Jim Tresner, 33°, Grand Cross
P.O. Box 70, Guthrie, Oklahoma 73044–0070

Hardening of the mental arteries can happen subtly, even when we think
we are guarding against it.

The beautiful but evil queen in "Snow White" wasn't really asking a question, of course, when she asked her magic mirror who was the fairest one of all. She wasn't seeking information—she was seeking reassurance. "Thou art the fairest in the land," was the answer she fully expected to get. She was annoyed and angered when the mirror said that Snow White was more beautiful.

I have been thinking about the mirror recently, when I think about the future of Masonry. Are we asking the mirror for information, or are we asking it to tell us what we want to hear? For example, in a state which shall remain unnamed, a Masonic organization, which shall remain unidentified, recently held its annual meeting. The issues to be discussed centered around two topics: "How could the organization attract more young members to join?" And "Should we add an extra day to the annual meeting so there will be more time for introductions?" The irony was painful. I was talking about it to a friend.

"Tim," I said, "can't they see that young people aren't interested in endless introductions? If they want to attract young persons, that's the worst possible way to do it!"

"You don't understand, Jim," he replied. "They don't want to attract younger members; they want to attract old persons in younger bodies. They want members who like the same things they like, want to do the same things they want to do, love dressing up—but are 40 years younger."

Mirror, mirror on the wall.

This organization and others like it are rapidly dying. The prime reasons are that their leaders cannot agree on a long-term plan and that they have no interest in adapting to the world. As one of the leaders actually said to me, "As long as it stays the way it is for my lifetime, I don't care if it dies." It's going to be a close race. I'd guess there are about 10 years left for both.

I'm not picking on or attacking these particular organizations. I have the same concern for all of Masonry. I wonder if we may all be guilty of doing the same thing. Are we seeking young members in the Fraternity so we can benefit them by our teachings and experience, while benefiting ourselves from their energy, their new ideas, their creative restlessness, their insights into their world—essential elements they can bring to us? Or are we simply wanting a blank slate on which we can chalk our opinions, our ways of doing things, our view of the world? What would the mirror tell us?

This hardening of the mental arteries can happen subtly, even when we think we are guarding against it. For most of my life, I have predictably been one of the youngest Masons in any Masonic gathering. One of my favorite soapbox speeches is the importance of the old guard listening to the ideas from us young guys. I was holding forth on that recently.

"Tres," said Greg, gently for him, "have you looked in a mirror recently?"

"Oh!… ah…humph…On the other hand, we must never forget the need for the experience, the calm judgement, the sense of perspective and even detachment which comes only with age and experience!"

Mirror, mirror on the wall.
Must all my pet illusions fall?

I suddenly realized I was old enough to have fathered any of the men I was talking with. I had long ago ceased to be a "young Turk" and was well on the way to becoming an old coot. And I am not alone in my cootage. We often ignore what is important to our younger members, even the way they live their lives and communicate. And we do that to our peril.

It is the mantra of the moss-backs that Masonry never changes—but that simply isn't true. We don't meet above taverns any more. We don't share the festive board nearly as often as our Masonic ancestors did (and what a pity that is). We know that the Master Mason Degree is relatively new, coming into the system just before 1730. You need only read the old exposures to know that the Masonic ritual of today would be barely recognizable to such Brethren as George Washington or Benjamin Franklin. The ideas, the truths, the teachings are still here, but they are garbed in language those Brethren would never have heard in Lodge.

That has been the great genius of Masonry over the generations. It has changed. It has kept its foundations while adapting to the world in which it finds itself. It has always been a meeting place for both older men and younger men, not just old men in old or young bodies.

If we look, really look, into that mirror, if we ask about what the younger potential members of today really want, we may not like some of the answers.

It is a fact that only 5% to 8% of those who carry Masonic membership cards are active in Freemasonry, in the sense of attending regularly or taking an officer position in their Masonic organization. A smaller percentage than that like memorizing. We have all the evidence anyone could need that the necessity of memorizing lengthy speeches is a major deterrent to anyone petitioning the Fraternity or continuing past their first encounters with the Craft. States which have substituted Masonic education, even rigorous education, for most of the memorized categorical lectures have found that they not only have a more informed member, they have more members. Wisconsin is a case in point.

It is a fact that conferrals on more than one Candidate at a time attract more members. These ceremonies have to be done with thought and without any intent of "running people through the system," but they work, and not just in the short run. Research done in the Grand Lodge of Oklahoma shows that the men who joined in the "Chance to Advance" conferrals of the Fellowcraft and Master Mason Degrees are LESS likely to go suspended (roughly 20% less likely) and MORE likely to learn officer's parts and be active in their Lodges (11.5% as opposed to the traditional 5% to 8%). Yet the howls of protest continue from those who want old men in young bodies, not younger men, to petition the Fraternity.

It is a fact that, while a majority don't want to memorize the words of Masonic ritual, whatever the Masonic organization, they do enjoy hearing it. The words are old—they were in an archaic style even when they were written—but the words and language pattern have a beauty to which the young respond. We've found that out in many interviews.

But younger members share with older members the desire to hear it well done. They are not anti-ritual, but they want it to be meaningful. And they are patiently amused, not moved, when it is accompanied by music transferred from 78rpm records to tape or CD, scratches and all, sounding like the background of a 1940s radio soap opera.

Most of all, perhaps, they want quality. The present generation has grown up expecting the best, and, generally, they have received it. Whatever one may think of most of the shows on television (my cootage is showing again), they are expensively produced, with excellent production values and attention to detail.

Members of this generation expect the organizations they join to have quality. As to the things one finds in many (certainly not all) Blue Lodges—stained ceiling tiles, worn carpets, bathrooms not quite in repair and not quite clean, steep stairs on which you have to know which treads to step over because they are loose, chairs in need of refinishing, burned-out light bulbs—they are less forgiving than those of us to whom these details are simply part of the background.

Mirror, mirror on the wall
How do they see our meeting hall?

Younger people generally communicate by the Internet. It annoys them when a Masonic organization does not have a web site they can visit for information. They point out that if a mom-and-pop corner grocery store can be on the net, there's no reason their Masonic organization can't be there, too. That's a difficult one for those of us in the coot tradition. Several younger Masons have been after me to start a web site, and they have trouble believing me when I tell them I don't have the remotest idea what to do with one. But, like it or not, it is the way they communicate, and we had best learn to follow suit.

We don't have to sell out. They don't want that. They are even willing to learn from us. But they will learn on their terms, not ours. They will respect the fact that Masonry teaches through symbols and allegories—it's a new way for most of them to learn, but most whom I know personally find it interesting and challenging. Yet it would be a good idea to develop a video game which contains some of the great lessons of Masonry as well.

For them, the mirror on the wall bears a striking resemblance to a computer monitor. I've seen a whole room full of them get excited when you point out that the Degrees and the Star Wars films tell much the same story. They will listen, they will join us, and they will get excited about Masonry in all its aspects. If we're just smart enough to look in the mirror.