Episode 64. Social Media (ft. Ethan Seaberg)

Reed sits down with Past Grand Master and current Regional Director (South), Ethan Seaberg. They discuss the social media echo chamber, the paradox of technology, and the power of silence and circumspection. 

When it comes to our Masonic core values, there’s a big difference between simply talking about them at lodge versus living them: “… how can you use those as a touchstone and ignore them the minute you log on to a social media account?”

Let’s road trip to Red Wing…on an all-new Minnesota Masonic Histories & Mysteries.

Transcript

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In 2024, the average person spent approximately five hours a day on their phone. Totaling about 76 days over the year. This represents a significant increase from previous years with individuals checking their phones over 205 times a day. Where does this happen? Waiting in line for coffee, sitting all alone in a room, in an elevator with strangers, between texts, social media, emails, you name it. The average is now over. I heard it recently described social media is the laboratory for the things on earth that make you miserable. Another TV commentator called social media the mouth of the river from which the BS flows. Well, of course it is. We have spent, uh, as a Grand Lodge, as a fraternity, uh, much of the period, uh, since the advent of, of social media and easy access to the technology, struggling with our responses to it. Arguing with a stranger on Facebook or any other platform, The side that you don't like or agree with. Are we posting that really for others? Or is it more of a post for ourselves? It gives us that of a almost moral high ground and it affirms to others that, Hey, no, no, I'm on the correct side of this. But is that really, let's be honest, is that really changing anyone's mind? No. And of course it's not, we need look no further than, uh, the reactions to it. It's a, it's an echo chamber. It's a place for us to say those things that we would never have said publicly before. Out loud to people we care about, and shame on all of us for, uh, for losing that filter. It's a coarsening So we can agree that nobody's changing anyone's mind about anything, especially with the inflammatory commentary. Perhaps you're actually further entrenching people who don't agree with you. The fuse has now been lit and officially that makes one a conflict entrepreneur. Does it not? Of course it is. And you can, uh, I, I think we could almost get certifications in, in conflict entrepreneurship. why can't we work to the good instead of work for a certification like that? That's really well put, Well, how about use the platform for things that make us happy, things that are going well, celebratory things, kids, grandkids, sporting events, a life. Milestone, but instead it's really become that dumping ground for things that make us unhappy. Yes, and I'm blessed in my particular case to have had my social media set up by a friend and brother who ensured that what I see are birthday announcements, to your point, anniversaries, invitations to things I would love to go to. And, um, I've been, been delighted, uh, to see that rather than, uh, those things that are, are so terribly objectionable. Although it takes a lot of work, and it takes a lot of filtering to keep those out of the stream. But it's, uh, it's worth the effort. It's a wonderful tool used properly. which brings us to today's question, how did we get to a place where the things we hold dear as Freemasons, the tenets of our profession, our core values, Things like silence and circumspection have too often become buzzwords, if not outright platitudes. The core ethical principles of Freemasonry are about compassion, tolerance, and open mind to something we may not agree with. Something we might not be happy about. But that extended to all of mankind, all of humanity. Can we get back into that place to agree to disagree? To not make it? Viral to not hit post or send, I would really like to share a surprise from my term. And it was, of all the things we dealt with during COVID restrictions, and the state deciding when we could and couldn't meet and those, all the myriad of issues, the most The severe reaction that came my way was the reaction to what I would, what I thought was the most innocuous Masonic thing I could find. It really was a response to many of the things we were seeing online from Masons. But it was a quote from our first Grand Master, A. T. C. Pearson, who was dealing with brothers who were arguing about the Civil War, and at the annual communication in the fall of 1861, in his remarks which We're brief, Most Worshipful Brother Pearson said this, A brother who has a proper appreciation of our ancient institution, of its beauties, its ties, its requirements, or its privileges, will under no circumstances give utterance, even outside the lodge, to opinions or sentiments that will make him obnoxious to his brethren, or wound their feelings. And I simply added in an article in our newsletter, that if you object to A. T. C. Pearson's directive, I would submit that Minnesota Freemasonry is not a good fit for you. That seems so profoundly obvious. And we had men quit. Quit because they objected to the notion that they had no responsibility not to be obnoxious. And that was really my first, uh, entree into, we'll call it the darker side of, of social media. A passage from 1861, basically saying, Hey, don't be that guy. Don't be, don't be that guy. Right. In today's terms. And you multiple members walked over that, over that encouragement, that invitation to not be that guy. To be who we say we are. And, uh, you and I chatted at some length about this