Quote:
Originally posted by PhiPsiRuss
. . . the reason for the secrecy is to preserve that special bond, and to commit the members to honorable behavior.
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and
Quote:
Originally posted by Pirate00
This question is asked of both Greeks and Masons all the time, and one of the reasons is so members can recogize other true members of the organizations.
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Preserving the bond and recognition of other members of one's GLO are certainly key aspects of ritual secrecy, but I think there's much more to it.
Any ritual worth its salt exists primarily not to just impart secret recognition signs but to teach values -- specifically, the values that matter to a fraternity or sorority, that form the basis of its ethos (or at least
should for the basis of its ethos). These values or principles certainly are not exclusive to the particular GLO in question, but presenting them as secrets within the context of a ritual teaches the member to regard them as privileged and significant information and to respect them with an increased sense of pride and personal ownership. Our founders certainly would have hoped that this would result in incorporation of these values into members' personal value systems. Ritual secrecy gives these values or principles increased new meaning because they are presented as treasures that are to be guarded and treated as sacred, and because we, like all of our brothers or sisters, commit ourselves to these treasured values through the oaths that bind us together as brothers or sisters.
Other secrets - signs, grips, passwords, and the like -- serve not only to provide recognition; they also serve to underscore and call to mind the more central lessons of a GLO's ritual.
I hope this makes some sense.