Brothers All,
I have just conducted my own review of the esoteric Ritual that was recently sold on eBay at:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3972178181&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&rd=1
In reviewing the winning buyer's history, it appears to me that the individual is a collector of rituals from various fraternities.
I will further say that the person is someone who is a private collector of esoteric materials or possibly an author or reporter who is gathering items for a future book.
Therefore at this point in time, our information will not be shared in a wholesale manner.
Years ago and possibly even more now in light of the heated commentary shared by Brothers on the matter, I proposed releasing Phi Nu Pi to the world if our secrets really had any power to them.
Now on the eve of my rapidly approaching 40th birthday, I now say that it really does not matter since the world does not recognize us as a collective force but more of a group of individuals centered around a common theme.
Never in my life before or during Kappa, I would never imagine seeing our Ritual sold on eBay or through any other means. It has put a bad taste in my mouth to know that it got out of our hands and control somehow.
But this failure occurred on the local level undoubtedly. Until it is revealed that IHQ did not seek to end the auction or purchase the item itself, blame cannot be placed anywhere else.
The sale of esoteric material will be placed up for auction again since the winning bid in this auction was $3,250.00. I believe that a negative precedent has now been firmly established that we cannot walk away from.
Before I would see us potentially held hostage due to someone's extortion to expose us on any level, I would say that we would take matters into our own hands and reveal who we really are as well as the words and statements once held in complete confidence. This is and was the essence of my position always.
There is nothing within our private knowledge that distinctly states "This is what *** means and this is what to do when *** is done".
The presence of brothers is needed for the real transfer of knowledge to occur. This is where the Bond truly comes alive. No one is truly initiated in an one-on-one manner.
The slogans and publicly shared phrases created by an ad and PR agency say:
Training for Leadership: It's who we are. It's what we do.
Have we fallen to a level of being no more than a traveling road show convening every two years for the hundreds of thousands of dollars we can spend within conclaves and annual provincial meetings?
I fully respect the positions of Brothers who brought the sale to our attention and their personal words on the State of the Fraternity that bring us to this point in time.
Overall, we must return to the days of fulfilling our Bond within Brother-to-Brother interactions since our larger assemblies have gotten drunk with the power of unbalanced budgets, trivial politics, and short-term poisons.
Chapters (local and virtual--eventually) are the best place for the Bond to come alive.
Until desired change begins to appear on the horizon that we all can agree upon, I would not worry about the sale of the esoteric document on eBay at this time since there are bigger fish to fry, bake, and cook elsewhere within our lives.
We need an internal revolution before the external revolution can really occur. Right now we are still treading water professionally.
My prediction is that there is indeed a new day of Kappa coming (before or after our 100 year anniversary) as the dynamics are occurring elsewhere within society. It will be a destiny of Kappa 2.0 indeed. The difference will be the exit from the glass house we have been collectively forced to dwell within.
Viva Le Kappa!
Yours in the Bond,
Roney Smith
http://www.yoursinthebond.com
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