Website for The Better Angels of our Nature
See also: Line Up to be the First to Read the Better Angels...The author has a new website at http://michaelhalleran.com/

Visiting 101
Note: The problem with this short article is that those Masons who need to read it will never find it and those that are seeing it will feel like Noah reading about the Flood.The Fourteenth Landmark of Freemasonry on the list of what is often called “Mackey’s Landmarks” tells us that every Mason has the right to visit and sit in every regular lodge. Now, some Masons may would stop right there and think, “Ah ha – Lodge X has to let me visit.” The next Landmark, however, places some burdens on the visitor. The Fifteenth Landmark requires that the visitor be known as a Mason by a member of the visited lodge or the visitor must pass an examination before be

Whew! It is Almost Over. Or is It?
In many Grand Jurisdictions, Masons are entering the last two months of the Masonic year. As the Masters of lodges enter the final sprint, many of them start anticipating that sigh of relief that they will expel as they leave their demanding responsibilities to someone else at the end of their term of office. Some will start relaxing a bit during these final two months and actually began practicing a sort of lame duck type of administration. “Whew – it is almost over,” will be the thought on many of their minds.But is it really almost over? Strong Masters with views of the long-term rather than the short-term will know that there is more important work to be done. These ty

Universal Brotherhood and Guarding the Gate
One of the great balancing acts that faces – and has always faced – Freemasonry is the consideration of universal brotherhood while - at the same time – protecting the Craft from the initiation of those that could cause damage to the institution. This is often referred to by Masons as “guarding the West Gate.” There are probably few Freemasons who have not given thought to this subject in some fashion or another and such thoughts are more often than not of a very personal nature. The thoughts are often of a personal and intimate nature because they are usually manifested due to the petition or request for petition from a friend or family member.But what is meant by uni

Masonic Education and Research
"Truth" and "light" are words that hold - or should hold - a special meaning for Freemasons. With this in mind and unless a Freemason belongs to a lodge that already leans heavily toward education and research, I am often left in wonderment at the large numbers of Brothers who do not belong to some sort of research society or research lodge. Yes - I know that there are many Brothers who are capable of conducting education and research at an individual level, but the resources offered to even these types of Masons by the research societies and research lodges are invaluable. An added benefit - primarily due to the existence of the Internet - is the networking that these research bodies