by Homeless Halo » Mon Nov 14, 2005 1:26 am
no, not my father.<br><br>although, his father, yes.<br>and my mother's side father's father. and all my uncles on both sides. We are heavily mixed into Lodge activity, but my family is not from THIS area, so I've never been in "local" Lodges before, most of them being LITERALLY, much larger places than where my family is from.<br><br>My father, while not being actively involved, has a number of opinions on Freemasonry, which generally intersect with my own, that is, they informed my own greatly. As per my family, it is generally viewed as mostly a "frat boys club" kind of entity which allows for "economic" opportunities in general, although the consensus among members is that it is highly hegmonized and protective of its former "more esoteric" incarnations, to the point of pretending they don't exist.<br><br>I've "inherited" a large number of documents and "artifacts", and been inside the more "universal" areas of a Lodge. MY interest in the local Lodge is somewhat different, as it is mostly a matter of it being in entirely new scales to me. Where my family was from, in the hills, my family is deeply involved in the "internal politics" of their local areas, so we know firsthand what can come with such organizations, but in the general sense, the organization itself is not a malevolent entity, IME. The worst thing any of my forerunners did with their connections was get out of the low caste into the medium caste and cheat on their wives. On my father's side our dealings are more complicated as there is likewise an exceedingly long history of military involvement, normally at the mid-to-lower level(since about c.e.1500). For example, my father wildly credits my great-grandfather's friendship (babysitting) with General Hartinger, who was a "family friend" of ours, with helping him get noticed for a spot at OTS while he was enlisted, things like that. My family still maintains some possessions/properties in the area, although largely we have migrated following the failing of the coal industry nearby in which we had stake. Either that or involvement in and/or against the Nuclear Power industry that took its place. <br><br>I'm certain that others receive similar assitance through networking, and that especially in larger-scale industrial/urbanized areas a great deal of abuse is possible.<br><br>My Great Uncle died not so long ago, and he had a Masonic Service. It was fascinating, especially from my point of view, as I, unlike many of the "younger" generations (less than 50) understood much of their symbolic structure. And the funny hats are appealing.<br><br><br><br><br> <p></p><i></i>
