and make it work.

It is your problem no less than it is mine. Together we cannot fail.

Masons | Masonic Presidents | Franklin D. Roosevelt | Freemasonry | Fireside Chats | Burning Taper | BurningTaper.com

Casting your fake-vote for fake-president

Paris Hilton | Fake-President | Burning Taper | BurningTaper.com

It's a bird! It's a plane! It's....

Maybe it's baby Kal-El streaking to earth from the doomed planet Krypton.

Astronomers yesterday discovered an automobile-sized meteor hurtling towards our planet. It is predicted to burn up over Sudan this evening at 10:46 p.m. ET, according to Wired Science.

"A typical meteor comes from an object the size of a grain of sand," Gareth Williams of the International Astronomical Union's Minor Planet Center, which made the prediction, said in a statement Monday. Objects this size are what cause the nighttime streaks that many people think of as shooting stars. "This meteor will be a real humdinger in comparison!"

I hope it really is a red and blue cradle carrying a child who will grow into the Man of Steel. The world needs Superman.

Update, Thurs., Oct. 9: Earth survived. And Great Caesar's Ghost!, it was a big bang.

Unfortunately, it wasn't Superman.

Superman | Meteor | Sudan | Burning Taper | BurningTaper.com

1776-2008: America as we knew her, may she rest in peace

Welcome to the New World (Dis)Order, and to the United Socialist States of America. Or is it still the same ol' place?

Just moments ago, Pres. George W. Bush signed into law the "Wall Street Bailout," shortly after the House approved the pork-laden "new" version of the bill they had rejected earlier this week.

Seven hundred billion dollars, a "really big number," in one dollar bills laid end to end, would stretch from the Earth to the Sun over 3,700 times (or 370 or 37,000 — knowledge of math doesn't seem to be a requirement anymore, especially in accounting). That's a lot of macaroni and cheese and tomato soup Main Streeters (and their children's children's children) will have to eat while the Wall Streeters renew their standing orders for caviar and champagne.

If you were against this bailout, how can you in good conscience now vote to elect either senator as U.S. president? Both Barack Obama and John McCain supported and voted for this bill that "gives away the farm" and our country.

Here is the list of U.S. representatives who voted yea and nay on Monday. It will be interesting to see who changed their votes today.

U.S. Representative Ron Paul warned against this financial meltdown many times. As you saw during the primaries, the mainstream media wouldn't let Dr. Paul express his views during the debates, and seldom wrote anything positive about him during his campaign.

Former U.S. Congressman Bob Barr is now the Libertarian Party nominee for president, and is being ignored by the press almost as much as Ron Paul was. If you don't like the direction our country is now heading — and as of today, it's heading in a direction we never thought possible — consider the only alternative we may have left. The bailout votes this week should have proven to the world that there really isn't a dime's worth of difference between the Republican Party and the Democratic Party.

Image: The U.S. flag flown upside down is a sign of distress, not of disrespect. Long may she wave.

Congress | Wall Street Bailout | Bob Barr | Libertarian Party | Burning Taper | BurningTaper.com

A flawed system: Why there is so much disunity, disharmony and discord in Freemasonry

This is the eighth in our series of essays from guest bloggers on the topic "Masonic harmony, unity and discord." This one is by Bro. Fred Milliken, also known as Squire Bentley. Bro. Milliken is the publisher of the Masonic blog "The Beehive." My thanks go out to Bro. Fred and to all who are participating in this project.

A Flawed System: Why There is So Much Disunity, Disharmony & Discord in Freemasonry
by Bro. Fred Milliken

Freemasonry grew up with the birth of our nation, thus the Masonry in each state was considered sovereign as were the states. After the US gained its independence a loose association of states was formed under The Articles of Confederation. When this proved to be unworkable a more serious commitment to Federalization was put in place under the US Constitution.

The point is Freemasonry never changed and grew with the country and its civil government; never realized the mistakes made when too many decision makers afford no accountability. American Freemasonry stayed locked in the mode and style of 1776 thereby never allowing an American Masonic Identity. There was and there is no such thing as American Freemasonry, there is only Californian Masonry, New York Masonry, Texas Masonry etc.

In parts of the world in civil government there are artificial countries, with artificial boundaries and no sense of national pride. Whether it be Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, Iraq or various African nations, the artificial boundaries hold a loose collection of Tribes. These countries are said to have a Tribal System. Tribal equals trouble.

Next year the USA will have a new President, either Obama or McCain. Whoever it may be I know that that person will speak for the entire country even though they lack total dictatorial power. My President will be a Unifier, attempting at all times to bring the country together.

American Freemasonry has a Tribal Mentality which leads to constant friction, dissension and outright war. American Freemasonry has no Unifier, rather it practices Separatism. This is one reason we have so much disharmony and discord.

If you like the present system of 51 Feudal Barons lording themselves over 51 fiefdoms then you pay the price of increased disharmony and discord. And you automatically empower and refuse to condemn a Masonic jurisdiction such as West Virginia which has not yet entered the 20th century never mind the 21st.

