The Checkered Floor

The Checkered Floor is a symbol commonly used in Masonic Lodges. It represents the "fact" that human life is "checkered with good and evil." (Euphrates, 2009). According to masonic ideology, the universe/evolution/humanity is driven forward by a dialectical conflict between the forces of light and dark, good and evil. According to Masonic teaching, the two sides are a necessary and beneficent feature of creation. According to one commentator, "The Rite makes the ideas of dualism, or opposition, in the universe an important part of its theme. Indeed, the ideas of the Kabbalah and the Alchemists are used in the Scottish Rite to discuss this concept in several of the degrees....God is great, and good, and wise. Evil and pain and sorrow are temporary, and for wise and beneficent purposes." The message is clear. For the "wise", evil is beneficent (Euphrates, 2009).

Notes

In my view, the checkered floor, the notion that good and evil are a beneficent part of God's plan, is a cornerstone of an elite ideology that justifies actions that are, from a more "cosmic" viewpoint, merely solipsistic and selfish. That is, you can justify child exploitation and rape by pointing to the wise and beneficent checkerboard.

Public figures regularly use the checkerboard floor as an analogy to describe/justify/excuse their actions in the world. I even heard Obama use it once to describe U.S. political aggression in the Middle East, if I recall correctly.

Notably, both capitalism and communism/socialism use versions of the check board analogy, thus tagging them both as Old Energy. Marxian philosophy is grounded on the cornerstone of Hegelian dialectics. This is one of the reasons violent revolution and oppression are seen as justifiable in socialist/communist rhetoric.

Referencess

Euphrates (2009). The Checkered Floor. http://tinyurl.com/y8f887nq