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.

A Brother Asks... Freemasonic Research Challenges?

A Brother Asks: What is one of the biggest challenges faced by Freemasonic researchers?

My Response: The biggest challenges?  Obtaining Unbiased and Untainted Society information and Using the same to Produce Materials that are Unbiased and Untainted.

Let me explain...

My experience continuously reveals to me that far too many Freemasonic researchers start out assuming that modern day Freemasonry is a continuation of the Stonecraft of yesteryear; it is clearly and unequivocally not.

When these researchers equate current day Freemasonic literature, activities and purposes with that of the Free-Masonry of the past and assume, and do so without question, that the two words are referring to the same world, they have assumed much in their use. 

This is one of the biggest problems faced by those who wish to do serious Freemasonic research.  They should not assume anything without a firm basis that is independent of society dogma, conjecture and conclusions. 

It should be clear that Society Literature is packed full of inbred materials and unrestrained romanticism the likes of which would make even romance novelists envious.  It is also filled with far too much fanciful, wishful ,and cross-purpose materials to take seriously when doing research upon anything other than how its materials have morphed over the years. 

Freemasonic materials should not be taken seriously when seeking historically accurate and supported information.  This goes especially for those materials created by those deeply entrenched in Freemasonry's mythological culture and lore and who produce them with an untethered zeal to support the inculcation and propagation of the same.  Such materials are heavily biased toward maintaining and even expanding it - contributing further to its myths and fanciful lores; as they should!  That is their job.

However, assuming such materials are historically accurate, without outside confirmation, will create many troubles for a serious researcher. The greatest trouble is that once what your claim is based upon is proven to be inaccurate, incorrect, or a metaphor/allegory and not an actually historical occurrence, the very foundation of your work shall crumble. 

When you wish to keep away from materials that shall mislead you or at least hold these materials under the light of unbiased reason while doing your research, here are some pointers: 

Suspect anything claiming:

1. Time Immemorial Status. 
2. Universal Practice.
3. Unaltered Status.
4. Ancient Origins, as in, Given by, Handed down from, or Established by any sort of "Ancient" Brethren.
5. Establishment or being in effect prior to the beginning of the Grand Lodge era (circa 1717).
6. Continuing something else other than theater.
7. To be Rooted in or having connections with Stonecraft, Mystery Schools, Cabbala, Mysticism, Alchemy, Rosicrucianism, Hermeticism, Egyptian Mythology, a Specific Religion, and any other "esoteric" school, organization or philosophy in any other way other than using their resources to construct elaborate scripts that will entertain, inform, mesmerize, distract and train those participating in them.
8. Connections and Conjectures that do not reflect sound, well-supported, and interconnected information that creates a picture whose very existence requires the belief that a premise is true.
9. Connections requiring leaps of faith, suspension disbelief or trust unearned.
10. Conclusions backed solely by the claims of the Freemasonic materials studied.

In addition to these, suspect any and all persons:

1. who base their opinions, thoughts and conclusions solely upon the Craft Dogma provided to them by their Jurisdiction;
2. who parrot misguided and biased research and conjecture as unwavering, undeniable and accepted fact;
3. who have not made any real earnest effort to dig down to the depths necessary to prove or disprove already long assumed fact and conclusions;
4. who make every effort to discourage or downplay your continuing search or dismiss your findings when your well-documented research conflicts with their well-entrenched opinions.

Sure, there's much more to it, but these research guidelines should help keep you from chasing a plethora of Freemasonic Rabbits down into bottomless pits.

Good Luck!

F&S,

Brother John S. Nagy