by W. E. Gutman
In his testament, Hieronymus Bosch speaks of the influence Groote had on him.
In New York, invited to address Cosmopolitan Lodge, an affiliate of the Grand Orient of France, Montvert warns against the defection, deformation and sharp swing to the right taken by American Freemasonry. Snubbed by most Masonic jurisdictions in the United States, calling it “irregular” or “clandestine” because it does not oblige its members to profess a belief in a Grand Architect of the Universe -- “God” -- but welcomes agnostics and atheists in its midst, the Grand Orient is embroiled in a scandal it is powerless or too timid to quell. A renegade group of flag-waving American Masons has obtained, through lies and subterfuge, a patent to represent the Grand Orient of France in the U.S., and to operate as an associate. Little in the otherwise liberal, left-of-center, humanist French fraternity is palatable to the average “red-blooded” American, less yet to the diehard, jingoist, religious fringe that has since hijacked and sabotaged traditional Freemasonry in America and disfigured it by turning a tabernacle of learning and truth into an intellectually sterile refuge for the geriatric set. So the renegade group is playing by its own rules while usurping and basking under the presumed cloak of decorum that Freemasonry confers.
Montvert’s talk is entitled, Personal Thoughts on the Subversion of American Freemasonry -- Then and Now.
“From its earliest origins,” he begins, “Freemasonry has met with political and religious hostility. It has mystified and drawn the ire of the uninitiated. Often unrelenting and violent, antagonism toward Masons has focused on their advocacy of progressive concepts such as Liberty, Equality and Fraternity. Its fiercest enemies also contrived to thwart the spread of key Masonic tenets: free thought, tolerance, the pursuit of truth and the radical separation of Church and State.
“Persecution of Freemasons has always been fiercest in times of social and religious turmoil and during those great upheavals that have led men to war. Such epochs are marked by an absence of “Light,” scarred by a pronounced decline in the civilizing effects of reason and traumatized by fits of collective religion-driven madness.
“Most of you should be familiar with the Morgan Affair. Instituted in 1828, the American Anti-Masonic Party was a minor political faction founded in reaction to the mysterious disappearance in 1826 of William Morgan, a disgruntled Freemason who threatened to publish a book in which would be revealed Masonic secrets. Members of his lodge tried to set the publishing house on fire. Morgan was later arrested on charges of petty larceny. Someone paid his debt and covered his bail. He was released from jail and promptly abducted. He allegedly disappeared, never to be seen again. The incident sharpened the dread that the Masons inspired and galvanized the churches to join in a crusade against the rising so-called Jacksonian Democracy (a less than ‘democratic’ system that extended voting rights to white men only and promulgated ‘Manifest Destiny,’ the notion that Americans should expand control from the Atlantic to the Pacific at the expense of native populations). Andrew Jackson was a high-ranking Mason who frequently spoke in praise of the fraternity. Another wave of anti-Masonic fury, this time less political than religious in nature and intent, erupted in 1872 and lasted until 1888.
“The Vatican, Hitler, turncoat French General Pétain and Stalin, to name a few, were all rabid foes of Freemasonry. Hitler feared and hated Masons, along with Jews, Gypsies and homosexuals, all of whom he consigned, in the name of eugenics, to concentration camps, gas chambers and crematoria. Nazi Germany considered Freemasonry a tool of international social-ism. Communists viewed it as an elitist agent of bourgeois values. The Craft had already been dealt a mortal blow in the 1917 Bolshevik uprising. Fearful that underground lodges might have survived in Russia, Stalin, a schizoid megalomaniac, reinforced the ban on affiliation under penalty of death. Free-masonry disappeared or lay dormant in post-war satellite nations until the collapse of the Soviet Union. It is still frowned on or banned in totalitarian and theocratic societies.
