multiply account retrieved 13 December 2010.
I hope a lot of brethren will be able to read and to digest on the following article.
No copyright infringement nor plagiarism intended.
_________________________________________
Photo available here. Used here non-commercially.
No copyright infringement intended.
People are the real wealth of nations. Their political culture explains why some countries thrive and why some fail. If we regard development as mainly an issue of system capabilities, then it is essential to improve and enhance the people for them to be able to respond to their needs and interest.
Contemporary issues and problems enlarge the need for change in the social and political system. As a fraternity that is associated with liberty, enjoyment of individual rights, good sonship, and good citizenship, the International Order of DeMolay ensures that its members (better known as DeMolays) contribute to such kind of change, both purposively and inadvertently, in order to develop the full potential of the people.
A DeMolay is an agent of change because he is an advocate of religious liberty. Amidst the objections of particular religious institutions to have their members affiliated to the fraternity, he believes that real and true freedom will not be achieved if the people are not given the opportunity to worship their own God according to the dictates of their own consciences. He asserts that the people should have freedom of thought on all matters and the freedom to manifest religion and belief.
Development requires eliminating all forms of discrimination. As a brother, the fraternity exposes him to various religious groups. Every year, a day in March marks the DeMolay Devotional Day. On this day, it is the duty of all DeMolay Chapters worldwide to attend, as a group, a worship service in some church, synagogue, mosque, temple, chapel or any other place of worship.
In a world plagued with conflict of faiths and beliefs, you will find him standing proudly beside his brother, appreciating his religious convictions no matter what they are. Such unity and reverence experienced in the Order as it tries to serve humanity weighs the diversity of religions not as an obstacle but as a tool for development.
A DeMolay is an agent of change because he honors all womanhood. He knows that a society can never be truly free if its women remain harmed, chained, raped, oppressed, and marginalized. He finds it his obligation to respect them regardless of race, color, age, and class. The fraternity compels him, to the best of his abilities, to prevent harm to come to them especially those he holds most dearly.
Gender equality and equity and the full participation of women in all economic, social, and political activities are essential for development.
In planning, implementation, and monitoring of the fraternity’s programs and projects, the fraternity demands him to be at all times a gentleman and ensures that gender perspectives and attention to the goal of gender equity are never put on the back burner.
He honors all womanhood, most especially motherhood. He holds within his heart a shrine sacred and apart for the memory of his mother’s love. He believes that mothers, and women in general, are the guardians of this society’s future and therefore his hands are always ready to aid the protection of women’s rights.
A DeMolay is an agent of change because he has filial love. He loves his parents and considers parental education as one of the determinates of individual wellbeing. In terms of political socialization, his parents’ words and actions trigger positive behavioral and attitudinal changes to him.
Each DeMolay year, at any day between May 1 and June 21, DeMolay Chapters around the globe celebrate Parents’ Day. It is a day where the young man may give a simple memento and perform an act of appreciation for all the things his parents have done for him.
He believes that a man who doesn’t spend time with his parents and family can never be a real man. He feels greatly indebted to his parents and ensures the closeness of his family. The product of social relationship and social involvement of the individual and his parents generates social capital and translates to higher achievement in all aspects of life. When he values the connectedness of his family, he gives more opportunities to transmit human capital. With useful skills, sound dexterity, and good judgment largely acquired from his mother and father, he contributes productivity to the society.
A DeMolay is an agent of change because he is honest. The Order’s Code of Ethics requires him to be truthful in every thought, word, and deed. He believes that honesty brings consistency to his actions and his deeply-held beliefs and convictions. He is expected to speak up, no matter who he is facing up against, when he feels that he is right, just, and true.
In a tainted culture that is full of lies and deceit, he practices honest toil. Rest assured that as a DeMolay, he will do his duties honestly and earnestly whether he be placed in positions of great influence or he be thrown into the lowest depths of infamy and degradation. He knows that development of the global community lies in the practice of honesty in everything that we do, from authoring legislations that are genuinely for the people to selling the right price of potato in a marketplace.
A DeMolay is an agent of change because he is loyal to his ideals and his friends. Inspired by the namesake of the Order who chose death rather than betrayal of his ideals, a DeMolay would rather die than fail to defend the bulwarks and precepts of the Order. He believes that change will start from the people who cannot be bought and those who do not pursue personal goals at the expense of friendship.
He believes that friendship and solidarity will change the world. One must realize that even governments gradually admit that their reactions to shifting conditions and their desires to accomplish sustainable development and social progress will necessitate increased cohesion and strengthened cooperation.
He shows courtesy to each and every person that he comes across with, regardless of where they are in the social ladder. Friendship surpasses all obstacles hampering individual freedom. It is this type of relationship that develops an imagined community that has been gradually promoting the best thoughts, words, and deeds among the people leading to the conception of virtuous, progressive, and constructive ideas and events for the society.
He treats people selflessly not for the sake of politeness but because of genuine thoughtfulness. The Seven Obligatory Days were created as a way for the members of the Chapters to go outside the chapter rooms and be exposed to the disfavored portion of society. These Obligatory Days perpetuate the participant type of political culture. He is taught to understand the poor, the marginalized, and the oppressed, and eventually he acquires firsthand knowledge of why there is poverty, marginalization, and oppression. He understands the people. He is one with them. He serves them.
When we talk about the people, we should not fail to realize that we are also talking about the aged and the disabled. Every Christmastime, the Order celebrates the DeMolay Day of Comfort. On this day, it is the duty of each Chapter to visit the sick, the old, the homeless, the orphans, or the members of the society who were brushed away by the very agencies that should be protecting them.
