Some people associate tradition with old habits that are carried down over the years. Tradition is fine for Thanksgiving or Christmas, but it has no real role in the modern world, which is constantly changing. Expanding tradition beyond sentimental occasions is considered restrictive to progress.
Free Book:Such people do not understand tradition. Theirs is a superficial view that fails to realize just how important tradition is. Far from inhibiting progress, tradition reinforces guards and builds upon past achievements. Tradition is that which prevents us from constantly starting over again.
Prof. J. Budziszewski defines tradition well by calling it “a shared way of life that molds the mind, character, and imagination of those who practice it, for better or for worse. It is a kind of apprenticeship in living, with all of the previous generations as masters, and includes not only ways of doing things, but ways of raising questions about things that matter” (J. Budziszewski, What We Can’t Not Know: A Guide, Ignatius Press, San Francisco, 2011, pp. 173-174).