“Enemies of Freemasonry in America, where the Craft has steadily lost its original character and essentially didactic, cultural and social objectives, look to the 1789 French Revolution for evidence of its pernicious influence. After all, they claim, the insurrection was largely inspired and engineered by Freemasons, among them celebrated philosophers such as Voltaire, Montesquieu and Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Tenuous as the link between Freemasonry and anarchy may be, what these critics neglect to say is that, thirteen years earlier, Freemasons had inspired and engineered the American Revolution. No one can argue that both events helped purge an infant America and a tired, corrupt and bankrupt France from the clutches of monarchs, freeloading aristocrats and parasitic clergy.
“Always stranger than fiction, the truth, alas, is no match against deep-rooted biases, malice, lies and ignorance. So the anti-Masonic crusade blazes on in America as well. Fire-and-brimstone evangelical pastors, Catholic priests and self-styled preachers can be heard haranguing against Freemasonry on short-wave radio stations and in houses of worship across the land. Some of the enormities leveled against the fraternity are so outlandish as to discourage rational discourse.
“Lacking hard facts, detractors spin yarns filled with mind-boggling untruths, myths, rumors and innuendoes. It may not be altogether by accident that the vicious attacks they mount and the infamies they spout can be found, almost verbatim, in The Protocols of the Elders of Zion and other anti-Semitic and anti-Masonic tracts circulated by the supremacist fringe.
“This year marks an important personal milestone. I celebrate twenty years as a Master Mason. As some of you are aware, during that time, from afar and on regular visits to this continent, I have tried to help re-energize American Freemasonry, to help transform it from an anemic, uninspired sanctuary for old men into a force for world good. I have long been mindful of the conspiracy orchestrated by reactionary elements at Grand Lodges throughout the U.S., and I warned against the ultraconservative mandates that have transformed Blue Lodges into little more than glorified men’s clubs.
“This transformation, this mutation which took decades to bear fruit, drove American Freemasonry into irrelevance. It became an anachronism when it ceased to be an instrument for enlightenment and social reform, when it turned inwardly and changed from an alliance of free-thinking, progressive men -- think of George Washington, Paul Revere, Thomas Paine, Benjamin Franklin, among other mavericks -- into a bastion of religious and political conservatism out of tune with Freemasonry's essentially liberal values.
“In essays, lectures and personal communications, I urged American Masons to enrich their intellect, to get involved, to speak out against injustice -- foreign and domestic -- to denounce corruption and political chicanery. And I warned that so long as Freemasonry remained an insular, closed-circuit, self-serving glorified guild rather than a shrine of learning and intellectual refinement, it could never rise above the level of a mundane service organization.
“My words fell on deaf ears. Freemasonry in America is a travesty, as is the mythical image that America has of itself. It makes a mockery of its ancient roots, principles and objectives. There is this bulimic rush to ‘create’ Masons, whether ‘truly qualified’ or not, and in direct contravention of the rigorous standards -- ethical and intellectual -- for initiation.
“Worse, as religious fundamentalists continue to malign and defame Freemasonry from without, a group of Freemasons, all of them ‘states’ rights’ advocates and pious Christians who view even benign governance as malignant and deserving obliteration, are now laboring from within to turn what is already an avowed bastion of conservatism into a vector of ultra-right-wing ideology. Their philosophy, if one can call it that, is largely embodied in the canons of ‘Libertarianism,’ a political movement with an ambiguous name and a deceptive agenda that mirrors Ayn Rand’s capitalistic tirades and Jefferson Davis’ sophist arguments. Both Rand and Davis are the darlings of neo-conservatives and modern anti-abolitionists. Rand exalted selfishness; she called it a ‘virtue
.’ Davis referred to slavery as that ‘peculiar institution’ and a ‘stepping stone’ for the Negro to become ‘perfect.’ Davis believed that slavery was a ‘temporary necessity in the development of the cotton trade in the South.’ Evidently, suggesting that perfection could only be reached by emulating the white man, the same concept held toward attempts to civilize and ultimately exterminate large numbers of Native Americans.
“An aversion for fact isn't merely the habit of a few Internet cranks; it's actually Libertarian doctrine: Any government is bad. Capitalism is noble. Worker activism and unions are evil. The poor are pampered good-for-nothing freeloaders who deserve their fate.
