The Trouble with Tradition

Recently in the state of Utah, the republican primary was held. In this primary, the same state senator that has been in office 36 years was voted through. In my own humble opinion (I like to think that it is open-minded and learned), I believe that anyone who researched any further into the matter would find him to be an unsuitable candidate. The man is 78 years old! His opponent was a freshman in politics and probably could have brought much to the table; his only downfall was support from the tea party. However, I feel the bulk of the win in this ancient senator's life is due to tradition. If anyone cared about more than tradition (i.e., the state of the country, the interests of the people) they would not have voted him in again.


Tradition can be a wonderful thing. As Tevye once put it, "Tradition helps us to keep our balance."  If anybody has ever been to Utah, especially the Utah County part, you will notice how much we resemble Tevye and the rest of his community. 


Nowadays, tradition seems like it ought to be something of the past (no pun intended). Take these examples:


(Disclaimer) This is not to fault anyone in particular. I place no blame or hard feelings on the people who might be mentioned here. These merely reflect my view on the downside of tradition.

Family: My parents always tried to instill in me the importance of household chores (hereafter referred to as 'jobs'). I remember never being able to go outside of the house to do anything until my jobs were done. As I grew older, I would watch my younger brothers and sisters learn the hard lesson that I learned from my parents, that is: doing your jobs is the most important thing on earth (P.S., doing your jobs is not the most important thing on earth). My favorite memory is my coming home to my youngest brother shrieking in the kitchen because my mom duct-taped him to the stool in front of the silverware basket. This forced him to precariously sit with no leg movement and unload the silverware, hoping that he wouldn't wiggle the stool and fall over. 


If I acted the same way as my parents, I might teach my children the same lessons that I don't feel are as important as others. I'd probably do my own thing and expect my kids to clean without me helping or setting an example (and all you parents know how well it works to throw your kid in a room and yell "Dont come out till its clean!"). But, because I recognize that teaching hard work by cooperation and trust works better than expectation and duct tape. The tradition stopped and changed into something better.


Business: Any business that has been around for years and years (and hasn't failed) knows this simple truth. To stay in business, you need to keep up with trends and innovation. To be fair, I have to agree that there are traditional lessons such as treating your customers well, but the bulk of failing companies lack innovation.

Government:.....I dont need to say much with government, but their old fashioned partisan arguments are bothering much of the silent majority. The tradition of politics keep things from working.

Whenever I personally hear someone say that I should do something because they have done it 'for years' or because they 'grew up doing it that way', I immediately become skeptical. Traditions should be kept due to their principles and benefits and not their common occurrences. Too commonly we look forward to the false sense of security that comes from tradition. Would that we could all "think differently."