Originally posted by Rockpuck
George H.W. Bush was NOT a Freemason.
Nor was Jr.
Academic secret societies are gateways to be a Freemason. And generaly speaking, such secret societies share similar objectives, methods, beliefs than
Freemasonry.
You could very well be a member of such secret societies (Skull and Bones) or gatherings (Bohemian grove), and not being "a Mason" strictly
speaking, but you will still be a member of the same "family".
As for proof of this assumptions :
Academic secret societies are gateways to be a Freemason
In my country, we have what is called "Orders" in the different universities. Those Orders have initiation rituals, symbols, ceremonials, secrecy,
etc, just like Freemasonry does. Most orders have the objective to keep the folklore alive (mainly songs and local lore) and promote networking. But
they are not masons.
Here is an exemple of members of an academic Order from my former university :
But there are also "secret Orders" that recruit students from the most influencial faculties and that introduce them to the world of Freemasonry.
The members cannot speak about these Orders, but it's not really a big secret.
Here are some of these Orders : Ordre des frères M.a.K.B. (They even have a Facebook page
here, so much for the secret !), Ordre des frères coquillards, Cercle des
nébuleux, etc.
If you go to the facebook I gave you for the Order of the brothers M.a.K.B., you cannot ignore the masonic typology and symbols. Neither can you
ignore that these guys are students,
selected and invited by other members of the order.
But these guys are not Masons stricto senso, because they are not member of any of the openly accepted lodges. (That you can find
here)
I doubt the relation is any different between the Skull and Bones (and other societies) and Freemasonry.
So maybe Bush is not a Mason, but I wouldn't go as far as saying that :
- He knows nothing about Freemasons
- He doesn't know Masons personally
- He doesn't meet them during various gatherings
- He may not be regarded as a Brother by any Mason.
and I agree that I don't get where the OP want us to go...
Edit : Bonus (unrelated) pic from the M.a.K.B. facebook page, because that's one hell of a bike :
[edit on 7-12-2009 by SpaceGoatsFarts]