Talk:Tradition

Um, should this thing continue to live? The intro is ok, but then it drifts off into weirdness. ħuman 03:20, 18 September 2010 (UTC)

I say we keep it because it has always been that way. - π 03:22, 18 September 2010 (UTC)

Lol! ħuman 03:27, 18 September 2010 (UTC)

I put the pancakes bit back in - it's about blindly following tradition and is thus central to the subject. The other section (kilts and armour and so on) is ok. Most of what it says is true, it just needs a little leavening. It's good stuff but a little heavy and serious. Totnesmartin (talk) 09:05, 18 September 2010 (UTC)

The pancakes bit needs more brains, I think. It's very local, ya know? ħuman 09:18, 18 September 2010 (UTC)

It's all about one country but it illustrates a wider theme. We should have better stuffs, like people who've never been to church or looked at a Bible celebrating Christmas, because, y'know, it's Christmas. Totnesmartin (talk) 10:00, 18 September 2010 (UTC)

I don't know why I bother. MarcusCicero (talk) 11:14, 18 September 2010 (UTC)

Why? The content is fine, but the tone needs to be a little less, well, formal. Totnesmartin (talk) 11:17, 18 September 2010 (UTC)

The heading: Is tradition a social construct? is a bit odd isn't it? Isn't tradition obviously a "social construct" - or am I missing something?--Bob^{Spring is sprung!} 13:17, 18 September 2010 (UTC)

I think the meaning is "a deliberate social construct" as in "hey! let's revive some old tradition!" - all human interaction is a social construct so you have to regard the phrase "social construct" as scalable. Totnesmartin (talk) 13:26, 18 September 2010 (UTC)

Ah. Perhaps "How much of "tradition" is invented?" would be clearer?--Bob^{Spring is sprung!} 13:49, 18 September 2010 (UTC)

Possibly. There is clear historical evidence that most of what we would call 'tradition' in the 21st century was invented during the industrial revolution for a plethora of reasons. The Kilt is the best example (developed by a Scottish logging company as the clothing was utilitarian given the working conditions) Now it has become a symbol of national identity, the ancient 'Scotch Gael' and all that. There are other, many other examples. The Austrian traditional garb for example, or the French beret. MarcusCicero (talk) 14:27, 18 September 2010 (UTC)

I think that the confusion is caused by your use of "tradition" in a narrower meaning that the one used by rest. "Folk tradition" or something like that will be clearer perhaps? --ZooGuard (talk) 17:03, 18 September 2010 (UTC)

We could go somewhere with tradition (invented or not) being co-opted by nationalism. Totnesmartin (talk) 17:06, 18 September 2010 (UTC)

Could be. The Basque nationalists have certainly re-invented themselves in order to beef up their history. Now I think about it I believe Hitler did something similar. (With apologies to Goodwin.) --Bob^{Spring is sprung!} 17:44, 18 September 2010 (UTC)