“This radical perspective unites free-market economics with a no-exceptions attachment to private property rights. It has a sham concern for human liberty (except for its own), and it preaches that society should be completely free to develop without any guidance or control from the state, which should be eliminated (except of course where it serves the purposes of Libertarianism).
“It is these rank-and-file Masons, these very disciples of Libertarianism, a form of Marxism of the extreme right, that are now attempting to usurp the good name of Freemasonry to advance political agendas that are not only inimical to democratic ideals but violate every ancient Masonic precept.
“It is no coincidence that Abraham Lincoln said of Libertarians, ‘The perfect liberty they seek is the liberty of making slaves of other people.’ Less than a century later, Franklin D. Roosevelt astutely and prophetically added, ‘The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little.’
“In conclusion, my Brothers, I would suggest that Libertarianism is the diametrical opposite of Freemasonry, which believes that the ‘state’ should benefit society, not just the elite; that it needs to rely on the best that science and history can teach, not legend, blind faith and fiction; and that it must be flexible enough to produce greater freedoms and prosperity for all.
“On all these counts, Libertarianism simply doesn't stack up. Once people are able to be rational about politics, I expect them to toss it out as a practical failure and a moral mess apt to pollute and disfigure Freemasonry.”
The talk, the most combative Montvert had ever delivered, receives less than a lukewarm nod. Perceived as being more anti-American than tactless toward American Freemasonry, it is written off as “unnecessarily antagonistic” even by the Lodge’s most moderate Masons.
A visiting Brother, Jeffrey Krieg, Master of the John C. Calhoun Lodge in Charleston, South Carolina, takes Montvert’s oration as a personal affront and a threat against neo-conservatism and evangelical Christianity. He challenges Montvert at refreshment.
“You Europeans are all alike. You confuse love of God and country with bigotry, intellectual immaturity, vulgar provincialism and jingoism.”
Montvert looks at Krieg. His is the face of the United States he knows. His professional dealings with various museums across the country take him there regularly. He knows America but, after all these years he confesses he is still baffled by it. His bluntness, his outspoken atheism, his urbane, liberal, cosmopolitan, eclectic background have made it difficult for him to get close to people of such vastly dissimilar inclinations. Of America, which forswore all princes and potentates in exchange for the majesty of self-rule, he had long since distilled a flag-waving, God-obsessed nation wallowing in abject promiscuity while clinging to its puritanical past, given to hero-worship and gluttonous consumerism, enthralled by its grandiose self-view and readily seduced by the idolatrous slogans it keeps coining in its own name. Of Americans, he had deduced a sanguine, gregarious and generous people, outwardly cocksure, inwardly skittish, in awe of status symbols, deaf or hostile to exotic ideas, and who, owing differences in temperament, tastes and perceptions, he a restless cynic, would never really get to know. Human nature denatures man. It is the chief impediment to harmony among the species.
“I confuse nothing,” Montvert replies. “I observe. I witness the adulteration of traditional Freemasonry and lament its decline into a netherworld of banality in which Masons are mass-produced, not to enrich the world with their erudition and commitment to social causes, but to help sustain a fossilized, intellectually inert organization.”
“That’s your interpretation, one we do not share. Your little speech tonight was less than constructive and….”
“Freemasons should be free, as they are in France and elsewhere, to advance unconventional positions and discuss contentious issues, especially if they are rooted in truth, without getting bent out of shape.”
“Brother Montvert, with all due respect,” Krieg whispers, a scowl etched on his face, “you are not in France. Moreover, the truth is a subjective concept rooted not in fact but in perception. Last, it is a time-honored convention among American Masons to leave politics and religion outside the lodge. If the Master had known in advance of your intentions he would have rescinded his invitation or asked you to choose another topic.”
