WHAT EFFECT: WHAT EFFORT- A REPUTATION FOR DIPLOMACY

Hundreds of years of history provided us with an opportunity to answer the ubiquitous question- are people capable of learning from history? Recall being what it is, I will not suggest all history is accurate. As Dr. Margaret McMillan has observed from a loftier perch than mine; history can and has been manipulated to serve an ideology many times.  Examples of this are legion.  I like to think there is a nobility within the fabric of Masonry, that shows us the benefits of diplomacy when we are confronted. You may be inclined, as I am, to think a principled approach to confrontation allows one to influence outcomes to a greater extent that confrontation and conflict.

Forever and a day, youthful exuberance has felt compelled to tighten the grip when pushed, convinced pushing back is totally justified.