LEGACY OF LIBERTY
Masonic and the Path to Freedom
XIV World Conference of Masonic Grand Lodges
San Francisco – California USA NOVEMBER 18-21,2015.
By Bro. HANS, Marcos
March, 2015
Grand Masonic Lodge of Rio Grande do Sul- Brazil
mhans@terra.com.br (55 51 91613845)
“My brain is the key that sets my mind free.”
Harry Houdini
Magician Extraordinaire
“Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same.”
Ronald Reagan
On the American Passport
“Let every nation know
Whether it wishes us well or ILL
that we shall pay any price,
Bear any burden, meet any hardship,
Support any friend, oppose any foe
To assure the survival and
The success of liberty.”
John Fitzgerald Kennedy
Summary
-This article points out the freedom symbols of the modern world with their heritage in the not so far past, the democracies, the losing of civil rights, the economy freedom and actions we can take. What freemasonry have done in the past and what should the organization as grand lodges do or as individual freemasons in the near future to maintain the freedom, that most of us already take at granted.
Introduction
The most famous symbol for liberty in the modern world, is the Liberty Statue in New York. Since 1884 the Liberty Enlightening the World, or Lady Liberty, or La liberté. At first a gift from the people of French in recognition established during the american revolution and lately the concepts of freedom and democracy as well as international friendship became a general definition. Many other famous buildings symbolizing freedom arouse around the globe. Again in New York the latest and the tallest in USA soil, the Freedom Tower. In Paris the Triumph Arch symbolizes the freedom after the death of the dictator. Or in Germany the non existence of the wall and so many other examples.
In the modern world the Passport has become a symbol of liberty. “Everyone has the right to freedom of movement , to leave any country, including his own, and return to his country.”
But the most powerful tool of freedom is the Internet. One can see, go, plan, enterprise, analyze, create, get background information, check facts. Some countries still are afraid of the internet because it liberates and free a person from the ignorance.
And the most valuable symbol of freedom or building of freedom is the building of his/her own character of moral and ethics bricks. “Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion……” Be free as a human being, in a free country is priceless.” Our teachings lead us to this internal building.
Independence of Death, was the motto during the liberation of many south and central american countries. Simon Bolivar, a freemason ( Venezuela,Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, Peru, Bolivia and Brazil)
There are a total of 198 countries in the world. Many of them still pursuing the liberty for its citizen and some are losing that liberty. Some examples: Syria, Myanmar, Kenya, Parts of Uganda, Ukraine, Egypt, Azerbaijan, Venezuela, Indonesia and even Russia. Freedom declined in that countries, is a set back on democracy . Liberty of expression and thoughts in China( Falung Gong practitioners), in Kazakhstan, Hare Krishna member expelled from their homes under false allegation, Catholic Copts, being executed by ISIS radical self denominated state. And an island where liberty is practice in a shell, North Korea.
“ Freedom is a daily fight.” Dalia Grybauskaite, president of Lithuania about the Russian military movements on the border.
“Economic freedom” (1)is the fundamental right of every person to control his or her own labor and property. In an economically free society, individuals are free to work, produce, consume, and invest in any way they please, with that freedom protected by the state and not limited by state. Examples- Cuba, North Korea.
(1) index of economic freedom since 1995 Heritage Foundation.
What was the role of Freemasonry or freemasons in the Past? and What is freedom?
Since the organized freemasonry ,1717 the spreading of the freemasonry philosophy, the enlightenment ,help to shape the behavior of man that shape nations, companies, families.
“ To a Freemason the freedom of thought, speech and actions belongs to all, and it means mostly freedom of dogmatic principles. Freedom of thought is precisely what allows the evolution and improvement of the individual.”
The aim of philosophy is to set people free; free from pressure and free from worry; free to grow, free to be themselves.
A famous book, “Man’s Search for Meaning” in Portuguese ” O Sentido da Vida “Written by Viktor Frankl, an Austrian psychotherapist who survived confinement in Nazi concentration camps. So many of those around him perished. They lost hope. They fell into despair – then death. He managed to get through the ordeal by applying what I believe is our highest human freedom: our ability to choose how we respond to and process any event that happens to us. We can look for some good or we can become haunted by the bad. Frankl writes: “Everything can be taken from a man but one thing, the last of the human freedom to choose one’s attitude to a given set of circumstances, to choose one’s way.”
