Causes of waning interest

Title

Creator

Talatala, Lorenzo

Identifier

Low pressure area

Language

English

Source

The Cabletow Volume XLII (No. 1) January 1966

Year

1966

Rights

In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted

Fulltext

Low pressure area. . . By WB LORENZO TALATALA, PM If we are to conduct a study along the lines of membership and attend ance of every individual Masonic Lodge in this jurisdiction, we shall find that both can be represented by a very irregular graph, at times going up, at times going down. When con ditions are favorable and attractive, membership and attendance tend to rise and when conditions are unfavor able, the opposite occurs. There arc Lodges which some years ago were teeming in attendance, but today they can hardly meet for lack of quorum. On the other hand, a few years ago, there were Lodges which could hardly meet due to poor attendance, but today they are very active and may be said to be the pride of the Fraternity. But will this be permanent? Experience has taught us that they are temporary and “seasonal”. Many reasons for these may be cited. For the present, I propose to dwell on the negative side of the issue by enumerating a few reasons why interest in Masonry is declining among many members of the Craft, all of which, however, can still be remedied if only the brethren will govern themselves accordingly — as they should. No amount of effort from the brethren, no amount of power (except Divine power) can solve the problem of waning interest in Masonry among the brethren, un less they themselves come to realize their shortcomings, remember their OBs towards their Lodges and towards their brethren. Some of the outstand ing reasons why a considerable num ber of brethren became inactive, lost interest in attending Lodge meetings and risked suspension for non-payment of dues may be cited, thus: 1. Some members of the Craft, when they grow up in stature in public life or in public offiae, become unap proachable, particularly to ordinary members. In more appropriate terms, they cease to be on the level. This, to a great extent, causes disappoint ment among sensitive members, who come to believe that in Masonry, al though a universal institution and founded under the theory of the brotherhood of man under the Father hood of God, class distinctions exist which separate the elite from the non elite. The non-elite feel that they are only remembered when a crowd is needed, when a count is to be made and when their support is needed for certain objectives to glorify the elite members in their quest for more glories and personal edification and self-ag grandizement. 2. Moral cowardice among some members who fear persecution by church leaders. This is exempli fied by a few politicians, who are af raid to lose votes because of religious ire and persecution. Some are even afraid of the very thought of the refusal of the local Parish Priest to bury them in the Catholic cemetery when they die, and thus be separated from the rempins of the members of their families. As a consequence, they sacrifice and give up their Masonic beliefs and convictions, for the peace of mind of the members of their fam ilies and of their own. Casual ob servations made in the homes of the brethren show, that less than fifty per cent of the members of the Craft, hang their Masonic Diplomas in con spicuous places of their homes. They Turn to next peso 11 are either still rolled and kept inside their lockers or displayed only in their private rooms where no visitors will take notice of them. The reason is obvious, to hide them from the view of people who may ridicule and criti cize his being a member of the Masonic Fraternity. Is this not moral coward ice, hiding their identities instead of being proud of it, ready to be counted, and above all to defend it against its enemies. While there is yet time, it will be for the benefit of the Order and of these types of members them selves, that they should at once choose the way they want to travel — stick with us or stray from us for good. After all, the Craft needs only mem bers with sincere Masonic feelings in their hearts and a firm belief in their convictions, not those who easily bend to pressure and harassment by evil forces tending to undermine our insti tution. 3. Lack of positive and effective leadership among some Lodge officers: They only meet with the brethren- in side the tyled Lodge and nowhere else. They should go out of their way and far, to eftect fraternal contact with the brethren outside the Lodge. They should be the cohesive force to bind and unite the brethren. The brethren look upon their officers for proper guidance as well as for brotherly love all the time. When the officers neg lect these, it becomes difficult to main tain harmony, unity and zeal in the Fraternity. The brethren expect of their officers extra efforts, extra sacri fices, if only to produce results that will promote the best interest of the Order. 