“The truth knows no geography. It’s not a gut feeling. It can’t be negated by intuition. The truth is a self-standing reality, observable, verifiable and, once disclosed, indelible. It is not subject to change. It's a constant: 2+2=4. The square root of 9 is 3. Water is composed of two molecules of hydrogen and one of oxygen. The distance between Earth and the Moon is 240,000 miles. Light travels at 186,000 miles per second. The Earth revolves around the Sun, not vice-versa. I am familiar with your conventions and I believe they contradict the tenets and practices of traditional Freemasonry. And so does the Master of this lodge who, in the interest of free speech and the edification of its members, approved the subject of my talk well in advance.”
“Have you considered that your concept of truth, and the manner in which you dish it out with such disdain for other people’s feelings, come very close to hatred?”
“Hatred? Listen to the maniacal soul-robbers who harangue their congregations. Look at the transfixed masses of ‘born-again’ who sway and swing and rock, their arms outstretched toward heaven as they pray for the conversion of the Jews, these ‘unfulfilled,’ ‘incomplete’ Christians, these accursed Christ killers. What you have….”
“That’s false, and you know it. The Jews and Israel have the full support of Christians.”
“Get real. Support of Israel by evangelical groups is a subterfuge. What they really aim at is the dismemberment of the Jewish race and culture. They are fooling no one except those who are ignorant of their diabolical objective. As I was saying, what you have in this tidal wave of religiosity are all the minutiae needed to bureaucratize intolerance for the glory of God. Besides, hatred is not an alien emotion in America, is it? Tell me about the hatred of injuns and redskins, of niggers, tar babies and alligator bait and jigaboos, hatred of wops, kikes, hebes, yids and hymies, polacks and bohunks, hatred of camel jockeys and ragheads, chinks, japs and gooks and frogs and spics…. What a remarkable ethos for a nation claiming to have been founded in defense of tolerance and in pursuit of justice.”
“Your antagonism is alarming.” The tips of Krieg’s ears glow red.
“No, Brother Krieg, what is alarming is the religious fundamentalists’ mission to infiltrate and exploit the coercive power of government. No less frightening, is this movement -- Libertarianism -- seductively labeled to invoke noble principles but which, in truth, is being corrupted by profiteers and political mutineers to conceal an agenda of unfettered capitalism and religious orthodoxy. People who consider themselves Libertarian would cheerfully curtail the liberties of those who disagree with them. Industrialists who dump toxic wastes into rivers and lakes also call themselves Libertarians, as do those who would flood the world with assault weapons because they favor a ‘free-market’ economy … but would criminalize stem-cell research, pot-smoking, abortion and same-sex marriage because of their high moral convictions. In the long run, such laissez-faire -- or is it an expedient political g
ambit -- paves the way toward theocratic control. We in Europe, Freemasons and men free from the dogmas that devour the American right, will not let that happen.”
Krieg, his right forefinger simulating the barrel of a revolver, pokes at Montvert’s chest. He smiles and murmurs, “You’re a brave man, Montvert, perhaps too brave for your own good. Good luck.”
A Potent Narcotic
On December 15, the Vatican issues a closed-circuit inter-diocesan proclamation challenging the “absurd allegations of overly-imaginative secular art scholars,” and accusing them of attempting to “disparage the Holy See, discredit the Church and demoralize Catholics everywhere.”
The next day, Le Calvaire publishes an unsigned editorial affirming that there is no proof that Hieronymus Bosch’s paintings were anything but the ingenious creation of an otherwise pious orthodox Christian. The column further asserts that Bosch’s patrons were high-ranking members of the nobility and clergy, and that King Philip II of Spain, one of the most conservative Catholic monarchs of his time, acquired a large number of his works. Absent from this baseless claim is the fact that the dour inquisitor-king actually impounded Bosch’s most striking works not because he was fond of them but because he feared that the artist mocked royal and papal authority and that some of his succulent creations would arouse “impure” thoughts.
Adopting a didactic tone, the editorial further claims that it is a hyperbole to equate Bosch’s interpretation of the world to Surrealism or that his visions can in any way be subjected to Freudian analysis.
“Bosch never read Freud and modern psycho-analysis would have been unintelligible gobbledy-gook to anyone during the Middle Ages.”
Stepping into its own trap, the editorial concedes that