Dear Brother McCarthy...

Dear Brother McCarthy[1],

You have publicly condemned, put down and dismissed the honest observations, frustrations and criticisms of your Brothers.  You did so because you are far more concerned about and interested in how potential and existing members may view our organization than you are about properly addressing Brothers' legitimate thoughts and feelings about it.  I recommend that you focus upon effectively dealing with the issues, problems and challenges that these Brothers put forth instead of trying to kill the messengers.  The change in your manner and attitude toward them is more likely to produce positive results for all involved than the destruction which occurs when you sweep them away with your oppressive Broom of Harmony.

These Brothers that you wrongfully accuse, detrimentally label and aggressively belittle for speaking their minds and sharing their hearts take great pains to express their thoughts and feelings about the important issues, unaddressed problems and continuous challenges plaguing our organization and at times do so in the face of overwhelming societal pressures to remain silent and compliant.

I realize that you are tired of hearing what they have to share or are weary of how they share.  I know from your responses that you find their sharing draining upon your spirit because you truly have no real solutions for what they convey and don't want others to see these issues.  I understand that you are fed up with hearing their incessant chirping.  These are neither in dispute nor the focus of this letter. Your attitude and manner toward them is.  Neither helps in dealing with the real issues and you by your actions have created an unnecessary distraction that takes focus off what truly needs to be dealt with.

Moreover, by your focus and actions, you miss things of extreme importance!  These messengers are rich resources and role models who tell you and others volumes about the perceived mental, emotional and spiritual health of our organization.  They should be encouraged to continue to express themselves and to take appropriate actions that shall help them and others toward transforming our organization and our members toward the better. 

What's more is that they are not alone!  For every one of these Brothers who speak of these matters and in which you make effort to trivialize, demonize and distort by negatively labeling them, there are countless others who remain silent and eventually leave due to the very things that these men speak of and which continue unaddressed.

Keep in mind; many of our Brothers never got the training that our organization espouses and probably never will get it through normal channels if things remain as they are. Many haven't learned to subdue and circumscribe themselves to communicate in a way that is acceptable to you.  By no fault of their own they were encouraged to and allowed to Pass without completed Work.  They were never required to do any of this talked about but unoffered training.  As a result, they still have rough edges to them. 

Furthermore, many haven't learned how to elegantly evoke and apply the Trivium because such training simply was not required of them to be labeled "Masters" within our organization.  They are communicating the very best they can, they are doing so with extremely little to no organizational training and sometimes do so in the face of unnecessarily inconsiderate and intolerant opposition. 
 
Nevertheless!  They are our unsung heroes and we should not dismiss and put down their untempered voices, no matter how dissonant they may come across.  They have a truth to share and we should take notice not in its delivery, but in what truth is conveyed.

If you don't realize how important these voices are to our organization by now, let me put it to you in a way that I hope you might better understand: 

• Killing messengers hurts us all.  This was clearly and solidly exemplified by our Third Degree Drama!   Like yourself, the Ruffians didn't want to hear a messenger who a) delivered the truth, b) did so nine times over, and c) faced cruel opposition in doing so. 
• They used the demands of time to attack that messenger. They used the demands of morality to attack him further. They even used brute force in an effort to slam into place his compliance; all unsuccessfully.  They eventually killed the messenger of truth and buried what remained of him under a pile of Rubbish.  
• Our Society has never been the same!  More than just a messenger was lost; so was an important truth that mattered to the Craft.

There are countless messengers who are outspoken and even more that remain silent and who walk away from our organization. They do so for good reasons too.  When they do, they take their messages with them.  They do so in disenchanted, disillusioned, apathetic, indifferent and sometimes frustrated silence.  They see how others were treated when something was said that was deemed to be inappropriate and unwelcome by those who want all to turn a blind eye to issues, problems and troubles rather than do what is required to put them to rest, or at least to put systems into place to properly manage them. 

When they leave, their messages are lost too, that is, until such time that existing members rediscover them, usually buried deep within piles of Rubbish designed to hide them from view by those who would rather have them go unseen.  When these messages are eventually rediscovered by our members, their effluvia are usually so overwhelming that no one wants to deal with them. 

 I hope that you are never foolish enough to think that killing the messenger kills the message.  Wisdom tells us that message stench does not go away and that messages require action sooner or later.  Messages have a nasty habit of hanging around and pestering their targets one way or another until delivered. 

There are things though that are clear about your expressed view toward these messengers in all this:  

1. You are more concerned about the organization's superficial appearance to potential & existing members than you are concerned about existing members being driven off by unaddressed issues, dismissed problems and legitimate concerns.  
2. You are not above the behavior and attitude of Ruffians in your approach and results in dealing with Brothers.
3. Your manner and attitude tells me that you truly are not after the best interests of all involved. 

Before you are ever tempted to label messengers as "frustrated", "disillusioned", "jaded", "disenchanted", "disgruntled" or something else designed solely to color and thus dismiss or suppress their messages or oppress the messengers, know that the messengers you devalue love the Craft or they would not be invested in sharing these messages.  They are whole heartedly willing to bring things up and speak up, speak out and speak about things that are extremely difficult, awkward and uncomfortable to and for others.  They are likely more interested in what is best for the Craft than you could ever perceive.  They are better friends to the Craft than those who do and say nothing when doing and saying something is necessary or those who want so much not to hear them that they would rather kill the messengers than listen and engage in constructive discourse to better ends.

Perhaps this message to you about your dismissive manner and attitude toward these messengers is unwelcome by you.  Please know that your indirect message, your Ruffian methods and feigned concerns are clearly evident, seen and understood; even by those new to the Craft.  

Like those heroes of an earlier Freemasonic McCarthy era, know that some messengers shall not remain silent in response to your attempted censor, abhorrent mislabeling and implied slander.  They love the Craft far too much to be beaten into quiet, shameful and fearful submission.  They also love it so much that they have likely already forgiven you for your shortsighted views and destructive manners toward them. 

I recommend that you try to Earn their Forgiveness by Supporting them and our organization toward Betterment!

F&S,

Brother John S. Nagy

PS - Please feel free to share this in response to attacks, ad hominem or otherwise, or with anyone you know who is being attacked, bullied, labeled and oppressed because the message they share is viewed unfavorable to the Craft by those who object.

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[1] McCarthy:  The man to whom McCarthyism, the practice of making accusations of subversion or treason without proper regard for evidence. It also means "the practice of making unfair allegations or using unfair investigative techniques, especially in order to restrict dissent or political criticism, is attributed to for his wide and deep use of the same during his time as a national political oppressor and manipulator.