In most Grand Lodges with which I am familiar, the strong line
between Freemasonry and politics is heavily emphasized and zealously
maintained, which is why it surprised me to read an article talking
about a Philippino Grand Master endorsing a presidential candidate. the
article states,
In his welcome remarks, [Most Worshipful Roberto Q.] Pagotan said that the group "claims with pride a special kinship" with [President Arroyo] as her grandfather, Juan Macaraeg was a freemason.
Quite strange, isn't it? I would be quite interested in hearing how readers' grand lodges deal with external politics.
Even stranger, of course, is to follow Freemasonry back in history, and
to view its strong ties to various social and political movements.
Freemasonry has been tied to the French
Revolution, the
American Revolution, and various South
American revolutionary movements. In fact, in the United States the
influence of Freemasonry on our political landscape can be seen in the Morgan Affair and
the subsequent formation of the Anti-Mason
Party. W
B D. Beagley provides a great analysis of
Freemasonry in social and political trends in his
paper, Historiography and Revolutionary Freemasonry.
In closing this journal entry, I thought I would mention a bit about
what's going on in my own Masonic life. Currently I am serving as
Junior Warden of my lodge, and it is a good deal of work. We've been
having degree work this year, but of course not as much as we'd like.
