HACKER Q&A
📣 Mobil1

Is there an advantage in becoming a Masonic member?


Is there an advantage in becoming a Masonic member?


  👤 motohagiography Accepted Answer ✓
There is no advantage, and anyone approaching a masons lodge with the intention of advancing their careers would likely be turned away. It would be like someone joining your D&D game to hand out business cards, just weird and uncomfortable.

Masonry isn't actually secret or mysterious, and I'd suggest any interpretation of it as something other than just a sincere interest in developing as a man is probably overly informed by the internet. What got me interested was when I saw who in history had organized against it, and I thought, well then, that's a team I'd like to be on. If I could characterize it for a general audience, it presents a small hurdle to being a complete knob, and while many do manage to surmount that obstacle, on the other side of it I find they are at least in the minority.

Being accepted into a peer group by a dozen or so guys is a big deal, and as a means to maintain social connections into old age, for many it's a lifeline. Those casual friendships form a fabric that endures in the face of the problems of the world, and they form a foundation for other things. It's absolutely weird, but that's necessary to have something completely unique in common that can overcome other differences, where even if it's the only thing you have in common, it's still a pretty good basis for relating.

So, no advantages in the implied sense of the original question, and the advantage of the perspective is not something that seeing it merely as advantage can capture, imo.


👤 r721
Article on related topic:

>Freemasons Say They're Needed Now More Than Ever. So Why Are Their Ranks Dwindling?

https://www.npr.org/2020/11/28/937228086/freemasons-say-they...


👤 themodelplumber
You mean freemasonry, right? (Please tell me I'm not about to offer philosophical opinions about something that turns out to be a higher level of Discord membership or something.)

IMO yes / no / in between, mainly depending on your personality characteristics.

First, if you are interested in it, this tells its own story about energy, learning capacity, etc.--they are available to you and this is worth notice.

However, I'd add that it's important to ask what specific aspects are most interesting to you, because it's also possible that there are better memberships or simple habit-changes that are possibly even more beneficial with less of a waste of time. A society is not an individual, so you will always stand to lose some vitality via the aspects of that society that require your attention yet do not reward your personal interests or goals.

Second, symbolically it can tell you something about yourself. For example, it could be as simple as, "I learn faster and with more passion when I am learning about obscure topics." This kind of thing is DEFINITELY worth knowing about yourself, it's like finding a real life powerup.

Third, it is an objective ethical structure. It could help you find objective reasons to enact an ethical structure for which the rationale has been lacking in your life. "Mr. Millionaire, I'm giving you back your wallet full of cash which I found on the street not because I'm a total idiot, but because I'm a Mason!" There are really some people who need this kind of blame-structure to support them in living to what others would consider a basic level of life ethics, so great is their natural tendency to listen to e.g. cold, hard, situational logic.

Finally, it could reward you with easier access to aspects of life that are harder to achieve otherwise. For example, let's take the second point above--you are amenable to the obscure! Ah ha, so logically this tells us that within the masonic order of things, you may benefit from a faster path to welcome & full fellowship. If you previously found general types of fellowship or even friendship difficult to achieve, now we can make the argument that they will be much easier and even natural.

These are just some thoughts on the matter and as someone who is no longer part of an organized belief society-system, I would conclude by saying: Always leave space for alternatives and don't shut yourself in. Good luck.


👤 root899
I think the people in the mansion are the ones that can help you with jobs and investments. Its all about knowing the right people.

👤 Mobil1
Is there an age limit to be able lean and pass its rituals?