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why this confusion in the temple
Masonic Babbittry
CHAPTER III
dwight l. smith
Ape the service clubs. Get busy on "projects" galore in the best
Babbitt fashion.
A
LITTLE
more than forty years ago Sinclair Lewis
published a novel, and immediately
a noun was added to the American language. That noun was the
title of the book: Babbitt.From that day forth the word Babbitt came to mean a person of the type depicted
by
George F. Babbitt, real estate dealer, who lived in a Dutch
Colonial house in exclusive
Floral Heights, in the city of Zenith—fastest growing little
burg in the Midwest, by golly.
George F. Babbitt had the "right connections." Professionally,
spiritually, fraternally and
politically, his Status Symbols were most impressive. He
believed fervently in restricted
immigration to "keep those blasted foreigners out;" he had no
racial prejudice, of course,
but insisted that the Negro "stay in his place;" he was certain
the labor unions were
inspired and controlled by alien influences, and he viewed with
alarm the teachings of the
"pinks" at the State University.
But of all his orthodox affiliations, he found the weekly luncheon group known
as the
Boosters' Club the most satisfying, and to it he paid homage.
Local chapter of a national
organization, its grand aim was the promotion of Sound Business
and Friendliness among
Regular Fellows.
FOR FOUR DECADES, Americans have
chuckled over the superficialities of George
Babbitt, squirmed as they saw themselves in the mirror . . . and
faithfully followed in his
footsteps. Babbittry has found its way into every area of
American life, excepting
none—and including Freemasonry. The great aim set forth in
Freemasonry's Declaration
of Principles is a lofty one indeed:
"Through the improvement and strengthening of the character of the
individual
man, Freemasonry seeks
to improve the community ..."
But that is not enough for a restless, itchy, pragmatic America. It is not
enough to
endeavor to bring men to Light, nor to satisfy intellectual
hunger, nor to minister to the
inner needs of a confused people, nor to provide a moral bulwark
for everyday struggles,
nor to give men a foundation upon which to build a righteous
life.
No, we must worship at the altar of Service to Our Fellow Men. Our organizations
must
"do things"—that is, things which may be
seen,
and
heard, and
felt;
things which may be
measured by dollars, and buildings, boards of directors, and
letterheads, and intense
"busyness." There must be some tangible endeavor, some material
object to which we can
point to "justify our existence." We must be able to show by
local projects, by fundraising
activities, by annual contributions to a horde of organized
charities, by some
movement to eradicate one of the physical ills of the human race
that we are indeed
boosters, and Solid Citizens, and Civic Leaders Devoted to the
Advancement of the
Community.
NOW, at the very outset let me make
one point perfectly clear: the Grand Secretary of
Indiana is not attacking the service clubs. I shall repeat that
statement before I am
through. In 30 years I have been affiliated with two such clubs;
I am a past president of
one; I have nothing but admiration for them. In their field they
are making a magnificent
contribution to our American life. Their purpose is to engage in
community service, and
they are doing it admirably.
But that does not mean that Freemasonry should try to imitate them. It is the
copycat
school of thought within our Fraternity that I oppose. Masonic
Babbittry is not Masonry,
and I must part company with those who advocate it. By
tradition, practice and
temperament the clubs are not equipped to do the work of
Freemasonry—and Masonry is
not equipped to do the work of the clubs.
Anyone who knows anything at all about Freemasonry would suppose that our Craft
would be the last place into which such philosophies and
practices would penetrate. But
herein lies the trouble:
Over the last several decades we have
conferred the degrees upon
far too many men who could not comprehend the message of
Freemasonry. Knowing
little or nothing about the Fraternity, they have made no
endeavor to find out. The weekly
luncheon club was something they could comprehend; it required
no effort on their part
other than to meet, eat and pay; consequently, the service club
idea and technique has left
its mark upon our Craft. We may as well face it.
AND IF YOU THINK I am exaggerating
(there are those who feel I do), then I invite
your attention to just a few items gleaned from here and there:
—A Lodge in one large American Jurisdiction asked the Grand Master for
permission to
offer a $10 prize to the member having the
"most perfect
attendance" (whatever that is)
during the year.
—A Grand Lodge in the United States created a study committee and asked it to
give
consideration to "some worthwhile service project" that could be
adopted.
—In one Canadian Jurisdiction the Grand Master was appalled at the use in Lodge
meetings of large saucer-type identification badges, each
bearing the nickname
of the
Master Mason wearer. They are, of course, patterned after the
badges used at service club
luncheons.
—In another Jurisdiction an "Achievement Trophy" is awarded annually on the same
kind of point system used by service clubs in their district
competitions. Points are
granted on the basis of degrees conferred, affiliations,
reinstatements, net gain in
membership (yes,
that's correct), educational meetings, average attendance at district
meetings, and so on.
—Several years ago I had a friendly debate with a distinguished leader of
another
Jurisdiction on whether or not a Master Mason should be
penalized for failure to attend
meetings of his Lodge. (My friend thought fines should be
assessed; that has a familiar
sound!)
—The Grand Master of an American Jurisdiction in his address to his Grand Lodge
inserted a long and wearisome recital of what he termed
"Visitations of the Grand
Master." Believe it or not, the list included meetings of
Rotary, Kiwanis and Lions Clubs,
an organization of policemen, several PTA groups, numerous
church and Sunday School
societies, a social unit of an industrial organization, and
chapel exercises at one of the
State penal institutions !
I COULD CITE MANY, many more examples,
for the Proceedings of our American
Grand Lodges reveal all too clearly the trend towards less and
less Freemasonry and more
and more Babbittry.
