This is from the June 1999 issue of the Philalethes----Think about it!!!


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Philalethes, Nelson King, FPS, Editor, 2 Knockbolt Crescent, Agincourt Ontario
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                     The Decline in Masonic Membership
                     It's not completely our fault.
                          by James W Hogg, MPS

Preface:
This article details the thoughts and perceptions of the author, who grew up
in the 1960's and 1970's, as a member of the baby boom generation. It is not
meant to assert that there is only one way of viewing the events leading up to
the present. Necessarily, some generalizations have been made in presenting
this material. Any good lawyer will acknowledge that, for the most part, there
is an exception to every rule. Where reference is made to a "liberal" view,
this describes a philosophical theory or belief- not a political commentary.
The author has attempted to write in a politically neutral style. "Liberalism"
is known to transcend both of the political parties in our two party system of
politics in the United States. Members of both of these parties hold liberal
beliefs to various extent. There are many different ways to look at things.
The purpose of this article is to provoke serious thinking, brought to your
attention by a member of one group Masonry would like to target for future
membership growth. This article merely advances some of these viewpoints as
perceived by the author. Agenda of social engineers of the 60's Society has
changed dramatically since the heyday of Freemasonry after World War II. These
were the days of unprecedented growth in America's economy, bringing with it
prosperity and a wide variety of well paying jobs. During these years, it was
possible for the average wage earner to raise a family on one income. We were
rebuilding our economy in the wake of the war with many new manufacturing
jobs. Back in those years, America was the innovator and virtually all the
well made products came from the industrialized countries, such as the United
States, Germany, and Great Britain. "Made in the U. S. A." became a mark of
quality. Then came the 1960's. What changed? We had a new liberal focus on the
way things should be for a better future. Along with this came the civil
rights protests in the South, resulting in new laws being passed by the
legislature in Washington guaranteeing civil rights to everyone. This conjures
up images of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s famous "I have a dream" speech. No
longer would segregated schools and racial discrimination in this great land
of ours be tolerated. Now, there were laws on the books to prevent this type
of discrimination against others because of their race. Today, these laws are
also being applied with respect to gender. Recent developments in the law
provide that one cannot discriminate against an individual because she happens
to be a woman. Examples of this are the U. S. armed forces and the B.P.0.
Elks. Today, both must accept women among their ranks. This new outlook was to
have a profound influence on not only Freemasonry, but other fraternal
organizations and private clubs throughout the United States. Results of this
change - tax code, public accommodation laws, disdain for private groups The
social engineers of the 60's saw this as an opportunity to re-mold our society
and change things to dismantle the old ways of doing business. This was the
beginning of a new attitude toward private groups and fraternal organizations.
These groups were seen as hotbeds of racial discrimination and no longer of
use to a civilized society where everyone was supposed to be equal. It was
thought that because these groups selected those with whom they wanted to be
associated with by ballot of the membership, this was tantamount to
discrimination. It was also a well known fact that membership in certain of
these organizations benefitted the members in their business endeavors.
Frequently, business meetings were held within the rooms of private clubs.
Thus, the social engineers asked, "why should members of private clubs be
permitted to use their memberships in these clubs to benefit themselves
financially?" They saw this as the epitome of an "old boy's" network, to which
those who were not white male Caucasians were excluded from participation.
With this general analysis as a base, new laws were promulgated. The result is
the familiar rubric of Internal Revenue tax code regulations concerning what a
tax exempt organization can and cannot do with respect to retaining its tax
exempt status. Also, the public accommodation laws on the federal level came
into being, severely restricting what a private group could do if it wished to
remain private and keep its Constitutional First Amendment right of freedom of
association. To quote from coverage of the General Governor's report contained
in the August/September 1997 issue of Moose Magazine, which is the
international publication of the Loyal Order of Moose: "The Private Policy,
which essentially states that only members of the Loyal Order of Moose and the
Women of the Moose may enjoy full Social Quarters privileges within our
Lodges, was emphasized throughout the General Governor's report [to the 109th
International Convention]. He noted that in the U. S., the Internal Revenue
Service has recently stiffened enforcement and penalties against fraternal and
veterans' organizations that sell merchandise to non- members. 'Sales to
non-members threaten a Lodge's right to privacy and its not-for profit
status,' said [David A.] Chainbers [the out-going General Governor]. 'The rule
is simple; you are either a member or a guest, but you cannot be both.
Non-members cannot make purchases in our Lodges. In other words, non-members
cannot spend one penny.  Moose Magazine, p. 14. [emphasis ill original]. From
all of this, it is very clear that our Federal Government has a complete
disdain for private organizations for many of the reasons outlined above.