As each fiefdom goes its separate way, some jurisdictions have admitted a large number of agenda driven people, those with an ax to grind, and when they have sufficient numbers they have changed Freemasonry.

For instance in some states conservative Christian evangelicals have overtaken some Grand Lodges and written into their state Masonic code a Christianization of their state's Freemasonry. Freemasonry had previously gradually evolved into being religiously neutral and it still is in many American jurisdictions. Prayers to Jesus, extra Bible readings in Lodge, no Holy Book permitted on the altar but the Bible, District Christian Church services, Bible presentations upon raising, no gambling permitted, no alcohol on Lodge property are just some examples of the way some Masons have codified their own personal moral and religious beliefs into the Constitutions and by-laws of their Grand Lodge. The Freemasonry in Louisiana, Georgia and Tennessee looks a great deal different from the Freemasonry in Massachusetts, New York, Illinois and California.

Some of these same Masons have used the outmoded system of balloting to exclude men of diversity and to allow to enter others that do not reflect the values of Freemasonry. This amounts to ethnic cleansing or purifying the Lodge. Those welcome are Christians, politically conservative, White Supremists, Protestants, Republicans, the KKK and the Militia. Those blackballed and excluded are Blacks, the politically liberal, Jews, those in the peace movement or civil rights movement, Democrats, Muslims and anybody with a funny accent.

Some of us do not seem to be able to celebrate diversity. In Lodges in India you can find at the same time Hindus, Muslims, Parsis, Sikhs, Christians, Jews, Jains, and Buddhists all sitting side by side. There are five Volumes of the Sacred Law on the altar: The Bhagvad Gita for the Hindus, The Qur'an for the Muslims, The Avesta for the Parsis or Zoroaastrians, The Bible for the Christians and Jews and The Granth Sahib for the Sikhs. If this does not cover the field a candidate may bring his own book of Faith. You will also find many different skin colors and political allegiances.

If you travel to Canada and experience their Freemasonry you won't find these deep seated divisions and animosities. Neither will you find them in the British Isles. Perhaps it is the nature of our contentious American society where Americans tend to be hysterical and mean spirited that dooms us to a Freemasonry of constant bickering, disharmony and discord.

As Masons we have been taught to be tolerant and accepting. This is one of the traits for which a Mason is well known. But we have carried tolerance too far. Those who have subverted Freemasonry for ulterior motives and their own ends want us to tolerate intolerance. How do you fight evil if you are required to tolerate it?

Other divisive and disharmonious behavior comes from a traditionalist attitude I sometimes refer to as "legalistic Masonry." These Masons, often entrenched in seats of Grand Lodge power, refuse to allow the change or reform of Freemasonry one iota, not even one word in one sentence. And they tell you that trying to change Freemasonry is a violation of a Mason’s Obligation. The reformers do not seek a change in the ritual or message of Freemasonry but rather the procedures and processes that back the practice of the Craft. This dedication to "legalistic Freemasonry" can be seen in those who insist on maintaining the Right of Exclusive Territorial Jurisdiction from Prince Hall inclusion. Their adherence to the strict letter of the law puts policy above people, separation above unity and reminds one of the cackles of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

The disharmony and discord of American Freemasonry is far larger than the so called harmony of the Lodge. It is rooted in the policy and governance of Grand Lodge where the Grand Master and Grand Lodge Officers set the tone for Freemasonry in that jurisdiction. The Lodge is not alive but rather an inanimate concept. It cannot feel, laugh, cry or do anything that human beings can do. The harmony of the Lodge is an invalid concept and is often used to exclude, as in "We have to blackball this Black Man for the harmony of the Lodge" or "This Jewish applicant will just not fit here at this Lodge where we all are Christian. He must be rejected for the harmony of the Lodge."

The tone of Grand Lodges and their desire to control Masonic thought, their poor handling of the computer revolution and Internet Freemasonry, and their suspensions and expulsions without a Masonic trial have dumped onto Internet Freemasonry, its Forums and Blogs, bitter expelled past Masons who feel that they have been dealt an injustice and are out for revenge. If Grand Lodges were not so controlling and arbitrary in their use of power, were not so political and so thin skinned perhaps Freemasonry in the USA would be a little more subdued and harmonious.

So what is to be done? I offer three suggestions which are not the sum and total of what might be accomplished but merely a start into a more harmonious American Freemasonry and bringing Masons together.

1. A National Constitution and Masonic Bill of Rights

It's too late for a National Grand Lodge. It would never fly today even if it were a good idea which it probably is not. There needs to be a semblance of sameness and order throughout the 51 jurisdictions which comprise American Freemasonry. This has nothing to do with changing or standardizing the ritual of Freemasonry or dictating the practice of the Craft or removing the sovereignty of state Grand Lodges. It has to do with fairness, of creating a sound base or foundation that exists everywhere so that each jurisdiction can go on from there to implement the practice of Freemasonry as it sees fit. It has to do with the processes and procedures of Freemasonry, the definition of Freemasonry, who can and cannot be admitted into Freemasonry, what ethical code can we all agree upon and having the same Landmarks. It also has to do with the rights of individual Brethren and protecting them from abuse and misuse of power. If we can do this we can eliminate a lot of the disharmony.

