EGO
This Short Talk Bulletin is the last scheduled to be published under the
Editorship of R. W Brother Stewart Pollard who has served for the past ten years
as Executive Secretary of The Masonic Service Association. In it he expresses
personal opinions based upon his observations in travels to almost every
Jurisdiction in the United States.
All-too-frequently we hear of Masonic leaders being on an "ego trip." Or, we
hear that they are "stumbling over their own egos." Then there are such remarks
as, "He turned into a 'monster' after he went into office," or "whatever
happened to 'meeting on the level'?"
Those comments are not all without some foundation. There are, and have been,
Masonic leaders who are carried away with their own importance. Yes, and there
are some who let the title go to their heads, and who forget from whence they
came.
Ego is a strange thing. We all should have a certain amount of it to
demonstrate our pride in our abilities, in our accomplishments, and in our
self-respect. It is only when we get to the point that we tend to believe that
we're better, smarter or more important than the next fellow that ego gets in
our way.
Masonry has never been considered a democratic society. The Master of a lodge
is not only its leader, but more importantly he is its greatest servant. As
such, he has an obligation to serve his lodge and his brethren, not for his own
glory and honor, but for the good of the lodge. He must be prudent in all of his
words and actions, and if necessary, subjugate his own desires to those of the
lodge.
Masters, though, are not the only ones whose egos have a tendency to hurt the
Craft. Longfellow said, "Into each life some rain must fall...." The phrase
might well be reworded to "In almost every lodge there is a nitpicker." Or so it
seems. There are some of our brethren who are never satisfied. They look for an
excuse to: criticize; to complain; to "jaw", to sound off; to grouch;--to
nitpick. Their ego, as shown by their need to be heard, is frequently a thorn in
the side of the Master and officers. They have a tendency to ruffle feathers.
The Masonic Service Association recently received a letter from an irate Past
Grand Master who had read in a Masonic publication a paper bearing the by-line
of a Grand Lodge Officer in a sister jurisdiction. It was a good, thought
provoking well-written article which caused the Past Grand Master to do added
research on the topic.
What prompted his ire and disgust was that in his research he came across a
Short Talk Bulletin of twenty-five years ago which sounded very familiar. When
he compared it with the recent publication, he found that it was word-for-word,
sentence-by-sentence and paragraph-for-paragraph, identical to the Short Talk
Bulletin, yet the "author" had not had the courtesy to give credit where credit
was due. His ego had permitted him to let readers think it was his words and his
thoughts.
The story has been told of a Grand Master who was so puffed up with his own
importance that his officers jokingly suggested that his theme song should be,
"How Great Thou Art." Most of us have seen Masters of lodges who think that the
title "Worshipful" was created just for their benefit.
And then there are PAST officers whose egos won't let them relinquish the
gavel. Two people with their hands on the steering wheel at the same time can
make it an unpleasant trip for the other passengers. If the Master is not in
control of the lodge, its an unpleasant experience for the brethren. The old
expression, too many cooks spoil the broth, is equally applicable to the
management of a lodge or a grand lodge.
Yes! An overzealous ego can and does damage our Craft. It is a by-product of
poor leadership traits, which we need to identify early in our progressive
lines. In many cases, ego can be tempted by "whispering words of wise counsel in
the ear of an erring brother." In a "worse-case scenario," when it is obvious
that the over-blown ego cannot be controlled, it may be necessary to pass the
brother over at the next election.
In The Freemason's Monitor, written by Thomas Smith Webb in 1799, he
observes: "that all, who accept offices and exercise authority, should be
properly qualified to discharge the task assigned them, with honor to
themselves, and credit to their sundry stations." The same is just as true
almost two hundred years later.
When elected to office, the brothers are confident that the one elected has
the qualifications and ability to lead and has the best interests of the lodge
at heart. He is expected to conform to the principle of the order, "by steadily
persevering in the practice of very commendable virtue."
An often-quoted verse, titled "The Indispensable Man," is frequently used to
illustrate the unnecessary value of egotism. It bears repeating.
Sometime when you're feeling important, Sometime when your ego's in bloom,
Sometime when you take it for granted You're the best qualified in the room;
Sometime when you feel that your going Would leave an unfillable hole Just
follow these simple instructions And see how they humble your soul. Take a
bucket and fill it with water Put your hand in it up to the wrist, Pull it out,
and the hole that's remaining Is a measure of how you'll be missed. You can
splash all you want when you enter, You may stir up the water galore: But stop,
and you find that in no time It looks quite the same as before. The moral in
this quaint example Is to do just the best that you can; Be proud of yourself,
but remember There's no indispensable man.
A noted management psychologist, Dr. James G. Carr of Charlotte, North
Carolina, in an article in PACE magazine, summed it up this way:
Power-hungry people do occupy high stations in life at times and some abuse
their power; but to condemn all leaders on those grounds-including those whose
primary motive was to serve or those who simply filled a vacuum left by the less
competent or less motivated--is ridiculous.
Even the selfish did not attain those positions by selfishness alone. With
predictable exceptions, authority usually has something to do with
accomplishment and contribution; and, in the final analysis, we may have to
concede that those who get the most--whether selfishly motivated or not--are
sometimes those who have given the most.
The Master who completes his year in the East with satisfaction can quote
those famous American philosophers, Bartles and Jaymes, by saying to the
brethren, "Thank you for your support."
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