My limited perspective.
My great-grandfather, who died decades before I was born, was an active mason. My dad still has his ring, pen, and other paraphernalia. My dad also warned me never to get involved with them (at least with their organization). Strangely, I have had a mason make at least a slant attempt to recruit me. He "strongly encouraged" me to seek out the masonic lodge in my area. I don't know how this compares with other peoples' experiences or the Masonic rules.
I met one young man in his twenties a few years ago who told me he was eager to become a mason. His reasons were for the connections and prestige he believed would be available-- he'd be "in like Flynn" and have a smooth-flowing life in the big club of helpful brotherhood. This was in Texas. I have not spent much time in Texas (ten weeks) but in my time there in the greater Houston area, I saw a lot of Masonic activity. They are very proud of their many historical members, including most of the famous founders of the state of Texas-- Austin, Crocket, Lamar, Bowie, and others.
For that matter, I am led to believe that many of the founders of the United States govt, including George Washington, Ben Franklin, Sam Adams, and others, were masons. (no, i didn't get my information from the movie "National Treasure"). All this I am saying without showing the documentation, so I could be a little rusty on the particulars. I have looked up a website once before that showed that most of the presidents were either masons, or members of other secret societies such as the "Rosecrutians" "Skull and Bones" or etc.
