Greetings, Sir Knights! I was pleasantly surprised at the number of messages I received last week after sending out “Part 41” in this series. Thank you! I read and respond to every message, and appreciate your feedback always.
A quote from President William Henry Harrison. – “There is nothing more corrupting, nothing more destructive of the noblest and finest feelings of our nature, than the exercise of unlimited power.”
This is an interesting statement from a man who woujld go on to serve the briefest time as President of the United States. Harrison was also asked to make a pledge to not appoint any Masons to positions in states where they was an Anti-Masonic majority. We should note that Harrison refused to make such a pledge.
While Harrison’s comment is in the context of politics, I think we KnightsTemplar, and Freemasons in general, should reflect on this in our context. We have a tradition, and in some cases, Masonic law, that grants virtually unchecked authority to the presiding officers of our Masonic bodies at all levels. Masters of lodges, like Commanders of commanderies, have wide-reaching powers that are almost limitless. At the Grand Lodge level, the authority of a grand master is as absolute as any, and in some cases, can be exercised on a member of any Masonic body in his jurisdiction (Note: In some jurisdictions, the powers of the grand master over appendant and collateral bodies is more one of persuasion, but an edict to withdraw recognition is a powerful tool at the grand master’s disposal). We hope and pray that those we elevate to leadership positions will always operate with prudence and caution, but all too often, we have seen this power used in an arbitrary or imprudent manner. Unfortunately, in most of our organizations, there is no real path to challenge these actions by the membership.
Perhaps it is time for us to reconsider this. Here is an example for your consideration:
Clearly, we learned a lesson in the events leading up to the Special Conclave in March 2022, and the voting members assembled in Conclave were able to take some steps, but not without a great deal of acrimony and confusion as to the rules, methods, and procedures. Part of the problem we faced is that our Constitution, Statutes, and Decisions (hereafter CSD) are extremely complex, and while trhey attempt to address every situation, in trying to do so we find contradictions and areas of interpretation that make Solomon’s baby-splitting decision look like playing tic-tac-toe. We speak of the “wisdom of Solomon” as a guiding principle for our Masonic leaders, but in reality, Solomon set a standard that very few, if any, men or women can match today.
We might be wise in looking at the role, duties, and powers of our presiding officers with a blank page of paper in fron of us, and in the course of conversation among us create a list of things which should be a part of the presiding officer’s function and, more importantly, what limits should be applied to those functions, and what functions of the office can be subject to review, ratification, or rejection by the membership. For example, while an appointed officer indeed serves at the will and pleasure of the appointing authority, should a presiding officer have the power to single-handedly remove an elected officer, and if so, should it be permitted for any reason of the presiding officer’s making, or should there be guidelines as to what are valid reasons and whether or not formal consensus from others (such as other elected officers or the voting members) is necessary. Additionally, should there be a formal procedure for appealing these decisions and actions?
I am not suggesting we create a CSD that is the size of the US Internal Revenue Code (which is more than 4,500 pages in length!), or even adding to our 200-plus page document (about 10 times the length of the Consitution of the United States of America when printed at the same type face, size, and margins). I’m suggesting that it is probably time for us to take a fresh look with a clean sheet of paper and start from scratch. I don’t have a particular model in mind, and even if I did, I would not necessarily present it in this forum, because this is a topic for conversation and discussion and not to be handed down from the mountaintop by a single person. This fresh look should address not only this issue, but our entire operation from top to bottom. Some questions to ponder include:
- What are our purposes?
- What things must be under the control of the Grand Encampment?
- What is best left under the oversight of the Grand Commandery?
- What is the ultimate responsibility of the local Commandery?
- What should we not be doing at any level?
President Harrison’s words are helpful to guide us in conversation and in our day-to-day work even without a review of our governing documents. Unlimited, absolute power is indeed dangerous, and frankly, is really contrary to what we teach and believe as Freemasons that we all meet upon the level in our actions with one another. I’d love to hear what you might think on this and other topics related to Masonic and Templar governance.
I appreciate your time and would also appreciate your support and vote to be the next Deputy Grand Master when we gather in Conclave in August 2024.