What does tradition mean to you?

[Steam Steam East]

Tradition is a word that I often see thrown around in a debate with no clear meaning as to what it means. Social conservatives tend to think of it as the values they interpret their religion to embrace while others, including myself, think of it as the slow, but eventual movement towards social progression. Or is it something else entirely? I'm curious as to what each of you define it as.

[Treznor]

I see tradition as a tendency to cling to patterns and rituals of the past in defiance of changes in modern culture. To adhere to tradition is to be stuck in the past without considering how relevant it might be for the future.

[Ledarre]

I'd say it's a culmination between option 2 and 3 on your poll.

[Minnas]

It means nothing and everything at the same time.

[Lancaster of Wessex]

Traditions can be a blessing and a curse. Traditions are reminders of bygone eras, practices, beliefs, that help to distinguish a language, culture, or people.
Unfortunately many of these "traditions" are not socially progressive, and damaging to human rights; the caste system of India comes to mind, despite its being outlawed; the preference in some Asian cultures for the birth of a boy rather than a female also comes to mind.

Some traditions should be abolished for just such reasons.

[Waterlow]

So negative, Treznor. Traditions can be harmless fun. They can be respectful nods to the past. So long as you have the freedom to opt out of traditional behaviour, I see no problem.

Lancaster of Wessex (great name!) makes very good points, though.

[Rejistania]

Tradition are the prejudices of yesterday. It needs to be overcome most of the time since most traditions can cause enormous harm.

[Treznor]

So negative, Treznor. Traditions can be harmless fun. They can be respectful nods to the past. So long as you have the freedom to opt out of traditional behaviour, I see no problem.

Lancaster of Wessex (great name!) makes very good points, though.

Let's just say my experience with traditions have been fairly...inflexible.

[Lancaster of Wessex]

So negative, Treznor. Traditions can be harmless fun. They can be respectful nods to the past. So long as you have the freedom to opt out of traditional behaviour, I see no problem.

Lancaster of Wessex (great name!) makes very good points, though.

Why thank you!

[Mad hatters in jeans]

Traditions are the blueprints for society, or at least for families. In them they may contain ways of dealing with threats, celebrations, unions and other strange beliefs. Traditions are effectively the echoes of past civilisations, you can choose to adapt them or build new ones, in most cases the unhelpful or inneffective ones are forgotten or destroyed.

So bottom line a mixture of many things.

[Steam Steam East]

So true Lancaster. You said it better than I did. Another one to add to your list is the religious intolerance of the homosexual community.

Tradition reminds us the atrocities, unjust actions, and ignorance caused by tradition of the past that have no place in modern times. Tradition and the people who continue to adhere to them need to understand that as times change so do the attitudes and beliefs of the people around them. Therefore, tradition needs to be modified to fit into modern times.

The problem is that the people who enslave themselves to tradition refuse to accept that times are changing and the world is not the same as it was when these traditions were first put into place.

[Lancaster of Wessex]

Let's just say my experience with traditions have been fairly...inflexible.

Likewise. My first girlfriend (Asian) had parents who flipped seeing her dating myself (Caucasian) and put severe strains in our relationship.

Their goal for her was thus: no boyfriends until university, study hard, be successful, get wealthy, marry an Asian, take care of parents in their old age.

BLEH.

[Waterlow]

So negative, Treznor. Traditions can be harmless fun. They can be respectful nods to the past. So long as you have the freedom to opt out of traditional behaviour, I see no problem.

Lancaster of Wessex (great name!) makes very good points, though.

Let's just say my experience with traditions have been fairly...inflexible.

The invocation of 'tradition' as a justification for oppression or abuse is all too frequent, I'm sure. Sorry to hear you've been on the wrong end of it.

[Milks Empire]

For me, tradition is doing something in a way in which it has been done for a long time. However, someone else might have a different definition.

As long as it isn't used to justify social regression, parental repression, or as a political buzzword, I see no inherent problem with it. Some things (like candy) are best done the old-fashioned way. The quality tends to be better, you know?

[Smunkeeville]

To me, tradition is the excuse we use when we can't reconcile what we know with what we do. Nearly anything I've found in the world to be illogical or irrational has been deemed "tradition".

To say "we do it this way, because this is the way we do it" is tautology and in my opinion useless in a post modern world.

Are we intellectuals or are we mice? Do we do as we're told or do we do what is right?

I loathe "tradition" for the sake of tradition.

I have traditions, but I've got a damn good reason for them, and the day the reasons cease to be logical the traditions will be dropped like yesterday's trash.

[Cabra West]

Tradition is a word that I often see thrown around in a debate with no clear meaning as to what it means. Social conservatives tend to think of it as the values they interpret their religion to embrace while others, including myself, think of it as the slow, but eventual movement towards social progression. Or is it something else entirely? I'm curious as to what each of you define it as.

It's a word that gets used to defend things for which there are no rational explanations.
Such as limiting marriage to heterosexuals only, any kind of gender roles, all kinds of hatred between groups, it's a long list.

Basically, when somebody brings up the word tradition to defend his views or actions, you can conclude that he/she has run out of arguments.

[PartyPeoples]

Mostly, I would have to say that my own experience of tradition has been about 3/4 negative - and mostly spouted/supported by people who haven't thought about or aren't willing to think about an issue... instead preferring to claim "It's tradition" as the be all and end all of an issue.

On the other hand of course, some traditions are still applicable today or are harmless traditions such as rolling a lump of cheese down a hill...

[Kryozerkia]

Tradition is just a euphemism for "it's broke and we ain't fixin' it".

[Cabra West]

On the other hand of course, some traditions are still applicable today or are harmless traditions such as rolling a lump of cheese down a hill...

Didn't somebody get killed in that the other year? Broke his neck or something?

[Antilon]

Tradition is just a euphemism for "it's broke and we ain't fixin' it".

+1


Of course, some things (like the annual Gloucestershire 'Cheese Rolling and Wake' and beer brewing) don't need to be fixed for obvious reasons.

[Meridiani Planum]

Tradition is some practice of the past that is preserved because one believes it had some value in the past (which might not be so) and might have some value in the present (which might not be so).

People who appeal to tradition often do so on the basis that it was a product of "cultural evolution" and might be dangerous to remove. However, why should cultural evolution simply stop? If it was good then, why isn't it good now? Why should we assume that the past had achieved all that it needed to?

[Ashmoria]

for me tradition is family rituals that you do from year to year no matter if they still make sense or not.

like having lamb dinner on christmas and picnics on the 4th of july.

anyone begging tradition to justify some political goal can go scratch.

[Kryozerkia]

Tradition is just a euphemism for "it's broke and we ain't fixin' it".

+1


Of course, some things (like the annual Gloucestershire 'Cheese Rolling and Wake' and beer brewing) don't need to be fixed for obvious reasons.

Cheese rolling? Really? That's just silly, and a perfectly good waste of cheese I might add.

[Lancaster of Wessex]

Cheese rolling? Really? That's just silly, and a perfectly good waste of cheese I might add.

The great cheese is actually sealed (I'm not sure if it's in wax or what) but it's perfectly edible as far as I know after being hurled rapidly down said hill.

[PartyPeoples]

Cheese rolling? Really? That's just silly, and a perfectly good waste of cheese I might add.

The great cheese is actually sealed (I'm not sure if it's in wax or what) but it's perfectly edible as far as I know after being hurled rapidly down said hill.

Indeedy - silly as silly can be... but very giggle-worthy I find.
=]