-Caveat Lector-
A very well-stated description of how the masonic orders operate.
The lodges are not filled with evil-minded men--just good old boys who
know how to pull the strings.
My grandfather, a 33rd degree Mason, was a clothing salesman. He would
travel throughout the small towns of the Upper Midwest selling suits to
the small dry-goods stores, which in turn, sold the clothing to the local
farmers. Whenever he came into an unfamiliar town, the first place he
would visit was the local lodge. He would use his masonic connections to
make contact with the local establishment. Recognizing him as a good
lodge brother, he would then make his sales...and everyone was happy.
Of course, through these same connections, Gramps would get stock tips,
tips on opportunities to invest some money. This was the way things were
done...and still are done today.. especially in the south (where I lived
for seven years). If you go into these small communities, you will
inevitably find the local lodges in operation.. Are they sinister groups
of evil-minded occultists bent on world domination? Of course not. You
will find people who are civic-minded, active in local politics,
outstanding members of their local church congregations...folks
just trying to get by...to take care of their wives and families..
When the depression hit, my grandfather, on advice from insiders within
the lodge, had already removed his investments out of the market..and so
he weathered the thirties in style. My father was the son of a Mason, as
his father had been before him... Freemasonry is generational...especially
in the south...in southern families.
When my grandfather died, he left a considerable estate, in today's terms,
well over a million and a half dollars... pretty good for just a clothing
salesman. But of course, he was not just a seller of clothes. His
material success was very much tied up with his participation in the
lodge...he became an insider. That there was a "dark" side to all of
this...I don't have any doubts. I remember once, when he was laughing
hysterically in his study, tears rolling down from his eyes, a private
joke of some sort that I didn't understand at the time. He told me that
few people understand who the "god" of this world is...he then told me it
was "Lucifer," the bearer of "the light." Of course, I didn't understand
what the hell my grandfather was talking about. Years later, after
studying illuminism I would. At the time, I just dismissed it as the
eccentric remarks of an old man. He also told me that those who are
uninitiated into the deeper secrets of masonry think they know what it's
all about...but they will never be able to penetrate the craft's secrets.
There are levels or grades of knowledge within the craft... At the lower
levels, it is rather benign stuff..a modified version of theosophy or
gnosticism...emphasizing universal brotherhood, truth, equality, etc.
Being "on the level," a masonic term, means being truthful to a brother..
And the idea of not betraying a fellow mason is an essential part of
it all....brotherhood is a great idea isn't it? Of course, note that the
idea of brotherhood has a different meaning to masons.
My grandfather took his lodge work very very seriously. He studied, read
masonic writers, worked his way up within the organization. As a
southerner, (a North Carolinian of Native American and English
extraction), he believed that he was an inheritor of a masonic tradition
going back to pre-revolutionary
times. He often bragged of the fact that the United States was a country
founded upon the truths of Freemasonry..and he could name all of the
presidents who had been active in the lodge. When he died, a masonic
emblem was placed on his grave, not a Christian cross. And at his
funeral, members of the local lodge, people I had never met, attended.
Similarly, my grandmother was an active member of the Eastern Star..and
she also was very proud of her masonic connections, which went back to
pre-revolutionary times. Although my father was a member of DeMolay, he
never stayed in it.
But I remember grandfather talking about how non-Masons would never know
the true role that the craft played in maintaining control within the
country. He believed that non-Masons were nice but essentially lesser
people who go through life never understanding its true nature. When I
pressed him on these points to explain himself more clearly, he would only
laugh and puff on his cigar. So, is Freemasonry a benign, civic-minded
organization filled with good old boys just trying to have some fun and
make a dollar? Sure. But does the organization represent much
more? Yes.
The first members of my family (my European ancestors that is...because I
am also of Native American descent) came to Virginia in the 1630s.
Settling in what later would be King and Queen county outside of Richmond.
Sir Edward Tunstall was a Freemason, as his father had been before him.
Many of these Englishmen who came to Virginia (the FFV's, first families
of Virginia) were Freemasons....long before the revolution. As the family
prospered through their control of land and slaves (yes. I am descended
from people who owned human beings.), they became politically active.
Throughout the eighteenth century, members of the family served as clerks
within the counties of Virginia. My family belonged to one of the lesser
tiers of families who served the interests of the very wealthy upper tier,
famed in our history. There were definite caste distinctions in Virginia
during the eighteenth century. A Beverley or a Randolph would not marry
into one of the lesser families. But the men of my family served as
faithful retainers to the more illustrious insiders.... All of these
social, political, family ties involved Freemasonry to an extent that
contemporary historians don't recognize (or choose to ignore). Since the
older sons of these families would usually inherit the family estates, the
younger sons were forced to look elsewhere... So, there was a steady of
stream of younger men, bringing with them their wives, slaves, and cattle,
into the Carolinas..and across the Appalachians into the fertile regions
of the Ohio and Miss valley.. I'm descended from one of the Carolina
branches who settled in Lenoir county NC in 1810. On the frontier, free
of some of the more repressive and restrictive conditions of Virginia
society, the men of the family intermarried with Native American women.
...I'm one of their descendants... Also, they believed, as my grandfather
explained it to me, that Native Americans had a spiritual connection to
the land, and that it was only right and proper that the two races
intermix in order to create a more powerful psychic bond with the hidden
spiritual forces that govern the destiny of the nation. I'm candidly
sharing all of this with you, in order for you to understand that some of
the impulses behind Freemasonry have a definite spiritual dimension to
them.
oops..the time is late. and I have to go. I hope I haven't bored you
with all of this family history... but I believe it would be a mistake to
believe that "the conspiracy" has only a political or economic dimension
to it. Much of the true history of this country is hidden...