                             Case in point.
                        Judge David B. Sentelle.
President Reagan nominated judge Sentelle on February 2, 1987, to be a U. S.
circuit judge for the United States Court of Appeals for the District of
Columbia circuit. judge Sentelle happens to be a prominent Mason from North
Carolina, having been unanimously confirmed by the U. S. Senate on October 16,
1985, to be a U. S. District Court judge for the Western District of North
Carolina. It seems that this time, his membership in the Masonic fraternity
became of issue during the nomination and confirmation process in the Senate.
The issue raised there should be very familiar to everyone by now: invidious
racial discrimination. After a lengthy discourse about what the fraternity
represents, a tally of present and past U. S. Presidents and legislators as
being Masons, and a reference to our own Sovereign Grand Commander advising
that Freemasonry does not discriminate based on race, color or creed, judge
Sentelle was confirmed. Freemasonry was under attack in the United States
Senate of all places! I recommend as required reading the Senate proceeding,
which contains the details of this account. It can be found in the 100th
Congress, First Session, p. S-1 1868 to 11870, which was re- printed in
Transactions, The American Lodge of Research, F &A M., Vol XV, No. 3 - 1983.

                Government being the answer to everything
The liberal view of government also embraced the concept that government was
the answer to everything. No matter what the problem was, it could be solved
by establishing another government agency on the federal level. All we had to
do was give this new agency money to address whatever happened to be the
problem of the day. A perfect solution would be found and implemented by the
agency and all would be well with the world. This attitude began with Franklin
D. Roosevelt's "New Deal" era, later to be refined during Lyndon B. Johnson's
"Great Society". Indeed, government also grew in latter years during George
Bush's administration with tax increases and more government regulation
imposed on the people. It was not until the late 60's where we finally
achieved deficit spending on the federal level on a recurring basis. The
belief was, and still is today, that we can spend and tax our way out of all
the problems facing us. High taxes are necessary to maintain a large and
strong central government. This Is one reason why it takes two incomes to
accomplish today what one income could do in the 1950's. The general public is
generally thought to have insufficient knowledge to know what is best for
them. Thus, the need for a large and strong central government. After all,
someone needs to protect the people from themselves. Vietnam era protests,
anti-establishment views The protest movement surrounding the Vietnam War
added fire to this new liberal view of government. The post World War II baby
boomers growing up in the 50's and 60's did not want to fight in this
unpopular war in Southeast Asia. Many asked: just what was the U. S. really
doing there in the first place? These young people saw those running our
country as the establishment and they wanted change. Many saw versions of
socialism as the answer to all of our, problems. Not coincidentally, the
belief was that private groups and clubs, such as Freemasonry, were part of
the establishment. In the eyes of these baby boomers, this was considered bad.
We had a big central government now to take care of all our needs. Private
groups and clubs were no longer considered relevant in this newly
re-engineered society. Another thing that did not set well with these baby
boomers was the way in which our returning Vietnam Veterans were generally
treated by our society. They were openly criticized and, for the most part,
not welcomed back after serving in the armed forces. This was quite a stark
contrast from the welcome that awaited those returning from military service
after World War 11. It is interesting to note that today, many of these baby
boomers are now running our country. It is no small wonder that they feel the
way they do about private organizations such as ours!

              The Re-engineering of our Educational system.
Concerning perceptions gained by our youth regarding fraternal organizations,
there is one other dynamic that comes into play and that concerns how our
children have been educated in the recent past. The social engineers also were
able to influence our institutions of higher learning, convincing educators
that the new liberal view of government was good for the country and would
vastly improve the standard of living for everyone - particularly those who
were poor or disadvantaged. The siren call was irresistible. Who could
possibly be against helping the poor and enhancing educational and
occupational opportunities for the disadvantaged? Opposing these ideals would
be un-American! Thus, we instituted a socially responsible curriculum in
America's schools and colleges. Those of us who grew up under this new system
were taught all about the evils of race discrimination and how the government
was there to help us, doing many great things for the people. We were also
taught that collective bargaining was good for America and that, generally,
big business was greedy and had no interest in its workers' well being. We
were also taught that the Keynesian theory of economics was the universal and
accepted way of studying business and economic cycles in America. Let us not
forget the concept of new math - also a product of the 60's. None of our
educational materials ever mentioned Freemasonry, the Moose, Elks, the
American Legion, V. F. W., or the many other worthy organizations in existence
at the time. Only one time do I recall a passing reference to the Grange and
its relationship to farming being mentioned in connection with a social
studies course I had in grade school. None of the schools I attended ever had
any programs where groups such as these ever conducted a program or
presentation for the students. I had never heard of Freemasonry until I was a
junior in high school and then I happened upon it only because I was a stamp
collector. To make matters worse, I could find nothing in my high school or
university libraries that would tell me what Freemasonry was! (Note: I grew up
in the Northeast.) This raises an interesting question: How can fraternal
organizations encourage people to join them if prospective members have no
clue as to what a fraternal organization does and has to offer? Put another
way, people will not enter a store unless they perceive that there is
something within that store which they can obtain to fulfill a need. Remember,
however, that one major reason for this lack of available information was that
private groups were seen as being part of what was wrong with America!

                    Change in corporate culture and
                     financial rewards to employees.