Only rarely does a leader of any stature raise his voice to remind us that
Masonic Lodges
have their own particular job in the scheme of things; that they
should do that job and
nothing more. One of the most scholarly discussions on the
subject was an article
entitled, "Freemasonry is Not a Service Club," by Laurence
Healey, Past Grand Master of
Masons in British Columbia, published in
The Indiana Freemason
in March, 1951. It
should be required reading for every Master Mason.
NOR IS MASONIC BABBITTRY confined to
areas outside Indiana. My readers
already know what I think of speakers who accept an invitation
to address a Masonic
gathering and then proceed to talk about everything under the
sun except Freemasonry.
One time at a great occasion in an Indiana Lodge I heard a speaker upon whom our
Fraternity has bestowed some of its choice honors actually
belittle
the conferring of the
degrees of Ancient Craft Freemasonry. He said to the members of
that Lodge, in effect,
that if they were going to do no more than to "confer a few
degrees," they would be
parasites in the community. On the contrary, he said, they
should be contributing to this
movement and subsidizing that group, working at a project here
and doing a good deed
there. He told them service is the rent we pay for the space we
occupy. It was an excellent
Kiwanis speech.
Well, of course, I seethed as I listened, and said to myself, "There is Exhibit
A—just
another example of the point I have insisted upon: that we have
too many Masons who
are hazy as to what Masonry is all about. Instead of
familiarizing themselves with
Freemasonry, they think the Fraternity should be made over to
fit the pattern of the luncheon
club with which they
are
familiar."
SHOULD THE TREND towards Masonic
Babbittry continue at its present rate, we
might as well prepare to close up shop. For when we set out to
imitate the service clubs,
we have abandoned Freemasonry in the first place, and we shall
do a sorry job of
imitation in the second place. Their entire province is that of
community projects. They
are doing their work and doing it well. As Freemasons, our work
is cut out for us; the
way we do it is peculiarly our own. To discard one banner and
attempt to hoist another
would only mean our absorption; our Craft would become just
another club.
Why, in Heaven's name, do we overlook the fact that there is one thing, and one
thing
only, that our Craft can give a worthy man that no other
organization on the face of the
earth can give him?
That one thing is Freemasonry.
When we stick to our knitting the field is our own; we have no competition
whatever. We
can contribute something to society, something to humanity,
something to the community
in which we live that all the service clubs combined cannot
touch. Why, then, should
Master Masons become busybodies in areas where we do not belong?
My Brethren, we had better think
it through. We had better reflect on
the sobering fact
that much of the appeal of Freemasonry lies in its unique
character; in short, that it
does
not operate like other
organizations.
SURELY NO MAN who loves Freemasonry
could welcome the thought of a Senior
Tail-Twister and a Junior Tail-Twister in the line of Lodge
officers. Or a plaque in the
hotel lobby announcing that the Masons meet and eat on Mondays,
12:30 p.m. Or the
raucous laughter and ribald stories of a weekly luncheon of
Master Masons. Or good old
Bill (ladies' ready-to-wear) with his saucer badge and white
apron—maybe aprons could
be discarded altogether. Or attendance contests. Or the annual
Lodge dinner in honor of
the basketball team. Or the summer excursion when Masons'
grandsons and their friends'
grandsons are taken to see a big league ball game. Or members of
a Lodge committee
running about like fussy old ladies to persuade the business
houses to display the Stars
and Stripes on Flag Day!
And when we come to the point that a Master Mason who misses a stated meeting of
his
Lodge has to travel to the neighboring county seat to make up
his absence—that will be
the day!
Do I see someone all bristled, insisting that I am poking fun at the service
clubs? If so, let
my outraged Brother relax. The service clubs, blessings on 'em,
are acquitting themselves
nobly. It is just that I love our ancient Craft too much to want
to see practices and
philosophies introduced into it which would make a travesty of
Freemasonry; I do not
want to see our Fraternity embrace ways and methods other than
our own. / hope the
Great Architect spares me the anguish of seeing our beloved
Craft watered down to the
point that Master Masons become no more than Rotarians wearing
aprons!
THEN WHAT is
our job if it is not Service to Our Fellow Men?
Is it a Master Mason who raises the question? Doubtless it is. I recall the time
I received a
letter typewritten on an impressive looking letterhead asking my
opinion as to the
purpose of Freemasonry. The writer was a Past Master of his
Lodge, he said, and he
makes speeches on Freemasonry. He went on to acquaint me with
the wisdom that no
organization can exist without a purpose.
Well, it isn't often that I ignore a letter, but I had to pass on that one. I
was not interested
in a Gallup Poll on such a subject. And what could I tell a Past
Master who so obviously
had no clear idea what Freemasonry is all about? He missed his
first opportunity years
and years ago, and never yet has he sought for That Which Was
Lost.
Long before the clubs were ever dreamed of, Freemasonry was rendering Service to
Our
Fellow Men in a multitude of ways, without fanfare and without
bustling "busyness."
Service, benevolence, charity, loyalty to country and flag,
responsible citizenship,
community betterment—these are the
fruits
of its teachings, rather than the reason for its
existence.
Then what do Freemasons contribute to humanity, to the improvement of country
and
community, to serving the needs of our fellow men? What is our
purpose?
The answer, my Brother, is one you might discover for yourself
with profit both to
yourself and the Fraternity. Try finding out what Freemasonry
is
and what it
is not,
and
leave off chafing over what you think it
should be.
Seek, and ye shall find; knock, and the
door shall be opened unto you!
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