Masonry was extremely fashionable back then and being a Mason in colonial Virginia was about as important as being a member of the local country club was in the 1950s.
Whacking a tiny ball around a field with a metal club all day seems kind of pointless too, but you do what you need to do to keep up with the Joneses.
Oh, I guess that they're just silly men who were wasting their time
Insofar as they were able to use Masonic lodges as venues for political activity it was a good use of their time.
Insofar as they were using their time to prance around in decorative smocks, they were wasting it.
And so does trying to teach a pig to sing
It is pointless to waste my time anymore with someone so prejudice - you are free to have your beliefs and I am free to mine.