2. Masonic Legislature

Freemasonry grew up in the time of Monarchies and the Divine Right of Kings. Times and attitudes have changed into a way of life that is more participatory by the average citizen. Freemasonry needs to reflect that change and allow for the say of each individual Brother. A Masonic legislature which could make or change policy by a democratic vote would perhaps lessen those who go running off to start their own version of Freemasonry because they have been locked out or arbitrarily squashed. A true will of the majority goes a lot further in gaining support than the arbitrary desires of the Masonic Pope sitting in the Grand East. Lest anyone think that this would strip the Grand Master of all power and stature it could be set up so that a Grand Master could veto anything the Legislature passes unless this body has voted on a course to be taken by 75% or more of those convened. A change of this nature would be up to the individual choice of each state Grand Lodge and not be imposed upon them.

3. Ballot Reform

I devoted a whole blog to this subject. The present unanimous secret ballot permits prejudice and revenge and no good reason to reject an applicant and thwart the will of the majority. Its use keeps out Blacks, Jews & Hippies and just about anybody you don’t like.

But it also lets in some undesirables like the KKK. One member gets in unnoticed and he brings in scores of others always keeping their other life from discovery. Black balls that should be dropped are not.

There is a case to be made for a secret ballot. What you definitely do not want is a raising of hands in open Lodge. There is also a strong case to be made that it is terribly unfair and unjust to reject a good man for no good reason or because of prejudice.

The so called phony harmony of the Lodge is not justification for a unanimous secret ballot. In essence one is putting pseudo harmony ahead of Civil Rights and human rights. This is not the way a person joins the United States and becomes a citizen. The election of a President or of a Worshipful Master does not have to be unanimous.

I would offer that the decision of admittance to the Lodge be made in a semi secret ballot of the three members of the Investigating committee who will have taken training in Investigative technique and who sit as a permanent committee of the Lodge for a duration of office as determined by the Lodge. If any member of the Lodge has an objection to an applicant they are to bring that objection to this committee who will investigate it. Rejection will then come for a solid reason and not "I don’t want a Black man in my Lodge." The Three so constituted will offer no comment on their decisions. The implementation of this change would be a choice left up to each individual Grand Lodge.

It is not only within American Mainstream Freemasonry that there is disunity, disharmony and discord. Relationships with other Obediences are governed by Grand Lodge rules and regulations and in many cases they not only prohibit Masonic Communication but also Masonic discourse. This is why disharmony is not just a local Lodge problem. It goes all the way to the top where a Grand Master feels that he can tell you who you can talk to and who you cannot. Orders from on high often ask a Mason to shun other Obediences. When you do that you can't expect not to get some flak back.

Perhaps a case can be made for Unrecognized, Irregular, Clandestine knock offs many coalescing around the cult of an individual. But for those practicing Regular Masonry excepting the violation of sex, there really is no good reason to be spiteful. If Women's Masonry, Co-Masonry, and other Regular Clandestines, which in some areas includes Prince Hall, would sit down together, break bread together, sponsor some charitable events together, do some social functions together, and rent the same building for meetings, even though none of the different Obediences ever sat in Lodge together, there would be more peace, harmony and accord. In many parts of Europe the different Obediences of Freemasonry do not trash each other but seek ways of accommodation thereby avoiding the tension and conflict and ill feeling that fortressed American Freemasonry has. Much of this anti social behavior is aided and abetted by Grand Lodges.

I have some of my writings on a wonderful website run by a Co-Mason. When some Brothers of an Internet Masonic Forum I belong to found this out they called me a traitor and said that not only would they never visit that site again and never read any of my writings therein but that they would also boycott any postings I made on the Forum. To them I was guilty of aiding the enemy and giving him publicity.

We need an ecumenical spirit among the different Regular Obediences of American Freemasonry. If we had an ecumenical spirit there would be less disharmony and discord. It's up to the Grand Lodges to pave the way in setting the TONE of American Freemasonry.

Quite frankly I am dismayed by those Brothers who say that they don't come to these places anymore because of all the squabbling and bickering. Some of the loud noise is being made by those of us who seek a change of heart from those who are responsible for much of the disharmony that exists. Working to make the future an improved, quieter, more unified and harmonious Masonic experience, today sometimes requires some robust jousting.

But these Brothers would rather trade rights and justice for phony harmony right now. Why can't you just zip your lip and go along to get along they say? Then there would be peace and harmony. Yup, and injustice too. Go along with racism in Freemasonry, go along with expulsions without a Masonic trial, go along with no Masonic discourse with other Obediences, go along with rigged elections and shunning those that do it another way. My reply is why don’t you come along? Come along and help solve the root causes of disharmony and discord.

— Bro. Frederic Milliken

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