The teachings, Freemason in action in liberating nations , in science, in philosophy, in medicine, in commerce, even in Hollywood, and in so many fields is the legacy of liberty of our organization, through our members.
Actions
What as a organization can we do together? or
What should be the role of Freemason toward the path of liberty?
The rights depend heavily on active government – on positive government actions. In fact, the very existence of rights depends on government. In a very real way, rights and civil liberties are actually political constructs , creations of government. Formal rights do not exist until they are created by law or established in a constitution. We only have the right of free speech , for example here in the USA, because it is guaranteed in the constitution. No constitution, no government ,the civil liberties would literally not exist.
This answers the question. Freemasonry have the role to be a guardian of these rights in constitutions wherever we are. As an organization, and mainly on shaping man with our principles of moral an ethics to act toward those rights. Tyranny is around the corner, sleeping with one eye open.
Benjamin Barber(American political theorist- author of – If mayors ruled the world) has explained, that “in democracies, representative institutions do not steal our liberties from us, they are the precious medium through which we secure our liberties.”
-Imagine for a moment a dictatorship where your rights and liberties are being constantly violated. There is no free speech and you can be punished for espousing your political views. If you complain about the behavior of officials or blow the whistle on their illegal activities, you will be punished harshly. Privacy is non-existent. The authorities constantly spy on you. They tap your phone and use hidden cameras to monitor and record your daily activities. They know what you do on your computer and where you go on the internet. They open and read your e-mail. Officials know virtually everything about you – your employment history, your financial situation, your medical problems, and even your genetic information – and will not hesitate to use this information to their advantage when necessary. (North Korea)
If this sound too familiar, it is because this kind of dictatorship is present in our free world, in the modern democracies and in the still remaining socialist regimes. At least according to Snowden.
Beside those diversions of the full democracy, we as an organization, as individual Freemasons, should, must, and is our obligation based on our founding principles, to give support, to prepare man with our teachings ,so we can be the guardians.
The purpose of Freemasonry is “self-improvement” — not in the material sense, but in the intellectual, moral and philosophic senses of developing the whole person and psyche so as, in the beautiful and emotive language of the ritual, to fit ourselves to take our places, as living stones, in that great spiritual building, not made by hands, but by sincere purpose of self-improvement. THIS IS OUR HOME WORK AND WILL BE OUR HOME WORK .
And again: The teachings and the way we deliver them, is THE LEGACY OF LIBERTY of our organization.
And here comes in the Internet. For the new generations consulting and receiving information on line is the beginning. Informations, modes of contact, degrees, are already available on most grand lodges. An at level lodge the contacts between brothers, as local communities, gives a modern view of the fraternity.
Summarizing
Our main purpose is and should continue to be our philosophical teachings, which reach spirituality. The Society will therefore perceive us in that way. Individuals, as Freemasons, will participate in the society, as politicians, diplomats, doctors, workers, professors, speakers, philanthropies, and so on and even in this corrupt world, make a difference showing ethic, moral and a high standard behaviors and ultimately be the guardians of our freedom in a representative group that meets periodically and meets online everyday.
Conclusion.
Let us hold firm to the symbolism of the square and the compass, the teachings behind all the degrees and let them be the means of restoring chaos to order and help humankind walk on the path of freedom.
Marcos Hans
Writer, Speaker, Administrator, Personal and Executive Coach ICI Integrated Coaching Institute.
Commercial real estate developer and a Happy professional tourist.
Past Grand Secretary of Foreign Affairs- Grand Lodge of Rio Grande do Sul – Brazil
Grand Representative near Grand Lodge of India.
Past Master,33,MRA,SEM,Kt.Pr., FRC,Shriner, SRCF VII, TOM.
See curriculum. https://www.sejalider.com.br/?p=4243
-www.humangrights.com
-http://www.governmentisgood.com
-http://www.heritage.org/research/lecture/economic-freedom-as-a-human-right
Sobre o Autor