No Kings Required

Do you remember when growing up how people used to say the United States has no tradition? I remember hearing things like "the only tradition America has are football and rock n’ roll" and wondered what a real tradition or custom would feel like. At the time I assumed that each family was responsible for its own customs and left it at that. But after I met my father-in-law I learned about Masonry. And then I learned that Masonry is America’s tradition.

Not many people appreciate how many elements of Masonry ring out in The Constitution. The right to assemble, equality, and freedom of religion are but a few examples. Even fewer people know that the Masonic fraternity was one of the first institutions to adopt the use of a constitution, pre-dating America’s use of a constitution by nearly three quarters of a century. The key behind the word ‘constitution’ is that it comes from constituent, where the whole is made up of the sum of the parts. In other words, Man’s rights were ordained by God, not by kings. So by extension our country's founding documents arise from (and for) our fellow and equal man, also known as We The People.

The funny thing about Masonry is that it has been deliberately kept the same for hundreds of years. I think we’re close to 300 now. And it actually has custodians that are in charge of keeping it the same. It even has a Grand Custodian. And at the local level there are Schools Of Instruction to make sure each Lodge practices the craft accordingly.

Now Masonry at one point in this country’s history was wildly popular. That’s because Masonry – the same now as it was then – happened to resonate with the men at the time. As time marched on, life and values changed. And as the values of a society vacillate so too does Masonry’s popularity. I said ‘funny’ earlier because in present times Masonry has a certain counter culture feel to it; that’s because Masonry is about synthesizing or bringing men together and today the gradient is towards separation, individuation, materialism, digitization, and literalism.

So in a sense Masonry’s relationship to America is like a sociological experiment. But America was an experiment in the first place – an experiment of the highest order. I feel honored to be able to participate in America's tradition, even if it is a thread through history.

W:. Tim Walters