I borrowed this image from one of my favorite blogs, Freemasons for Dummies by Christopher Hodapp. He also posted it on his Facebook page. The comments were very interesting. For starters the only comment that appears on the blog is from a member of the lodge which these brothers belong to. His comment was that the important thing was that the number of new brothers, the fact that they are there and that the lodge has a great time with fellowship and is very active.

The few comments on the Facebook post were more negative of the attire of these brothers. Some commented that their lodge is blue collar and most of their members come directly from work. Others commented that some of the rural lodges in farming communities usually have members there in jeans and work clothes. While others commented that it doesn't cost that much to buy a nice shirt and a decent pair of slacks. Others made the statement that while in some farming communities jeans may be the dress pants but the farmers always wore a nice shirt and usually a tie.

I think this photo illustrates several things. Number one, the dress requirements were never explained to the candidate. Number two they probably looked like this for their EA and it was not corrected at that time.

Back in the stone ages when I joined the fraternity it was spelled out very clearly, that at a minimum a dress shirt, tie, and slacks were the expected dress, a suit if I had it. One commenter stated that it is no longer the sixties and that accepted dress has changed. True it is not the sixties, and dress standards have changed but respect is timeless. Respect can be demonstrated several ways and dress is one of them.

We see this lack of respect in places where dress to respect was always to be expected. At church, weddings, job interviews, and even funeral homes and funerals. It boils down to respect. First and foremost respect for oneself, respect for others, and respect for the ceremony or gathering.

I would not be surprised to see these brothers visit a funeral home in the same clothes or clothes like the ones in the photo. I've been appalled several times at funeral homes and funerals when even the adult children of the deceased show up in attire fitting for a day of yard work.

Yes the standards of dress have loosened over the years and unfortunately so has the respect shown toward others. Dress is a demonstration of respect.

We ask ourselves why new members lose interest so quickly. My answer to that is that they have little invested so they have little to lose. If we don't communicate the standards clearly then they don't know what is expected of them. If the new brother shows up looking like the photo and everyone else is properly dressed then they feel awkward and out of place. If they show up looking like the photo and everyone else looks like them, then they feel hey this is not that big of a deal after all.

We must communicate to our new soon to be brothers. I admit, I don't particularly like wearing a sport coat or suit, but I always have a shirt and tie and slacks. I'm working on the sport coat and suit thing for my own personal reasons. What is overlooked becomes accepted. If we overlook or fail to mention our standards then everyone loses, including the fraternity.

Our fraternity is an institution hundreds of years old, it deserves our utmost respect. Our newly made brothers are joining based on tradition, longevity, and higher standards. It is our job, our responsibility to demonstrate the respect our beloved fraternity is entitled to.