The gradual shift in the moral perception of society is reflected in the new
corporate culture in existence today. In the years that my father pursued his
career, loyalty and hard work were usually rewarded by promotions and the
ability to climb the corporate ladder to success. This made career planning
relatively easy. Also, many companies shared their profits with the employees
because, after all, they were the ones who made the wheels turn generating
corporate earnings. When the company did well, so did the workers. Profit
sharing today, generally, is now relegated to the top corporate executives and
the shareholders of a corporation. When the workers do get profit sharing, it
is not as generous as the way it was in the old days. A case in point is this:
A neighbor who lived across the street from me while I was growing up received
a profit sharing' bonus in the early 1950's amounting to $30,000 from her
employer. (Note: that is $30,000 in early 1950's dollars. Think about what
that would be worth today.) At the time, she was an executive secretary for a
mining firm that mined Molybdenum, a mineral used in the steel making process.
The company she worked for was a predecessor to another company, which is
known today as Amerax. She informed me that everyone in the firm received
bonuses like this that particular year, according to position and years of
service. When she received her bonus, she was called into the President's
office, made to feel comfortable, and told that the firm was grateful for her
services as an employee. It was at that time she was handed the envelope
containing the $30,000 check. In the years following, the bonuses were
smaller, more typically amounting to anywhere from one half to 100% of her
salary for the previous year. The story nowadays is different. While profit
sharing does exist today, it rarely reaches heights such as in this example
just described. There are, of course, exceptions - such as securities firms on
Wall Street after an extraordinarily successful bull market year. As for wages
in general, it should be noted that the relationship between a top executive's
pay and the average worker's pay today continues to grow in disproportionate
ways. This is a matter of public record. just pick up a proxy statement for
almost any public corporation and this fact becomes very evident.

                   Loyalty generally goes unrewarded,
                      employment security suffers.
Today, we are in an era of mergers and acquisitions, resulting in a constant
re-engineering of a company's reason for existence. This generally means that
downsizing for competitiveness is in order. This includes layoffs to make way
for productivity advances through the use of technology and automation.
Loyalty is generally no longer a part of the equation. An employee's loyalty
to company A is meaningless when company B steps in and acquires company A.
There is no longer employment security, especially after a merger has taken
place or when an economic recession grips the economy. This is evidenced by
the sheer number of workers who job hop regularly. The economic fortunes of a
company are more tenuous today as well. For example, look at the Hudson Foods
scare, where E.Coli bacteria was found in meat processed by this firm. This
resulted in an expensive recall of processed meat, ultimately resulting in the
company being sold to another corporation. One can only wonder if the owners
of Hudson Foods received a fair price for their company! Consider also the
number of jobs that were lost after Wells Fargo Corporation acquired First
Interstate Bank Corp. and the former began downsizing the product of the two
combined organizations. These are just two of many examples one could cite.

                    Civility in business is lacking.

Civility in competition between business existed in the 60's when I was
growing up. Rarely did one see a business deprecating its competition in
advertisements during that era. Today, one hears it on a daily basis. A case
in point is the current burger war between McDonald's and Burger King. The
tatter introduced a burger that is very similar to one marketed by McDonald's
and has been advertising that "the Big King is better than the Big Mac because
it's bigger and more tasty." Back then, this was just not done. The competitor
was simply referred to as "brand X"

                       Freemasonry in prospective.

As Masons, we are all aware of what Freemasonry represents and what it
teaches. I need not reiterate them here. Our ceremonies are beautiful and the
lessons taught in them are great. There is no doubt about this. However, look
at modern life today. We have experienced a decline in civility, increase in
crime, and a general lack of concern for others. Would this condition exist
today if our fraternity were as powerful and influential as it was years ago?
That, unfortunately, is a question that none of us can really answer. We would
all hope that the answer is a resounding "no." We must all attempt to find a
way to make Freemasonry relevant and applicable to our fellow man in today's
society. Failure to do this will mean Freemasonry's eventual extinction in
future years.

                      Masonic Renewal Success is a
                       journey, not a destination
A lot has changed in the United States in the last 40 years. Unfortunately, we
in the Masonic Fraternity were not paying attention to these changes over
those many years. One of the great things we have established in the
fraternity, which is long overdue, is a Masonic Renewal Plan. We are
attempting to define Freemasonry as it applies to society today. No longer is
it possible for us to continue doing things as they have been done in the
past. Today, we must identify benefits that we can confer on our new members,
find new ways to satisfy their needs for associating with their fellow men,
and new ways to benefit new Masons' families and their communities. Do we know
what these needs are and how to fulfill them? After all, isn't this what we
are really "selling" in our Masonic "store"? The only way we will be able to
restore Masonry to its former position of respect in society is through hard
work, good public relations, and providing solutions to the needs of today's
society. We have some very capable brothers behind this effort, along with
some very talented professionals to help us implement the plans. My prayers
are that these efforts will pay off. However, the results will be hard won and
will certainly come slowly. We must remember that true success is a journey
and not a destination. There is no such thing as instant success in any field.
We all must do the best we can if we want to preserve the rich heritage of our
fraternity for those who will follow us in the years to come.
