September 29, 2004

• And now, the much awaited Soapbox . . . (please comment, even if you do not feel compelled to read the whole post)

  America’s Fear of Secrecy despite an Obsession with Privacy

  I have oft been angered by Americans’ hypocracy with secrecy and privacy. On one hand they attack secrecy of any kind, and yet on the other they cling to personal privacy. One could argue that the hypocracy predates American culture and that it is a Western thing. It’s a sound arguement because it is true that Westerners in general fear secrecy. Popes Benedict XIV, Pius VII, Gregory XVI, Leo XII, Pius IX, and Leo XIII (along with 12 other Popes) all spoke out vehemently against secret societies. In fact joining such a society, or one like the Masons, was grounds for excommunication in the Catholic Church. (interesting then much of this hatred was because the Masons were too tolerant) European Protestants too have persecuted and outlawed secret societies, even Hitler threw Masons into concentration camps. Though there is this fear of secrecy, I would argue that it is the obsession with the ellusive right to privacy that makes American culture different from these other Western cultures.

  There is no right to privacy in the Constitution, yet somehow Americans have this assumption that they have a right to do things without other people knowing. Don’t believe me? Ask anyone one on the street what they think about the Patriot Act.

  I assume this unwritten “right” to privacy stems from two distinctly American ideas: freedom of speech, and protection from unreasonable search and seizure. It is from these ideas that American’s fight for things like pornography. After all, it’s a persons choice to view such material, surely he should be able to do so without his boss knowing.
  In any event, I think it is safe to say that the founders of America did intend to maintain some measure of protection of privacy, though it is not present in the Bill of Rights. What they did not seem to have is this fear of secrecy that America has developed.

  We know that both George Washington and Benjamin Franklin (along with many prominent early Americans and 15 US presidents) were Masons. Clearly at one point in American history (an early point) some form of secrecy, perhaps even elitism (many early American leaders and framers believed that only the educated elite should vote . . .), existed and was accepted or at least tolerated. In fact, Masonry was popular during this time in Scottland and other parts of Great Britain from which came many of the American Settlers. Joseph Smith and most of the early saints in Nauvoo Illinois were active Masons, and they were not criticised for being Masons until many years after they left Nauvoo.

  So what brought about this change in attitude? Or was there a change?

  I’m not sure whether or not these early Americans feared secret society like they do now, but I am sure that they did not consider Masonry a secret society. In fact, it still is not a secret society because it willingly and publicly acknowledges its esistence, something that a secret society by definition would deny. It is instead a fraternal orginization, though it is true that it keeps some information or rituals secret. It is important, though, to look at the motivation for such secrecy.

  Free Masonry comes from, at the latest, the mideval mason guilds of Europe. (There is some evidence that these guilds themselves developed from older groups of architects and philosophers, perhaps even the builders of Solomon’s Temple) They were tradesman who were by profession Masons. Masonry was not the only such guild. Each trade or profession had a guild, and each guild had secrets. Why? Because if these guildsman gave away the “secrets” or tricks of the trade (skills), then other people would be able to take their business. These men were experts- they were master masons who created such wonders as the Cathedrals of Europe. The guilds enforced a code of secrecy to protect their trades. It is these traditions that were carried down and are still used by Masons today.

  Another reason Masonry was not considered a Secret Society in early America was its use by the Latter-day Saints themselves. The Book of Mormon vehemently opposes and speaks against secret societies and “secret combinations.” This theme takes up a major portion of the Book, and so it is unlikely that Joseph Smith and other early Mormons would participate in an organization that they considered to be a “secret combination.” This gives us some incite into the cultural thought at the time because these early saints came from all over the United States and Great Britain and were all converts to this new Faith.

  Though I’m not sure wether or not early Americans feared secrecy like we do now, I do know that there was a change in how they viewed secrecy. I think there are a few events that changed our perception of secret clubs. One of those is the KKK. The KKK was a secret club that did evil things. It was first accepted by society and then it was not. Perhaps that change in attitude may be reflected on other forms of secrecy as well. In fact, extremest may claim that Masonry was related to the KKK (these findings would be bogus). Another event that changed our level of tolerance for secrecy was the creation of satanistic cults in the mid 1900′s. Groups such as “wiccans” and “the Church of Satan” were created with in the past 75 years, despite their claims to antiquity. Many of these groups stole symbols from other nonevil groups, like the Masons (including the oft misinterpreted pentagram). Fear of these clearly evil groups permeated society rapidly. Coincidently the same time period was known as the cold war, another event that increased our fear of secrecy. We became leery of spies, and morbidly afraid of government conspiracy. Communism was treated like an invisible plauge. Things like McCarthyism and Watergate did not help our trust in the unknown- the secret.

  I think with this growing fear comes a great loss to society. Again for example, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Though Brigham Young may have hated the Masons and forbode members of the Church from becoming Masons after the exodus west, the fact of the matter is that there is a tie between the early Church and Free Masonry. 4 Church presidents were Masons (this is, however, nothing compared to the 15 US Presidents ), and Masonic architecture abounds in the earlier LDS Temples. A contempory fear of Masonry as a secret organization rumored to worship the Devil (it doesn’t, in fact Masons are mostly very active Christians) has lead most members to either deny the tie between Masonry and the Church or minimize it. I think this has taken a great toll on our understanding of early Church symbolism.

  First of all, lets rememeber where Masonry comes from. They were the master builders. They built all of the first Christian buildings- the Cathedrals, the shrines, the monesteries, the Vatican, etc, etc, etc. Their contempory symbolism has been handed down from their ancient symbolism (the compass, the square, other geometric symbols like the pentagram are all symbols of masonry the trade and craft). If these symbols are associated with the ancient Christian builders, then why the heck would we not want to use that symbolism?! Of course our Temples, which represent the finest place in the world– a holy House of God set apart and above all else, would mimic and use the trades of the master masons! So you will see the Temples adorned with pentagrams, horns, squares, even compasses). The problem is because contemporary Latter-day Saints are so afraid (as is the rest of America) of the Mason’s secrecy, they have purposefully forgotten what these sacred symbols mean. How many Mormons could tell you that the pentagram is a symbol of Jesus Christ (the Star of Bethlem, the 5 wounds of Christ, etc. etc.)

  I could divulge into secrecy vs. privacy in Latter-day Saint culture more, but I think you are getting tired of reading this, assuming that you have read this. Suffice it to say that Mormons because of their Sacred Temple Ordinances do accept a level of higher privacy, more so than other Americans who fear Mormons for such unknowns. Because Mormons themselves are so against secrecy, all Temple records are available to the public, and Temple open houses allow all to see behind the Temple walls. So the resulting high level of privacy should be something Americans love, right?

  American culture today goes back and forth between its fear of secrecy and its fear of losing privacy. As issues like the Patriot Act come forward, and as organizations like the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints gets bigger, I think Americans will find more and more that they have to choose between the two. You can’t write both into law, so we will just have to wait and see which fear wins out.

  • 1:10 am
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