I was at a get-together tonight, and someone I didn't know started talking to me, and they asked me who I was going to vote for - when I told them I didn't like their favorite candidate, and that I would rather vote for _(insert candidate from opposite partisan group here)_, their friendly demeanor turned icy in a heart-beat, and they were off to talk to someone else in less than two seconds. Well! If that's the way they want to be! That got me thinking .. huh, I bet this is why there's that rule about not talking about politics in lodge.I'm sure the person I was talking to (however briefly) and I would have gotten along quite well enough, but the wedge of politics was driven between us before we could start a decent conversation. Does it really matter who we are going to vote for? Very few people share all the views of any political candidate, and so who they choose to vote for is merely a matter of their impressions and what they have read and what party they belong to. But, even in the party *I* belong to, I totally disagree with some of the candidates (like the one this person was advocating), as well as agree with a few of the candidates in the other camps.
Instead of focusing on dividing ourselves into different groups and viewpoints, we should get together and talk about what should be done to fix our problems. We all agree that there ARE problems, we just disagree about how to fix them. Just remember, no matter what any of the candidates SAY, the only way to change things is through each community.
I always think, when looking through the news during a major election... "wow, I wonder what kind of amazing things could be done with x amount of million dollars that is just being wasted... parks, schools, jobs ..."
Masonry is one place where this community service can start. Of course, anything of that sort needs to involve the whole community before it can really make a difference. Keeping the instant divisions that politics tend to create out of the lodge allows its members to ACT! where none of the political parties will never succeed.
So, next time someone asks you - So who are you voting for? think twice before answering.
3 comments:
There have been two blogs that have discussed religion and politics, seperately. Both of them stepped on my toes; pushed my buttons. Made me not want to read them even though I've always found them informative and good resources.
It's hard (for me at least) to get past what a person says sometimes, if it is an important issue to me.
There were other, more pressing issues in England at the time this prohibition was passed. If you disagreed politically, you could still be executed for it. The consequence is increased harmony and brotherhood. Good.
I guess it's still really the same reaction, people in general were a lot quicker to kill others they disagreed with (about things they considered important) then is all.
And don't forget. In most jurisdictions, not only are you not allowed to discuss politics, but you're not allowed to discuss how you voted. Imagine that, people voting based on their own compass, not the thoughts of their peers or the media!
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