Are you a Freemason?

I had one bad experience with being a mason early this year, but other than that, it's been great. I was raised a month ago and I'm very proud to be a mason!

The largest and oldest worldwide fraternity did not allow its members to openly discuss their affiliation with it until the mid- to late 1990s, depending upon the state or national Grand Lodge. Members were free to wear a Masonic ring or lapel pin which, in turn, could stimulate a conversation, but only then was the Mason free to answer questions put to him. Presumably, one reason was to assuage the mounting "assassination" of the fraternity due to its centuries-old secrecy. Secondly, membership was in a free fall worldwide. Now, a Mason may freely ask his son, bowling pal, or boss if any would be interested in joining. Masonry is no more a cult than some Lutheran Church ladies' quilting club. The secrets it does keep are published all over the Internet, but a good Mason would not reveal them intentionally. As secrets go, however, they rank right up there with "who keeps the key to the Executive Washroom." Of course, I'm being facetious. Masonry is about good men making themselves better. Our tenets are Brotherly Love, Relief, and Truth. We worship no one God. All men of all religions are free to join after first answering one question: In whom do you place your trust? The answer can be God, Yaweh, Buddha, Mohammed, or whomever. As such, we often refer to God as The Grand Architect of the Universe. In Open Lodge, two things are always prohibited: any discussion of politics or religion. Those topics are the private domain of the individual member. Beyond that, each local Lodge, wherever found, will be engaged in scholastic support, public service support, and community-building in the local area. Members are doctors, politicians, teachers, police, grocery managers, mechanics, truck drivers, and men of every profession in between. Good men, everyday men, the kind you live next to, worship with, work with, and have known since you were a boy.

LTC Bink Romanick, some of my best friends are Masons. My first squad leader was a Mason. My experiences with the majority of people that are Masons are just normal good standing individuals, but I've met a few who join the order for the wrong reasons.