Regards,
Wm
On Thu, 10 Dec 1998, Linda Minor wrote:
> -Caveat Lector-
>
> Have you ever moved to a new place and had no job? You look around and say,
> "How can I make some money? So you start joining organizations like
> Kiwanis, Elks, PTA. You think, "If I can make some contacts here, someone
> will offer me a job."
>
> I research history wherever I go--local "good ol' boy" stuff. In Texas we
> call it "bidness." Look around you, Jim. This is what the real conspiracy
> is all about--making money for the wife and kiddies and in the process maybe
> becoming a shining member of the community. This is what the British class
> system has always been. Do something useful for the people who control the
> investments of the monarch so you'll be knighted or recognized. And how do
> you control this network? Through doling out funds. Men who had the
> financial acumen when our country was a baby were assigned to growing
> communities in need of banks. In Texas, corporate banks were illegal or too
> expensive to acquire charters for, so individuals with backing established
> grocery stores which made loans to anyone who wanted to go into business of
> any kind in the area. Collateral was primarily land and crops. The local
> banker/merchant only got a small piece of the profit, and he only was
> allowed to have that if he kept the secret of who he got the original
> capital from. The secrets were maintained through lodges which were all
> connected up back to the source.
>
> This is all so simple and obvious. But it's hard to believe because it
> means the conspiracy is us. People don't want to admit the things they do
> for money and prestige. It easier to put a cloak of altruism or religion
> around it. That's what the lodge does. It allows the men who do the dirty
> work to rationalize what they do. They ask no questions. All they want is
> to impress their family. And they pass their position in the lodge to their
> own son. Anybody who agrees to play by the rules can make a name for
> himself.
>
> Linda Minor
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Jim Kinney <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> Date: Thursday, December 10, 1998 7:19 AM
> Subject: Re: [CTRL] Conspiracy Theories
>
>
> > -Caveat Lector-
> >
> > My point in the earlier message was not to decrease the amount
> >of discussion or debate used around here, but to put the debate onto a
> >more sound reasoning. If you wish to claim that ALL Masons are part of
> >a huge conspiracy, then I would like to say that I have Mason friends
> >who most assuredly do not have world domination in mind. Since I am
> >assuming that you have to have some knowledge of a conspiracy to be a
> >'part' of it, then I would say that you are wrong.
> >
> > If, on the other hand, you don't need to know that you are part
> >of a conspiracy, then how do you know that there is one? It could be
> >just a small, small group of people 'in the know' who can push a whole
> >lot of buttons. I think that this small group is possible, but even
> >then, individuals (and we have now narrowed the 'in the know' group to
> >individuals, not huge organizations) tend to work on gaining things in
> >their own lifetime if they are in it for power. If they are not in it
> >for power, what are they in it for? If they are in it for power, don't
> >you imagine that they would occasionally duke it out amongst themselves?
> >Then we don't have a single conspiracy at all, but a number of very
> >small conspiracies that sometimes work together, and sometimes work
> >against each other. Kind of sounds like what I said in the last
> >message.
> >
> > If knowledge of conspiracy is not needed to be a part of it,
> >does anyone involved need to know about it? Could we have some kind of
> >monstrous unconscious conspiracy striking at us? Creatures of the Id
> >straight from Forbidden Planet? No.. I'm fairly sure that You are
> >looking for a secret society of incredibly powerful white men who
> >magically get along together perfectly and control everything (probably
> >all descended from Merovingians). Kind of like the Smoking Man and
> >company on the X-Files, but with even more control over things. I love
> >it, but I really don't think it works that way. Incredibly powerful
> >people tend to get that way because they plow over people who get in
> >their way. Bill Gates is a wonderful example. I simply can't imagine
> >that a group (please tell me.. how many are we talking here? A dozen?
> >A hundred? A thousand? How many are 'in the know'?) of powerful men
> >like that could tolerate each other for long at all. But hey, I could
> >be wrong.
> >
> >DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER
> >==========
> >CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting
> propagandic
> >screeds are not allowed. Substance—not soapboxing! These are sordid
> matters
> >and 'conspiracy theory', with its many half-truths, misdirections and
> outright
> >frauds is used politically by different groups with major and minor
> effects
> >spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRL
> >gives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to
> readers;
> >be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credeence to Holocaust denial and
> >nazi's need not apply.
> >
> >Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector.
> >
> >========================================================================
> >To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email:
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> >Om
> >
>
> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER
> ==========
> CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic
> screeds are not allowed. Substance—not soapboxing! These are sordid matters
> and 'conspiracy theory', with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright
> frauds is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects
> spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRL
> gives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers;
> be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credeence to Holocaust denial and
> nazi's need not apply.
>
> Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector.
>
> ========================================================================
> To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email:
> SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
> To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email:
> SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
> Om
>
DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER
==========
CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic
screeds are not allowed. Substance—not soapboxing! These are sordid matters
and 'conspiracy theory', with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright
frauds is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects
spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRL
gives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers;
be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credeence to Holocaust denial and
nazi's need not apply.
Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector.
========================================================================
To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email:
SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email:
SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Om
