just dropped by.. my two cents: FyreSpiryt, i am glad for you, but we sure never met the SAME kind of masons.. here (in my area) they ar enot as nice at all... aside from suspicion of murdering some popular /public people, i can tesify as a victim that i saw them ruining some lives (mine and also one of a friend of mine, same methods/context), by mere "influence game" and power... maybe from oen country to another they have not the same "values" or goals, or maybe they do not express themselves in the same way depending on the situation. Most peopel i saw that had their live ruined by was because they either refused to join them after being proposed, or becasue they were in conflict with someone from their side or protected by one of them...no matter how legitimate and right they were. so i dont want to make a polemic or all, renderosity is not the place, but as the recent events in both my situationand my friends are still hot as ever and painful and we had new nasty surprised last week, i was very puzzled by your words here. forgive me, was just my two cents... for me often it just look liek another sect or mafia, only methods and "friends" do change. but some say i am far too nihilistic and bitter a man after all :) have a nice day. ( (if it can make you at ease, on tyhe opposit, i knew members of a "hated" group in my area who were fine and nice to me, no matter how evil they were depicted by others.) so where lies he truth ? there is no generality, it is always depending on the individuals and contexts maybe...