Tradition is heavy

by Regular Joseph , Tuesday, January 19, 2021, 19:32 @ Brendan

I like this traditional vs original church framework. I think Tradition vs. ____, is an informative way of looking at cultural movements.

Most people, most of the time crave tradition, a set of accepted, familiar rules that shape life. I love, or maybe am passionate about, all kinds of traditions, but gold helmets and the order of the mass are two.

The resonance between religious tradition and conservative reverence for government or conservative reverence for familiar power structures is easy. It's also easy to see how Tradition becomes a god. Something like critical reflection and continual rebirth is the necessary complement, and I work pretty hard on that.

It would be great if everyone worked as hard to critically appraise and take some distance from what's familiar, but I feel like we have to harness tradition as a cultural engine, because history seems to show you can't squash it without killing a solid chunk of people.

What else can you say as a Notre Dame partisan.