Male Sovereignty part 2: Fraternal Organizations

Male Influences: Fraternal Organizations

written for Going Your Own Way forum

Syndics of the Drapers’ Guild a.k.a. The Sampling Officials 1662 - Rembrandt

GabrielKnight (2014) spoke of men-only clubs such as Fight Club and though he did not mean literally that MGTOW form a Fight Club, the idea is the same in that MGTOW should organize themselves into a fraternity of men, for men, by men. And that is simply what Fraternity is, a brotherhood or more specifically, a society of men associated together in an environment of companionship and brotherhood; dedicated to intellectual, physical and social development of its members.

Fraternal Organizations developed from medieval guilds. Craftsmen or merchants formed association for mutual aid and protection and for the furtherance of their professional interests. Guilds flourished in Europe between the 11th and 16th centuries and formed an important part of the economic and social fabric in that era. Guilds saw a decline for a number of reasons; among them is that guilds were dependent on friendly government but if government were to turn hostile, members will lose sight of positive guild virtues such as collegiality, of concern for the group, of a higher professional ethic beyond profit and become mere wage slaves (Krausse, 1998).

However, some guilds were able to adapt to social support and philosophical functions focused on brotherly love and ethical living. The 3 oldest and most well-known fraternal organizations are Oddfellows, Foresters and Freemasons. Among the 3, Freemasonry has been viewed with equal amount of derision and deference throughout its controversial history but still boasts many notable figures that include Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Winston Churchill (Goldschein & Johnson, 2011).

What I want to impress upon is the idea of an enduring fraternal organization the likes of Freemasonry and Oddfellows; a society of men that looks after each other. Organizations such as guilds and fraternities excel in spreading male influences. In medieval times, master craftsmen would often take in and taught apprentices their trade and tradesmen also visit each other to share knowledge of their craft. This cultivates brotherhood among men, one that we can appreciate and emulate for Men Going Their Own Way.

We look at Newton, Bach, Musashi and Zheng He and we can see how important male influence is. We also see the importance of pursuing one’s passion, directed by cognitive learning and critical thinking as well as not simply adhering to social norms and customary beliefs. We see that as long as what we do is good, and we strive to be good at it, it will not matter if any other person or society as a whole adore us or abhor us.  In the end, if we enjoy what we do and share the things that we enjoy, our deeds will vindicate us and our good male influence will change the perception of others.

What we can do and who we can be is to enjoy what we do and to share what we enjoy as well as to be affected by good men and to affect good on other men through male influence.

Reference: 

Goldschein, E & Johnson, R (2011) The Most Powerful Freemasons Ever. [online] Sep 15, 2011 available at Business Insider http://www.businessinsider.com/powerful-masons-2011-9?IR=T&op=1  [accessed Mar 29, 2014]

Krausse, E (1998) Declining Professions: Just Another Way to Make a Living. [online] Mar 12, 1998 http://www.economist.com/node/370941 [accessed Mar 28, 2014]