Fraternities and "The Lodge" - A Lost Legacy of Our Grandfathers
Posted: Thu Apr 25, 2019 2:22 am
Below is a weird half post half article. It is intended to spark a discussion, but what the fuck do I know about writing?
Enjoy an odd ramble inspired by clown world.
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Growing up, we were inundated with vain and glorious recollections of times past. The boomer ideals were fed into our soft skulls in an endless stream of propaganda.
But the same was done with them, and as a result, our parents would have us 'enjoy' what they grew up with, and thus we in turn were consuming a rose-colored look at the halcyon days of The Greatest Generation.
Shows like The Honeymooners, I Love Lucy, and even The Flintstones depicted a time of unspoiled grandeur. Idyllic better-than-life utopia, with attainable lifestyles, wacky hijinks, likable characters, and all the trappings of the time.
One of these ubiquitous presences was that of "The Lodge". Whether it's the Leopard Lodge from Happy Days, the Loyal Order of the Water Buffalo from Flintstones, the Raccoon Lodge from The Honeymooners, or any number of other references or parodies, "The Lodge" was a constant presence in that generation's zeitgeist.
These of course were reflections of real life organizations. Some surviving to today include The Lions, The Eagles, The Shriners, The Freemasons, The Knights of Columbus, and many others I'm too lazy to look up or list here.
Many people vaguely know of their grandfather belonging to one or more of these venerable institutions. Mine was a Lion, and gave both money and time to help those with poor eyesight and poorer finances. One of his sons, my uncle, later in life joined The Eagles, where they drink cheap beer and bitch about their wives.
But the question is, why did these die off?
I have no clue.
Some are faith-based, with the Freemasons and Knights of Columbus coming to mind. Perhaps the decline in faith among millennials is to blame.
Perhaps the stink of uncool has something to do with it. Most lodges these days are full of old mothball-smelling grandpas getting together, talking about their grandkids, and being home by 10:00 for bed. Maybe this drives off a young ego-driven generation.
Maybe it's the idea of some of the most unreliable soy suckers on the planet rejecting the idea of having to be at the same place at the same time every other week. Perhaps the idea of making plans and sticking to them is just untenable to them.
It could be that the ideas of fraternity and giving back to the community have lost their appeal. Most guys are girls, Deep Soy has crushed the platonic form of a man into a saggy-titted weirdo who cries at mass-produced goods, and the communities themselves are unsafe shitholes filled with rapists and welfare cases, so who would want to engage with one?
Or maybe paying dues is just too much for the generation that has it harder than any ever. Soy and IPA budgets are reaching all-time-highs this year, and paying $100 a year to a centuries-old institution is just not feasible.
Whatever the reason, enrollment and attendance is way down, the lowest in history. With the exception of a few exceptional young men, the lodges remain mostly untouched. It's the same old men who've been attending for 50 years and a few whippersnappers with a taste for the traditional or the mysterious.
But is The Lodge a refuge, a shelter from Clown World?
Most lodges are founded on moral or religious grounds. Many people see the erosion of these two concepts as the catalyst for our descent into the HONK of darkness.
Most lodges are fraternal, meaning men only. Having a place you can speak freely, outside of your niche internet forums, provides a real physical avenue for discussion, debate, and the exercise of honest rhetoric.
Most lodges are based on charitable works. For a generation of selfish grab asses, giving back, charity, and hard work are all huge character builders that these soy-llennials NEED in order to grow into any sort of a man. The idea of actually spearheading an effort to feed or clothe those near you, as opposed to just starting a birthday fundraiser on SoyBook, is the sort of skin in the game that grows a man: things our forefathers did and boomers despise.
Most lodges are scheduled for regular meetings. Having a routine, sticking to it, meeting responsibilities: these are all virtues, and yet every man-child under 40 has some excuse for not being able to commit. Think of the number of times a friend has made plans and cancelled on you days later because they had an artisANAL mushroom tasting or a local flea market to attend. A lodge asks of and expects you to attend when you say you will. People are relying on you. You are a pillar of the organization, and that level of responsibility and consistency builds character.
Most of all, most lodges are composed of like-minded people. If you join the Knights of Columbus, you'll know every one in the room believes in God, Jesus, and something about the Vatican. If you join the Eagles, you'll know that every one in the room is a patriot. If you join the Freemasons, you'll know that every one there believes in a God and wants to improve themselves.
So the question is this:
Should you join a lodge? Is there still a benefit in being a member of a fraternity? Do these mostly homogenous groups of adult men offer us a place to be ourselves again? Do the walls of a symbolic lodge protect us from the world of sex offender story times for children, the Sri Lankan attacker emotional support groups, and the state-enforced homosexuality we face on a daily basis?
Obviously, my answer is a tentative yes. That shit is obvious.
I also realize my own rose-colored spectacles regarding the issue. I've been a member of one for a decade, and as the world gets crazier, the Order seems more welcoming than ever.
I'm just curious how this looks or sounds to others. Much the same way me and the 'old sports' at the lodge are basically on the same wavelength, I'd assume consumers of the fine literary works of Dagger are going to be more similar than dissimilar as well.