subject. Uh, you know, Freemasons hold up some wonderful. Old tenets, historic tenets, we talked about Plato's transcendentals, those things that transcend our lives and the lives of all the people we care about. The old measures of, of, is something good, is it true, and is it beautiful? Those are the things that last. We talked too about, cardinal virtues, masonry holds those up, as I was saying, the cardinal, uh, from the Latin for hinged, those things about which our life. Uh, turns, uh, were supposed to be temperate and, and be filled with fortitude, have, um, prudence and justice. And then, you know, St. Paul introduced us in, in my particular denomination, but it's a classical thought that the theological virtues of faith, hope, and love are, we talk about them all the time in this fraternity. And how in the world can you use those as a touchstone and then seem to ignore them the minute you log on to Instagram or log on, uh, to a, a Facebook account? And I, I think one of the things that's so surprising to me isn't that there's a gap between how we wish we behaved. And, and how we actually do, um, I think that's often referred to as sin. But rather that we become defenders of that sin, in these kinds of comments, that I have every right to say anything I want, and isn't it wonderful to live in a country where that's absolutely the case, but there have to be, and there are consequences, just like you can't yell fire in a crowded theater, there have to be consequences when you engage in things that are, to use A. T. C. Pearson's term, obnoxious. I think the bottom line is. Are we even trying? Yes, and to your point, we live in a country where we are blessed with the first amendment. You can say a lot of things and, and thank goodness for that. But for us as masons who stand for these tenets, these core values. This comes up on a recurring theme on this podcast. If the words of our timeless lectures and our value teachings are nothing more than platitudes that we barely attempt to live up to outside of the lodge, what does that make us? Where does that fall on the authenticity scale of what we've set out to do in becoming That better version of ourselves and being less static in the world. Well, I have to say, I'm so glad you brought up the First Amendment, uh, in a presentation that was made a number of years ago, we quoted, um, a distinguished professor of law from the University of Chicago, who was trying to describe the First Amendment, uh, really as it related to private organizations, which we are, we are not a government agency. We don't operate with government funds. And so, a man by the name of Jeffrey Stone. said this about the First Amendment, that Congress shall make no law bridging the freedom of speech, quoting from the amendment. But, he went on to explain, it means that the government may not jail, or fine, or impose civil li uh, excuse me, liability on people or organizations based on what they say or write. Except in exceptional circumstances, again think fire in a theater, but he concluded by saying the First Amendment restrains only the government. As a private organization, and we hear this so often, you can't tell me what to say because of the First Amendment, you're right, but what you say can determine whether or not you're right. We want you to be in the organization. One of the analogies we were chatting about earlier is, is if you were, for example, someone who just happened to be a vegan, and there's little chance that you'd serve well on the dairy board. It's not that you wouldn't be excellent at the work and have all the skills necessary, but that might not be a place for you. Well, if you honestly think that, going back to Pearson again, that being objectionable in public, And not looking at those things that transcend the good, the true, and the beautiful. This should not be an organization for you. And if it is, and if you feel like it is, uh, I would argue that we're, we're failing. There's a lot of unnecessary drama within our ranks over divisive topics, politics, religion, take your pick of the hot button aspect happening in society. But as a result, this conversation we're having today, what would feels like an innocent social media post to someone creates. Or lack of a better term, unnecessary enemies. It's, it's us against them. It's, You know, I think you and I, yes. Uh, and speaking of names, and this is what made me think of it, you and I are old enough to remember Tip O'Neill and Ronald Reagan, certainly. Yes. And to long for a time when two leaders of opposition parties played golf after work. Uh, we can talk about, uh, Supreme Court justices who, uh, were personal, good friends, but argued vehemently on opposite positions on the court. We need to know how to argue. We need to learn how to argue. And to know that. You know, while our opinions may be different, we have a common goal in mind, again going back to those foundational things that we talk about. We want society to function well. We want masonry to function well. We want our communities to function well. And there are classic ways that people have done that for thousands of years. And in this time, we seem to be Ignoring them, uh, with enthusiasm. in hindsight, looking at your time in the grand east, you had multiple factors of massive challenge. you were deputy grandmaster for a very short time, ended up serving two years as grandmaster COVID happened. It's so easy to look back and think, well, we could have done this maybe, but at the time going by the guidelines of what we were given as far as meeting and being together and safety for our members, especially of which any of whom were, you know, vulnerable demographic health wise, that was, that