Your claim of Masonry’s “child-like faith in democracy” doesn’t bear scrutiny. Firstly, Freemasonry’s illustration-by-example of rules and representative governance influenced Enlightenment figures, the moderates of which in turn favored representative democracy over pure democracy. Secondly, coming from all walks of life, Masons are as knowledgeable and ignorant, as passionate and indifferent to our republican form of government as are non-Masons. There is no uniform belief nor knowledge.

It’s a shame you put equality in scare-quotes, for Masons do believe everyone is born with God-given rights
(natural rights, for non-theists) that no legitimate or illegitimate authority (e.g., a mob) has the right to violate. Any moral rules derive in defense of those individual rights. I rather thought such beliefs were at the core of The American Mercury’s message.

I know a few Masons who, outside of Lodge, argue for the gum’mint to do this or that for the downtrodden, but most I’ve gotten to know well enough to glean perspective of are conservative with Libertarian or Objectivist leanings. We take our freedom and liberty seriously enough to be active in an organization founded to promote freedom and liberty.

P.S. To Elizabeth: Oligarchs of a feather flock together, using whatever clubhouse they find handy – tennis club, church, Rotary, Masonry, one-off secret-handshake club. But then I’m probably just not a high enough level Mason to know any better, right?

Oh, and Barack Obama isn’t a Mason.

ADULT READING ONLY-BEWARE! – Trapped in a Masonic World contains numerous expletives, derogatory terms and insults aimed at many groups, organisations and people in which you could quite likely find yourself being among one or more of these categories. So if your devout in your religious beliefs, – whether you’re Christian, Muslim, Jewish or from any other faith, – and perhaps particularly if you are a Freemason, a corrupt politician, policeman, civil servant, public service worker, – paedophile or any other kind of child abuser in general, – then it’s highly likely you will indeed find this book extremely infuriating, insulting and so objectionable, – that it could well be bad for your blood pressure! – And with this in mind, I therefore recommend you DO NOT read on any further!

Extract from Trapped in a Masonic World – **** isn’t exactly a nice word, in fact it’s gross, it’s one of those words that’s not easily digested, it’s harsh on the ear and especially so if you’re on the receiving end of being called one, -which I have on many an occasion, – so I really do know! Of course I understand using the word is offensive, – some could even say it debases my points of view and argument’s by using it, – among the many other expletives and derogatory terms, – perhaps as frequently as I do, – which I don’t, though when I do, I do so where and when I feel it’s appropriate. It could also be claimed that the forthcoming text might make me sound either arrogant, rude, amateurish, uneducated, shoddy or a combination of them all, and that perhaps I may lose my argument and objective – which is to point out that the world we presently live in, is being run and controlled by a bunch of evil ****”s, – and if that’s the case, then so be it and don’t read any further!
http://www.trappedinamasonicworld.co.uk