Why Ars Fraternitas?

I wanted to offer commentary on my choice of blog name, the reason I’m writing this blog and what I hope to produce for you – the reader.

Originally, it started with a sudden flood of masonic emails to keep up with after my initiation. I’m no stranger to bulk email traffic, I juggle multiple inboxes and several dozen mailing lists across all my interests. But the email I had been using was a non-specified catch-all for a lot of my personal communications and suddenly having it hit with a large amount of email threw my sorting out of practice.

That’s fine, I thought to myself. I’ll just create a new Masonic email. Easier said than done. I’m not a fan of generic emails, I wanted to create something memorable with my own domain. Following on that thought came the next, if I’m paying for a domain, why not run a blog?

Here we are. Ars Fraternitas. I would have considered something like Ars Masonica but it was already in use. That said, the old latin theme on the Art of <subject> caught something in my mind and lead me to think about what Freemasonry is. One key element that came through was Fraternity, thus the Art of Fraternity or the Art of Brotherhood.

I have always enjoyed writing, probably because I have always enjoyed reading. I find that both are excellent outlets and tools of education and understanding. I hope to accomplish several things with this blog. The first, being a way to express ideas and views and then review them in the coming months and years to see if they change. I already keep private journals, but they focus more on emotive content rather than belief or philosophy.

Second, this medium gives me a chance to communicate and share ideas with Freemasons worldwide. I’ve already been doing that to a limited degree via Reddit and Discord but this site gets to be focused by my interests and beliefs, and likewise exposes them to the bright light of public criticism and debate. After all, no idea has merit until it has been so exposed and come away (mostly) intact.

But the third may be the most important. Because I believe that Fraternity, Brotherhood, the bond between us – this is one of the most important cornerstones of civilization, and one that I personally find lacking in a lot of social interaction. It’s the running joke that people don’t want to listen to what you have to say, they’re only waiting for their turn to speak. In Freemasonry, I was surprised by the eagerness people have listened to my comments and questions and in turn, the attention I found myself giving.

I am very far from an expert on a lot of topics, and I’m fairly new to Freemasonry. That said, I have some unique life experiences and views that I hope will give me a view on our Fraternity that will provide some thought provoking reading for you, the reader.

I will probably also write a few guides on a number of topics, and I may put a few presentations I develop up here so others may use it for Masonic Education. If I find myself paying attention to the news I may comment on relevant issues, but don’t expect a dedicated news service.

If there’s something you’d like to see, feel free to get in touch.