had to be quite a crucible add to that, the social media aspect, you know, I have to say that in this particular jurisdiction, it should come as no surprise that we have. Uh, wonderful relationships with leaders in, in other states, and they would often say. and I think they're, they're right that Minnesota had it a little easier, uh, because the state told us, uh, how we needed to respond to COVID in particular. now you can hear again, there's a wonderful, uh, point of disagreement, but the fact of the matter is we didn't have to make a lot of decisions because they were made. Um, so much, much more difficult was the reaction of members and their inability to have disagreements and maintain civility, to, to be kind to one another, uh, to, uh, here's that old turn of phrase, to object without being objectionable, um, that trying to navigate. That was one of the, I, I think the bigger challenges and I have to say in a nod to a past Grand Master now in another jurisdiction, there's a story I would love to share. Uh, there was a brother in Minnesota who, uh, uh, objected vehemently, uh, to the restrictions that were put on, on lodge meetings. And so he wrote, uh, this brother, uh, an application for a petition for affiliation with another jurisdiction and complained in that document about, those of us who were in the Grand Lodge and the decisions we were allowing the state to make. And despite the fact that in this foreign jurisdiction, this, the restrictions were completely different, uh, the Grand Master there, uh, responded and said that that letter and the sentiment behind it was the most un Masonic thing he had ever been exposed to. That now was not the time, to behave in that regard. And there was no chance, uh, that that brother was going to become a member of, of that Grand Lodge. and I, I still have to tip my hat to, to this day. Uh, there were all kinds of things we wished would have been different. Um, and I think, you know, I think about the, the Spanish flu as it was discussed in the early 20th century. There would have been all kinds of restrictions and things that people dealt with, but to your point, the challenge of having social media and dealing with the easy ability to say horrible, terrible, hurtful things about people who are just trying to navigate a crisis. Really made it much more difficult than it, than it already was. Looking back on cabin fever of COVID. There are so many factors that piled up at that time too. And it affected every aspect of our lives working. Although it did give way to a hybrid work arrangement, which nobody's complaining about now, but that was a big adjustment at the time. And, uh, flying and going big anywhere. Everything was so obviously just overnight different and then it affected the lodge experience. keep in mind the hotter the topic, the cooler, the tone, and especially when it comes to being online, being a good steward of social media, being a Mason and making an effort to have the tenets of our profession. Verbs outside of the lodge room and not just nouns, not just just abstract things we talk about and memorize and recite. Certainly not advocating that our members or anyone listening somehow sacrifice their opinions on things, but how about Practice your devotion offline. Don't make a spectacle of it. Go out to lunch. Go out to coffee with friends. Get into a text thread with, you need to vent about something that frustrates you in the world? Absolutely. But the, knowing immediately that pressing send and pressing post on social media will immediately alienate 50 percent of your friends, your family members, and are you really changing anyone's mind anyway? You may well, uh, cut this story from, from the podcast, but I can't help, uh, it popped into mind as you were speaking. When I was a kid, I was convinced that there was a girl in junior high, uh, that caused the sun to rise in the morning and set at night. And she, you know, obviously was confused, because she was enamored with, uh, uh, another young man in, in the junior high school who was about, you know, I think conservatively ten times my size. And so one morning, uh, after he had engaged in some unfortunate behavior, I decided to publicly shame him. Because I thought that, you know, made sense. I was young. I found myself, um, right after that, airborne across the lobby of Tumbluff Junior High School. And I discovered at that point, when you talk about, um, when things are tense and difficult, you know, cool that conversation down. I was obviously being critical of him for all the wrong reasons. Uh, but it taught me an important lesson that there was a consequence Social media has kept us from learning those consequences, and, and to our great detriment. I saw it written that silence is a gift we give not only to ourselves, but to those around us Many of you may recognize, uh, what I'm about to share. Either from a table lodge. Or some other source, but I would like to turn you to what we call the charge at, at the close. And it's, it's printed neatly in plain English in our Masonic manual and in the list of ways we think as Freemasons, we would, we would hope we would behave until we met again. The one that rings so true in, in the ear and the one that, uh, we try to share with some frequency is this, every human being has a claim upon your kind offices. Do good unto all. And that wonderful quote doesn't say, do good unto the people you agree with, do good unto the people who think like you, or do good unto the people who react as you think people should react. It says, do good unto all. And we would do well to remember. As always, thanks for listening. This has been another episode of Minnesota Masonic Histories and Mysteries.