I'm a Freemason. I haven't been to a lodge meeting in quite awhile, but there are a few observations I think worth making: * "Secret societies" have an air of mystique about them, and that played no small part in my joining. The theatricality of some rituals gives a sense of gravitas to the group that is often lacking in everyday life. * Freemasonry at least does a lot of quiet charity. There is a not-insignificant a…
Dude, ping me with your lodge number and I will definitely visit if I'm in your city. Part of what attracted me to Freemasonry was the quality of their enemies, as whatever those accusers had a problem with, I was pretty sure I wanted to be on the other team. The other thing was finding the pigpen cipher doing security work. It's so not-secret I don't mind being relatively open about it, as you know that every other…
But yes, I agree with your observation about Masonry being a kind of neutral territory and equalizer. I have known Masons that, in public, I am adamantly opposed to... but under the roof of a lodge, get along with perfectly fine.
Another thing that always struck me as interesting is that Masons do not recruit. This is an intentional policy, and fascinating. Once I discovered the existence of my home lodge, I had to seek them out. There were no flyers or "you should come by sometime" offhand comments.