4. Lack of sincerity among many brethren in joining the Fraternity: Some join for curiosity, while some for convenience, and still some for mer cenary motives. This can be traced since the early days of Masonry in the Philippines. When the late Pres ident Manuel L. Quezon was very active in Masonry during his days, many influential men joined the Fra ternity to court his favor for good positions in the government. When he died many Masons faded away from the Fraternity. Look for a govern ment office today whose head is an active Mason. Sooner or later you will see many of his subordinates join Masonry. Then when the same head of the office comes down from his chair, many of his subordinates who joined the Fraternity because of his being in a high position, become in active one after the other. Some peo ple only join the Fraternity because they are planning to travel or study abroad, in order to enjoy the care and protection of all Mason withersoever dispersed. When they return home after enjoying their travels, they do not even make it a point to report to the Lodge or to attend its meetings. Such is the motive of some of our members, although fortunately, they are but few in number. For a fact, they are merely members of the Lodge, but not Masons in the strict defini tion of the word, in their hearts or in their spirits. 5. Majority of the brethren find the Lodge too monotonous for them when not given assignments and have nothing to do inside the Lodge. They feel that they are not important when they do not participate in the floor work. Some brethren are in the habit of monopo lizing the work to the neglect of others. What is more disconcerting is the fact that some brethren think fiat they are the only ones in sole possession of the knowledge of Masonry and the rituals. The habit of correcting others during ceremonies, causes embarrassment and confusion on the part of the corrected brother. While it is necessary that a brother be helped when he needs it, in the course of the ritual, it should only be given when he asks for it and should be in whispers inaudible to the candidate. Everybody should be en 12 The Cabletow couraged to study and participate in Lodge work, if interest in the Frater nity is to be preserved and maintained and attendance improved. 6. Lack of punctuality : Many mem bers become impatient and disgusted when the Lodge cannot meet on time due to late comers and poor attendance. We should realize and consider the fact that most of the members of the Craft are busy people and time is very val uable to them. By the irregularity of some in coming to the Lodge, the en tire Lodge suffers, some members lose their zeal and interest in utter dis gust. This can be corrected, easily, if the brethren will only remember that punctuality is not only a virtue, but also a Masonic duty towards his brethren and to the Lodge of which he is a member. 7. Un-Masonic conduct of sonic brethren outside the Lodge: The fra ternity is replete with records of unMasonic conduct committed by some brethren. Immorality of some mem bers, even among those whom the OB specifically forbids, arc committed ma ny a time. Some have been accused of un-Masonic conduct, some are just tolerated, some are just forgotten and written on the four winds of heaven. The effect to the Fraternity is fatal and the damage incalculable. Drun kenness, excessive gambling and abuse of fraternal confidence are common Masonic oltenses — all leading towards the derogation of this ancient and honorable Fraternity. If we do not guard against these un-Masonic actua tions by some members of the Craft, we will some day, and soon perhaps, find ourselves not onlv dwindling in number, but also ridiculed by the public. 8. Lack of proper decorum among some brethren inside the Lodge: They make the Lodge a place to practice their oratorical prowess, like politic ians, to the annoyance of the more sensible and seasoned members. The Lodge should not be the place for bom bastic speeches and grandstand play. Some even make it a place to chat and make jokes, even when the Lodge is at labor. They forget the fact that solemnity which is one of the ancient customs and usages of the Craft, should be observed and maintained in all our ceremonies. 9. Many members, when they reach the higher degrees and become affiliat ed with appendant bodies, lose in terest in the Blue Lodge, to devote most of their time to the higher bo dies. This should not be the case, because the moment the foundation of an edifice is shaken the entire struc ture will collapse. 10. Some members expect too much from both the Lodge and the brethren in the way of material assistance, and failing to obtain what they want, lose interest and fade away. Thus, a bro ther trying to have his child admitted in our Masonic Hospital, but failed because of a contagious illness with which the child is afflicted, got disap pointed and lost interest in Masonry. brother who failed to obtain a pro motion under his Chief, who is also a brother, got disappointed and lost faith in the sincerity of many brethren. A contractor brother, who failed to have his voucher passed in audit by the Auditor who is also a brother, because of some auditing requirements which must first be complied with, blamed Masonry for not getting what he wanted. Of course the above-cited cases arc unreasonable, bordering on un-Masonic conduct. We should al ways bear in mind that our critics do not distinguish between founded and unfounded innuendoes — all they are interested in is the downfall of Freemasonry. Brethren, let us face the facts squarely. Let us all combine our forces to promote interest in the Fraternity. A January, 1966 13

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