{"id":98018,"date":"2025-12-14T10:13:26","date_gmt":"2025-12-14T15:13:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mainestategrange.org\/?p=98018"},"modified":"2026-05-08T05:42:03","modified_gmt":"2026-05-08T09:42:03","slug":"exploring-traditions-meandering-around-the-grange-way-of-life-july-2017-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-3-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-3-2-2-3-3-2-3-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mainestategrange.org\/?p=98018","title":{"rendered":"Exploring Traditions &#8211; December, 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Meandering Around the Grange Way of Life<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-right\"><em>By Walter Boomsma, Guest Columnist<\/em><\/h5>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"grange-heirlooms\"><em>May I Incite you?<\/em> (Part two)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This month\u2019s column is a bit of an \u201cop-ed.\u201d My <a href=\"https:\/\/mainestategrange.org\/?p=97733\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">October column<\/a> challenged the use of the word \u201cIncite\u201d in the installing officer\u2019s charge to the Steward during officer installation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I also confessed to being a wordsmith. Lynn Van Note of Parkman Grange sent this reply.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>While meandering through the recent State Grange Bulletin, I happened upon your \u201cExploring Traditions\u201d column.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>I think the word \u201cincite\u201d was used deliberately:<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>During the 1800s, the word was used with the same general meaning it has today. For example, in the 1828 edition of the&nbsp;<strong>American Dictionary of the English Language<\/strong>&nbsp;by Noah Webster, &#8220;incite&#8221; is defined as<\/em><em>:<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><em>&#8220;<\/em><em>To move the mind to action by persuasion or motives presented; to stir up; to rouse; to spur on&#8221;.<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><em>&#8220;To move to action by impulse or influence.<\/em>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><em>&#8220;To animate; to encourage.\u00a0<\/em>&#8220;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>A notable example of its use in that era is in the context of the &#8220;Slave Bible&#8221; from the 1800s, which omitted passages that might &#8220;incite rebellion&#8221; or inspire liberation among enslaved people. This demonstrates that the word carried the connotation of encouraging significant, sometimes negative or rebellious, action, which is consistent with modern usage.&nbsp;<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Although the word has tended to go negative more recently, I think it had a more rousing, encouraging aspect \u2014 to incite the mind to the point of action, whether good or bad.(But, of course, Thomas Paine\u2019s writings certainly did \u201cincite\u201d those damn colonists to rebellion.)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In replying, I noted that we really didn\u2019t disagree, but the discussion does raise an interesting question. When we talk about \u201cupdating\u201d the language of the Ritual, what guidelines do we follow? For example, in defense of Lynn\u2019s point, changing the word \u201cincite\u201d might significantly change the meaning (and appropriateness) of the Ritual itself. How say you? Do we want the steward inciting people? Sometimes the question is more important than the answer. Questions mean we\u2019re thinking, not just parroting the words we\u2019ve been given.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We can surely agree, the Ritual gives us much to think about. I don\u2019t know the word count for the installation of officers, but we\u2019re discussing just one word of it. It\u2019s tempting to adopt that perspective and flip a coin, but do we really want to subscribe to Ritual that\u2019s based on the flip of a coin?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I hope it\u2019s obvious this is a friendly, civil discussion. And I can\u2019t resist noting it\u2019s proof that people really do read the Bulletin!<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-medium\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mainestategrange.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/WB-AI-Happy-SM.png?ssl=1\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"223\" height=\"300\" data-attachment-id=\"97932\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/mainestategrange.org\/?attachment_id=97932\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mainestategrange.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/WB-AI-Happy-SM.png?fit=600%2C807&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"600,807\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"WB AI Happy SM\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mainestategrange.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/WB-AI-Happy-SM.png?fit=600%2C807&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mainestategrange.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/WB-AI-Happy-SM-223x300.png?resize=223%2C300&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-97932\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mainestategrange.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/WB-AI-Happy-SM.png?resize=223%2C300&amp;ssl=1 223w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mainestategrange.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/WB-AI-Happy-SM.png?w=600&amp;ssl=1 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 223px) 85vw, 223px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Any degree or ritual quotations are from the forty-seventh edition of the 2023 Subordinate Grange Manual or the most recent edition of the Pomona Grange Manual. The views and opinions expressed in &#8220;Exploring Traditions&#8221; are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official doctrine and policy of the Grange. Information about the book &#8220;Exploring Traditions\u2014Celebrating the Grange Way of Life&#8221; can be found at <\/em><a href=\"http:\/\/abbotvillagepress.com\"><em>http:\/\/abbotvillagepress.com<\/em><\/a><em>,<\/em> <em>on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/stores\/Walter-Boomsma\/author\/B00JAXUN64?ref=ap_rdr&amp;shoppingPortalEnabled=true&amp;ccs_id=3dbbef8d-9e47-4398-bb74-11aa122533c3\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Mr. Boomsma&#8217;s Amazon Author Page<\/a>, or by contacting the author.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Meandering Around the Grange Way of Life By Walter Boomsma, Guest Columnist May I Incite you? (Part two) This month\u2019s column is a bit of an \u201cop-ed.\u201d My October column challenged the use of the word \u201cIncite\u201d in the installing officer\u2019s charge to the Steward during officer installation. I also confessed to being a wordsmith. &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/mainestategrange.org\/?p=98018\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Exploring Traditions &#8211; December, 2025&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2122,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[190,19],"tags":[34,176,25],"post_folder":[365],"class_list":["post-98018","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-grange-principle-and-practice","category-history-and-trivia","tag-grange-activities","tag-grange-degrees","tag-grange-heritage"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":false,"thumbnail":false,"medium":false,"medium_large":false,"large":false,"1536x1536":false,"2048x2048":false,"post-thumbnail":false},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Walter Boomsma","author_link":"https:\/\/mainestategrange.org\/?author=2122"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Meandering Around the Grange Way of Life By Walter Boomsma, Guest Columnist May I Incite you? (Part two) This month\u2019s column is a bit of an \u201cop-ed.\u201d My October column challenged the use of the word \u201cIncite\u201d in the installing officer\u2019s charge to the Steward during officer installation. I also confessed to being a wordsmith.&hellip;","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1arC1-puW","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mainestategrange.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98018","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mainestategrange.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mainestategrange.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mainestategrange.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2122"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mainestategrange.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=98018"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/mainestategrange.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98018\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":99353,"href":"https:\/\/mainestategrange.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98018\/revisions\/99353"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mainestategrange.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=98018"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mainestategrange.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=98018"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mainestategrange.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=98018"},{"taxonomy":"post_folder","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mainestategrange.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fpost_folder&post=98018"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}