Fraternal societies.

Over the past few years I have become fascinated with the Fraternal, Friendly and Secret societies that reached their zenith in the 19th Century and still bubble under the surface of society today in the 21st Century.  There are many critics of course that completely fail to understand the value of these groups, critics that dismiss them as 'boys clubs' or even as deeply sinister parts of a worldwide conspiracy to bring a shadowy 'New World Order'.  Both of these have smidgens of truth, first of all there is a great deal of male booze based socialising in some orders and there are equally groups that have become rank obsessed and an social control certainly is in the minds of some.  However, all these things are minor when you consider the value of the ideas behind these orders.  Mutualism is the first idea of great worth. Based on collective security for its members, a common fund for support in time of need. This is nearly always linked to a shared set of values, defining statements of morality. These are very rarely political or religious, finding common values that all decent people can ascribe too.  Ritual is today seen by some as an anachronism with no worth whatsoever, I believe, however that these moral lessons in the form of ritual dramas are powerful links to the past which are more relevant than ever in the 21st Century. In fact the later 20th century tendency to reduce, change or cut out ritual all together because "young people don't get" seems rather self defeating to me when you consider the desperate desire to seek meaning in a bland selfish world. Secrecy is fundamental principle in these societies, but actually a very small part of the movement being confined to the modes of recognition between members. I am a member of two these orders myself, the Oddfellows and the Freemasons, I am proud of both. This blog will examine these groups, their history, their legacy and their future.