The sixth candle at the DeMolay Altar requires him to be clean in mind and body. His intentions for social and political change are uncorrupted and untainted by evil motives.
He values the spirit of comradeship. He constantly reminds his other brothers to stand in defense of the Order’s teachings and perpetuate them in their daily lives. He holds within his heart a flame that would guide him through troubled times and seeks to share this beacon to his brethren that may have been lost in the darkness. He ensures that the brotherhood is solidly intact and organized because he believes in the concepts of collective mobilization and sieved networking.
People positioned in particular significant agencies and institutions have access to structural wealth that offers various capabilities and forms of collective action, whether for political, social, or economic activity and security. Some networks have frequent and specialized inclination for progressive and transformational collective leadership. If these organizations will be connected to other groups that have the same network structures, their unity will greatly form ways and outlooks for collective mobilization and people-centered developmental change.
Because he appreciates the importance of networking, he knows that international support for national efforts will promote a favorable political and legal environment. He is therefore in favor of policies, actions, and legal instruments that combat terrorism, all forms of violence, illicit arms trafficking, trafficking of women, and other activities contrary to human rights and human dignity.
A DeMolay is an agent of change because his word is as good as his bond. He understands that the honor of a man requires the inviolability of his word and the incorruptibility of his principles. He thinks twice before speaking only once. He, by precept and example, preserves the high standards to which he has pledged himself. He recognizes the fact that keeping promises and being true to whatever he utters leads to confidence and trust that strengthens the mutual bond between individuals and groups from every field imaginable. Such intimacy is capable of making a society of inequality, inconsistency, and diversity into one united borderless world.
State power is non-pyramidal and diffused because the Order, as part of the civil society, contributes to the strength of the Philippine society.
A DeMolay is an agent of change because he promotes civil liberty. He understands that without civil liberty, there would be no religious liberty. He affirms that individual rights guaranteed by the laws of our country should be protected not only from government interference but also from all other actors that may seize freedom to exercise them. He despises authoritarianism and all forms of dictatorship that may threaten the people and their fundamental rights. He seeks to help individuals who have fallen victim to the tyranny of institutions that have twisted ideologies and practices.
It is essential for social development that all human rights be promoted and protected. The people should be able to exercise the right and responsibility to take an active part in the affairs of the community in which they live in.
On a day in February convenient to the Chapter, DeMolays celebrate Patriots’ Day. On this day, each brother is reminded of the glorious sections of our nation’s history where our countrymen have called upon our young manhood that never failed to respond. He takes pride of the young men who have fought every war our country has ever waged, including the war against arrogance, despotism, and intolerance.
He is a patriot in peace as well as war. He defends our country against external foes and all internal tendencies that may lead to its destruction. He fights for equality of justice and mercy for all in behalf of our beloved banner and our hallowed land. He respects the rule of law, demands that it is also respected by others, even by those who made it and those who implement it, and combats any agency that desecrates the law of the land. Whether on the fields of battle or on the perpetual battlefields, he strives to be a good son as he exhausts all forms of action to bring about social and political change.
Before he decides to make a stand, he makes sure that the ground he is standing is firm. As DeMolays search for the real meaning of good and upright citizenship, once a year, they observe My Government Day where they arrange a program at which the brethren and their friends may learn about the government of their respective countries.
A DeMolay is an agent of change because he is an advocate of intellectual liberty. Without intellectual liberty, there could be neither civil nor religious liberty. He stands steadfastly for the public school system because he considers it as the foundation of that universal enlightenment which is the crowning glory of our institution. He stands unswervingly for the protection and perpetuity of the free public schools because he trusts that they are the citadel of our safety and the source of the only real freedom possible in a government of the people, by the people, and for the people.
Because he values education, he deems that the educational system should be strengthened at all levels. He understands that there should be universal access to basic education and lifelong educational opportunities, while removing economic and socio-cultural barriers to the exercise of the right to education. Thus, education will be accessible to the open political and economic system.
Each DeMolay year, the fraternity holds an Educational Day. On this day, it is the duty of each Chapter to arrange a program that will tend to emphasize the value of education and the fact that the public school is a bulwark of liberty and must be maintained.
Social development involves increased and equal economic opportunities, and education is the great equalizer in that it reduces discrimination and elitism.
He believes that education helps individuals and groups partake in social, political, and economic change. It is education that cultivates critical and progressive thinking toward institutions and social problems. It introduces the idea of an imagined community and eventually promotes national unity. It teaches cooperation and participation. It opens the idea of resolving conflicts nonviolently. Formal schooling advances the equality of diverse groups, develops communal appreciation, and amplifies community-level collective decision-making.
It is evident that education contributes to economic growth, may it be in monetary terms or directly in terms of agricultural efficiency or labor productivity. Education plays a part in poverty reduction, improvement in income distribution, and various dimensions of social, demographic, and political development.
The fraternity itself, as part of the Masonic Family, is a catalyst of change because it produces efforts to reduce overall poverty. Though development practitioners would find charitable activities as unsustainable, the Masonic Family gives over two million dollars a day to charities all over the world.
A DeMolay is an agent of change because he is a DeMolay. He is a member of a fraternity that brings about social and political change through the development of character and through mutual improvement. He believes that change is the ultimate goal of the creative process of leadership, and as such, he values the essentiality of thinking, feeling, and behaving with consistency, genuineness, authenticity, and honesty towards others.
#
No comments:
Post a Comment