Getting Out of the House: Fraternalism, not Fraternization

I don't know any guy out there that needs to get away from the family on occasion.  However, those of us who are married with children typically don't want to go to some bar and get drunk and do stupid things with our single friends (like we have many left), and get ourselves into trouble.

Lets face it, I like my couch for the occasional nap, but not for a long period of time, and that's exactly what would happen if I were to head to the bars.

Therefore, instead of fraternizing and getting into trouble, how about fraternalism?  Getting together with the guys to talk about things beyond sports, women, and booze?  That's fraternalism.  There's only one place I know of for adult guys to get together for the purposes of fraternalism, and that is Freemasonry.

Thanks to Dan Brown's latest book, The Lost Symbol, Masonry is in the forefront of the media.  Masonry brings together men of all ages, races, nationalities, and religions for conversations, serious study in history, philosophy, legend, faith, and ritual.  There are two things that are not discussed in lodge, those being politics and religion.  Both of these subjects tend to divide people, so they are not discussed in lodge.

In my lodge, we have papers and gourmet dinners every other month, with business meetings on our off months.  The papers range in a variety of topics, from the founding fathers, to the legend Beowulf.

Masonry does much more than give guys a place to hangout without (and sometimes with) the family, forget the outside world, and simply enjoy the camaraderie of other guys with similar interests.

So, instead of going out, and spending the week on the couch, try doing something that improves yourself while having fun.  Try fraternalism, not fraternization.