Tradition?

[Chas]

Traditions are not bad, but I cannot agree with that they only exist when they benefit the majority. Who else are they for - the minority - every minority. Humans would never do that. When the benefit stops so does the tradition. From one day to the next sometimes. No one ever said that traditions were to be immutable, for ever and ever, world without end, Amen.

Who benefits when tradition dictates the color of one's shoes or sporran or by being told what to wear for every occasion? The benefit comes from belonging to that group of people who wear that colour of shoes on that type of occasion. If you want to be part of that group, you do what that group does. Families have many traditions that individuals may not like, but they put up with them rather than leave the family. Every day millions of men, worldwide wear a piece of clothing to show their allegiance to a particular sporting team. Millions of Sikh men wear a turban in the colours of their political party. The benefit to all these people is the 'belonging', being part of a greater entity. Maybe the people who make and sell shoes, or maybe the socioeconomic class can afford the prescribed fashions and thus function on a higher social plain than those who cannot. Cobblers and shoe-sellers will make or sell shoes for which there is a market. A good example which is pertinent to our interest is buckle brogues. The major manufacturer in the UK was in Birmingham, a company called 'Kilties'. As the tradition of wearing kilts waned in post-war Britain, so did the wearing of buckle brogues. They stopped manufacture in the mid 70's. There was no benefit to them, so they stopped making them.

Are we handcrafted by the traditions that were in place since the day we were born? Many social traditions that limited the rights of minorities were happily embraced when I was a child have been largely, and I think, rightfully, rejected. But of course! As the benefit to the majority changes so will the tradition. In this case the benefit might be having a clear conscience.

Traditions can provide a guideline for how we live our lives, but I think each of us has the right, and even, a responsibility to reject some traditions that for whatever reason, we find unacceptable. That's all very well as far as it goes. If a person wants to belong to a certain group, or set, or club, or society, or society in general one has to adopt the mores and traditions of that group. One doesn't have the right to pick and choose. The best example is X Marks The Scot itself. We have a set of rules called the Forum Rules.
http://www.xmarksthescot.com/forum/view.php?pg=forumrules
Anyone joining us and those who are already members agree to abide by these rules. No one has the right to ignore a rule because they find it unacceptable.

The American poet, Ralph Waldo Emerson, expressed it better than I do:

"A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines."

I know of only one quote that will fit; it comes from my Mother; she's 91 this year.

"If you don't like the way we're rowing this boat - get out of the boat. Oh - mind the sharks."

In all of this, no one has mentioned improvement. If a tradition is legally,morally or ethically wrong, then of course it needs to be changed.

For something better.

But if the tradition does no harm and there is a perceived benefit to those practising it, why should it be changed?

Here in Europe, we have traditions that go back, in some cases a thousand years. We are not so quick to give them up or even contemplate it.

Regards

Chas