It was good enough for the Foundering Fathers.
It was good enough for my parents.
It's good enough for me.
Is it? Should it be? Find out.

When is it prudent to practice or pursue tradition?
"People have done it that way for thousands of years.
That is what the Foundering Fathers believed and meant for us to do.
My parents always believed or did that.
That is what it says in the U. S. Constitution, the Bible or some other sacred book." On and on the mandated litany of justification for prioritizing tradition goes.
Tradition is often seen as the mother of all wisdom, the golden rule for how we should honor, respect and revere our heroes, sheroes, ancestors, and thought-to-be noble ideas and ideals of the past.
Allegiance to tradition, in and of itself, is not a noble thing. Tradition can be a curse rather than a blessing.
Consider how many people have lived more productive lives and even longer lives because new ways and methods have been used rather than tradtional ones. This has been most noticable in the areas of science and technology - medicine, communication, and transportation. By rejecting some traditions individuals have discovered themselves and enhanced their lives. This has also been true for societies.
As a rule of thumb embrace tradition only when it will be more productive than nontradition. Love may be defined as productivity of excellence. That is what love does. When in doubt as to whether to embace tradition or nontradition ask yourself, "What is the lovely thing to do in this situation?" The tradition of family reunion which year after year for many is more like a union of two or more cats tails tied together than family unity may need to be rejected and replaced with a healthier practice that for some people may take the form of a one-to-one meeting of family members, hence minimizing sibling rivalry and other forms of destructive behavior. What about the tradition of marriage as being honorable and right because that is the way it has been in our family as long as we can know even when a healthier concupiscence for intimacy can be had outside of marriage? And should there be marriage just to keep the family tradition afloat, and if there is marriage must it be in keepig with the tradition that is compounded by having an expensive wedding and going into unnecessary debt?
Do not be afraid to allow the nontradtion to interface the tradition because tradition has a longer history and has become something of a bedrock. Despite these things be assured that an alternative approach and new way of being that are highly productive can prevail. Embrace tradition only when it enables you to be more productive, hence happier and more fulfilled than you would be if you choose
nontradition.

Copyright 2007 by Uriah J. Fields