Traditions

On the way to work I was listening to stand-up and one comedian was describing the idea of marriage: "Hey, guys, me and Sara are gonna have the same relationship we've had the last three years and we're throwing a party next year to celebrate it. Put on your best clothes, give us presents, tell us how great we are, get completely smashed, and the day after that everything is going to be just the way it's been, we're just going to get a different title for our relationship. Yay! Please, no little kids."

I've had the same opinion of marriage for years, but this guy put it quite nicely: it's the same thing, just with a different name.

I guess you can consider me an anti-traditionalist. No, I don't do the opposite of what the traditionalists do, I simply consider traditions to be at best pointless and at worst dangerous. A tradition is something done because "it's always been done that way". Even if there is a reason, not many people consider it.

Consider the tradition of saying grace at the dinner table. It dates back to the hunter-gatherer societies when dinner was at the whim of "gods", and the people were thankful for anything and everything that came to them, as it was actually a challenge to get the food. Who are you thanking now? You're thanking God that Bubba smashed a cow's head in with a hammer and then cut it up for processing? Unless you're actually catching your own food, and it better be hard work, why say grace at all? If you're thanking god for your food, why don't you also thank god after crossing a street? He kept you safe, after all. Or thank god after a hockey game for not having your teeth knocked out. Why thank god for some stuff, right there and then, but not others? Thank god at the end of the day, if you're still thankful.

Traditions can be as pointless as throwing a bouqet or as dangerous as a religion. What, don't believe me? I mean, we know religions are dangerous, but it's also tradition. Or do you think it's a coincedence that Catholics come from Catholic families and Muslims from Muslim families? The kids are doing what the parents are doing. Why? Because the parents are doing what their parents did.

I think that the next step should be this: look at a traditions, ask yourself "Is there a real reason for doing this?", and disgard the tradition if your answer is "no". That's it.

Of course, people are going to have a big problem with this. Especially societies based on nothing but traditions. Middle East. Asia. Washington, D.C. Boeing. Vatican. India. Corporations. Imagine what the world would become if traditions were stripped away. Social status would be gone. Fake-giving "to be nice" is forgotten. Monarchies disappear overnight. Corporate red-tape and BS fades from memories. Sexism, racism, religion-ism? (53% of America wouldn't vote for a well-qualified Atheist and American families are more upset by their children dating Atheists than anyone else. Not that either of those mean anything to me, but it's sickening how we're seen in this country.) Racism is a tradition. So is most people's belief that we are better than the rest of the Animal Kingdom because we have Jerry Springer and microwaveable hot-dog-wrapped-in-a-chocolate-chip-pancake-on-a-stick. I have more respect, and love, for my dog Sherlock than for some representatives of my own species.

Think that the world will be too sterile and boring if traditions are abolished? No more gifts at Christmas or Valentine's Day makes you sad? Do something for the hell of it, then. Don't feel you're obligated to be nice to a person just because the planet made another revolution around the sun since their birth, be nice to the person year-round. Don't just get nanna from the home on Thanksgiving, come and thank her whenever. You know she'd like to see you. So why hold off? Because you've always done so?