Vain Man In his Little Brief Authority

It is common among some to excuse our failed leaders by stating that our system is a “benevolent dictatorship” and we have to accept the good along with the bad. If we don’t like this year’s Grand Master – no worries – we can elect a different one next year. This thinking is not only flawed, but stupid. No organization of intelligent and principled men should accept the rule of powerful tyrants – for even a year - who believe they have the right to censor the free expression of their members. Moreover, intelligent and principled men should no longer accept the incompetent leadership of the “middling henchmen” who more commonly typify the vain men who our fraternity too often vest with a “little brief authority.”

Some excuse our system by saying that we choose our “dictator” annually in “free” elections. For example, in Ohio, we in theory freely elect our top grand officers. I say “in theory” because our elections process is a foregone conclusion. Yes, the members cast their ballots, but like lemmings, they “know” how they are expected to vote and do so in perfect unanimity. Every year the “grand bottom” (now there is an apt moniker!) of the grand officer line is appointed by the incoming grand master – in his sole and absolute discretion – and this man is systematically elevated to the grand East without question. And while our Code permits any Past Master to be elected Grand Master, this is a practical impossibility as nominations are not permitted and electioneering is deemed unMasonic conduct.

In the end, we are left with the window dressing of a free and democratic process and the reality of a hand-picked self-perpetuating line of men who are uninspiring leaders, inept managers and all too often autocratic dictators. It should be of little surprise to anyone that such a system does not produce bold and forward thinking leaders who feel compelled to communicate with “outsiders” to the ruling elite in any meaningful way. One cannot blame a membership that eventually grows cynical and ultimately uninterested in the welfare of the grand lodge. Such a system is sure to result in a destructive “us” against “them” mentality aligned along parochial interests rather than for the greater good of the whole.