Page 36 - MFM MARCH 2015

The AcAcrcohiue Nnitmamberl,eIIIMason
Introduction
One of the first questions we are asked to answer in
our Masonic journey is, what came you here to do? To
learn to subdue my passions and improve myself in
Masonry is the learned answer that should reference
all who come into the order of their own free will
and accord. Then upon swearing an oath in various
degrees, we as Masons all recite with our hand upon
the holy book of law, “all this I most solemnly and
sincerely swear” with the certainty of penalty if we
violate our obligations. However, do we understand
that taking an oath and obligation and placing its
actions within the length of our cabletows is simply
adding the burden of accountability to the candidate,
Fellowcraft, Brother, Companion, Sir Knight, Sublime
Prince, and/or Noble. So, are you an accountable
Mason?
Accountability is the concept in ethics and governance
with several meanings. It is often used synonymously
with such concepts as responsibility, [1] answerability, responsibility”. So the nurse turns to the surgeon, but
blameworthiness, liability, and other terms associated
with the expectation of account-giving. As an aspect
of governance, it has been central to discussions
related to problems in the public sector, nonprofit
and private (corporate) worlds. In leadership roles, [2] is responsible for the safety of the scalpel? Suppose
accountability is the acknowledgment and assumption
of responsibility for actions, products, decisions, and
policies including the administration, governance,
and implementation within the scope of the role
or employment position and encompassing the
obligation to report, explain and be answerable for
resulting consequences.
As Masons, we are to be better men and in a sense,
by design, leaders of men through moral and ethical
practices that brought us from darkness and into a
world of illuminated understanding. So an accountable
Mason is a Mason who acknowledges and assumes
responsibility for actions, decisions and policies and
practices including the administration of Masonic
governance (within his lodge, chapter, commandery,
temple, etc…), and the implementation within the
scope of the role of every brothers Masonic position
and encompassing the obligation to be answerable for
the resulting consequences of any others actions and
the outcome of his order. In short, if you were in the
room when decisions are made; if you are within the
room when words are spoken; if you were in the room
when actions were taken; then you are accountable for
the outcome unless you did ALL you could (within the
length of your cabletow) to prevent harm to a brother,
the defamation of his character, or the creation of the
disruption of harmony within your Masonic body.
Page 36
Now, to paint a more vivid picture for you, consider
the following excerpt from “The 85% Solution, by
Linda Galindo”.
You’re lying on your stomach on a cold, metal gurney
in an operating room, woozy from the anesthesia that
will in just a few moments, render you unable to speak
or feel or react. Four others are in the room, too: The
orthopedic surgeon who will repair the errant disk
in your back; the anesthesiologist who is monitoring
your reaction to the medicine she just gave you; a
circulating nurse who will watch out for your safety;
and a scrub nurse who will pass sterile instruments to
the doctor.
Through your haze you hear the two nurses arguing.
One is chiding the other because she thinks the scalpels
and clamps on the sterile tray have not been sufficiently
cleaned. “Mind your business,” the scrub nurse retorts.
“I know how to do my job.” The circulating nurse
takes her worries to the anesthesiologist. “Leave me
out of it”, the anesthesiologist tells her. “That’s not my
before she can speak, he snaps to the bickering group,
“Quiet! It’s time to start!” As you lose consciousness,
the scrub nurse hands a scalpel to the doctor, who uses
it to cut your back. Which of those four professionals
you wake up from the surgery with a painful infection
from the cut. Now who do you think is responsible?
Which member of the surgical team will you hold
accountable? Perhaps each of the four is one-quarter
responsible for your infection. Sound good? Next time
you need surgery, will it be good enough to know that
each person participating in a procedure that involves
cutting your skin, touching your organs, or removing
a diseased body part is willing to take one-quarter of
the responsibility for making sure you don’t die on
the table? The same is true for your lodge, Chapter,
Commandery, Temple, Brother, Companion, Noble,
etc… When your charter is pulled, your ability to vote
removed, or your lodge is not prospering…were you
in the room? Are you an accountable Mason?
As a Mason, one understands that the foundation
is the most important part of the development and
existence of any edifice. So as a Mason, our foundation
is the 1st three degrees of Masonry and in these
degrees lays the foundation of our understanding and
roadmap of accountability. In these degrees, we are
initiated Entered Apprentice, passed to the degree of
Fellowcraft and raised to the sublime degree of Master