That being said, and general tone of this post aside, please just shit post the fuck out of it below and call me a massive faggot larper to your hearts' content.
Enjoy an odd ramble inspired by clown world.
=================================================================================================================================================
Growing up, we were inundated with vain and glorious recollections of times past. The boomer ideals were fed into our soft skulls in an endless stream of propaganda.
But the same was done with them, and as a result, our parents would have us 'enjoy' what they grew up with, and thus we in turn were consuming a rose-colored look at the halcyon days of The Greatest Generation.
Shows like The Honeymooners, I Love Lucy, and even The Flintstones depicted a time of unspoiled grandeur. Idyllic better-than-life utopia, with attainable lifestyles, wacky hijinks, likable characters, and all the trappings of the time.
One of these ubiquitous presences was that of "The Lodge". Whether it's the Leopard Lodge from Happy Days, the Loyal Order of the Water Buffalo from Flintstones, the Raccoon Lodge from The Honeymooners, or any number of other references or parodies, "The Lodge" was a constant presence in that generation's zeitgeist.
These of course were reflections of real life organizations. Some surviving to today include The Lions, The Eagles, The Shriners, The Freemasons, The Knights of Columbus, and many others I'm too lazy to look up or list here.
Many people vaguely know of their grandfather belonging to one or more of these venerable institutions. Mine was a Lion, and gave both money and time to help those with poor eyesight and poorer finances. One of his sons, my uncle, later in life joined The Eagles, where they drink cheap beer and bitch about their wives.
But the question is, why did these die off?
I have no clue.
Some are faith-based, with the Freemasons and Knights of Columbus coming to mind. Perhaps the decline in faith among millennials is to blame.
Perhaps the stink of uncool has something to do with it. Most lodges these days are full of old mothball-smelling grandpas getting together, talking about their grandkids, and being home by 10:00 for bed. Maybe this drives off a young ego-driven generation.
Maybe it's the idea of some of the most unreliable soy suckers on the planet rejecting the idea of having to be at the same place at the same time every other week. Perhaps the idea of making plans and sticking to them is just untenable to them.
It could be that the ideas of fraternity and giving back to the community have lost their appeal. Most guys are girls, Deep Soy has crushed the platonic form of a man into a saggy-titted weirdo who cries at mass-produced goods, and the communities themselves are unsafe shitholes filled with rapists and welfare cases, so who would want to engage with one?
Or maybe paying dues is just too much for the generation that has it harder than any ever. Soy and IPA budgets are reaching all-time-highs this year, and paying $100 a year to a centuries-old institution is just not feasible.
Whatever the reason, enrollment and attendance is way down, the lowest in history. With the exception of a few exceptional young men, the lodges remain mostly untouched. It's the same old men who've been attending for 50 years and a few whippersnappers with a taste for the traditional or the mysterious.
But is The Lodge a refuge, a shelter from Clown World?
Most lodges are founded on moral or religious grounds. Many people see the erosion of these two concepts as the catalyst for our descent into the HONK of darkness.
Most lodges are fraternal, meaning men only. Having a place you can speak freely, outside of your niche internet forums, provides a real physical avenue for discussion, debate, and the exercise of honest rhetoric.
Most lodges are based on charitable works. For a generation of selfish grab asses, giving back, charity, and hard work are all huge character builders that these soy-llennials NEED in order to grow into any sort of a man. The idea of actually spearheading an effort to feed or clothe those near you, as opposed to just starting a birthday fundraiser on SoyBook, is the sort of skin in the game that grows a man: things our forefathers did and boomers despise.
Most lodges are scheduled for regular meetings. Having a routine, sticking to it, meeting responsibilities: these are all virtues, and yet every man-child under 40 has some excuse for not being able to commit. Think of the number of times a friend has made plans and cancelled on you days later because they had an artisANAL mushroom tasting or a local flea market to attend. A lodge asks of and expects you to attend when you say you will. People are relying on you. You are a pillar of the organization, and that level of responsibility and consistency builds character.
Most of all, most lodges are composed of like-minded people. If you join the Knights of Columbus, you'll know every one in the room believes in God, Jesus, and something about the Vatican. If you join the Eagles, you'll know that every one in the room is a patriot. If you join the Freemasons, you'll know that every one there believes in a God and wants to improve themselves.
So the question is this:
Should you join a lodge? Is there still a benefit in being a member of a fraternity? Do these mostly homogenous groups of adult men offer us a place to be ourselves again? Do the walls of a symbolic lodge protect us from the world of sex offender story times for children, the Sri Lankan attacker emotional support groups, and the state-enforced homosexuality we face on a daily basis?
Obviously, my answer is a tentative yes. That shit is obvious.
I also realize my own rose-colored spectacles regarding the issue. I've been a member of one for a decade, and as the world gets crazier, the Order seems more welcoming than ever.
I'm just curious how this looks or sounds to others. Much the same way me and the 'old sports' at the lodge are basically on the same wavelength, I'd assume consumers of the fine literary works of Dagger are going to be more similar than dissimilar as well.
That being said, and general tone of this post aside, please just shit post the fuck out of it below and call me a massive faggot larper to your hearts' content.