The Rhetoric and Death of U.S. Freemasonry In this essay I argue ...

Death of Freemasonry 33
so on. After revisiting Griffin's description of the failed rhetorical responses of the
fraternity to negative publicity in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, I then
showed how the most recent Masonic strategy has been to divest Masonry of its
symbolic philosophy in favor of stressing the civic, social, and charitable mission of the
Order. In short, at least in the popular press, Masons are deliberately dismantling the
mystery or fetish character of their Order.
Owing to the introductory and descriptive mission of the present essay, space
prevents any thorough discussion of the wider, cultural meaning of the Masons'
rhetorical response to recent publicity. Nevertheless, I want to close by arguing that
continued study of the Fraternity can fruitfully contribute to discussions about issues
that are important to rhetorical scholars, most especially those concerning the
transformation of publics in our time and the relationship of this transformation to a
decline in civic engagement. For example, during their interview on Good Morning
America at the Scottish Rite Temple in Washington, D.C., Charles Gibson and S. Brent
Morris linked civic engagement directly with the clandestine character of Masonry:
Gibson: . . . one of the things that struck me, you've all talked about the
fact you do good works, very supportive of one another, but membership
is diminishing in the Freemasons.
Morris: Indeed it is. Membership has diminished in the Freemasons since
1960. But it's also diminished in virtually every voluntary organization in
the United States. It's a mystery for sociologists.
Gibson: Why? Private societies, secret societies, whichever word you want
to use, raise suspicions. Are some of those suspicions the reason you
think that membership declines? 77