Trads aren't Fads

Trads aren’t Fads
The word tradition makes everyone think of different things but the true meaning is something that has been established and carried out through time. Author T.S. Eliot once said, “A tradition without intelligence is not worth having.” A tradition is not something people should create without thought, rather it should hold value and meaning; no one should take part in a tradition that lacks good reason because it is a waste of one’s time. T.S. Eliot’s quote says a lot about how he feels traditions should be formed. Eliot believes that any tradition should be well-planned and thought out. If an organization has meetings every week and the members wear the same color t-shirt each meeting, that is not a tradition but more of a ritual. A tradition should be a decision made by more than just one person and it should hold a deeper meaning to all that partake in the tradition. Having a meaningful tradition is much more important and it should make people want to participate in them and keep them going. Any part of keeping a tradition alive comes from believing in it and wanting to see it continue throughout the coming generations. Likewise, no tradition should be started based on a person’s opinion about something just because it is fun or a good idea. If it is going to be a tradition that multiple people follow, then each and every person involved should have a say so in the terms and conditions of the tradition. From the quote that T.S. Eliot gave, it can be assumed that he felt the same about tradition. No matter the tradition at hand, it should have an intelligently based origin, and it should not just be thought of on a whim, but it should have a clear and concise reasoning behind it. No one should take part in a tradition just because they see everyone else doing it. A tradition should not be thought of as just the fun new thing that other people are doing; each person partaking in the tradition should be educated enough about the tradition to make a decision for themselves. With that being said, it would be odd to see people swimming in freezing cold water in the Atlantic Ocean in the winter and think that it is a good idea. The Coney Island Polar Bear Club goes swimming every Sunday in the Atlantic Ocean at Coney Island from November through April. The first thought into a bystanders mind should not be to join in just because a lot of other people are participating in it. There should be a thought process going through their head. Why are they doing this? What is this for? A tradition is meant to be important to all who partake in it, not just a fad. There can be danger in a lot of traditions, but there can be even more danger in following a tradition that one knows nothing about. Following traditions can be fun, meaningful, and a bonding experience for some people, but tradition can also be seen as misconduct for others. In Langston Hughes essay “Salvation” Langston is struggling to make the right decision. Langston is at a revival for young children to be saved and brought to Christ. As he watches each child be saved he decides to just get it over with and ‘be saved’. Langston only does this so he does not have to be judged by everyone else thinking that he does not believe in God. Although Langston tried to do what he thought was the right thing he ended up with an overwhelming feeling of guilt because he did not believe in what he was doing. This happens more often than not. Trying to fit in can be a big issue for some, especially younger kids. When children see a group of their peers doing things they generally want to do the same and follow the crowd. Although, by following others all that is accomplished is conformity and not originality. Accordingly, conformity is a serious issue that lies within many different traditions. In any tradition there needs to be original thought and reason. The young boy named Westley in Langston Hughes’ essay set a bad example of conformity for Langston by going up to the altar just to stop wasting time rather than actually being saved by Christ. As they were feeling pressed for time because every other child had already been saved Westley told Langston that he was simply tired of sitting there and Westley went to be saved. As Langston was sitting there alone everyone started to pray for him. Eventually Langston acted as if he had been saved just to fit in like all of the other children that had been saved. As it could be imagined, Langston later on had an overwhelming sense of guilt. Pretending as if he had seen Jesus just to please his elders and his peers, Langston made a big sacrifice. Langston threw his own beliefs out the window and disregarded how he really felt just to conform to Christianity like the rest of the people at his Aunt’s church. What Langston did can cause serious problems for someone. Pretending to believe in something can really ruin how people are perceived. As previously stated Langston conformed to be seen as a Christian due to a press for time; this could seriously backfire on him and he could be seen as something he is not or even a liar just because he wanted to get it over with. All in all, conformity is no reason to follow a tradition. People should always go into a tradition with their own beliefs and not ideas handed to them by friends, colleagues, or even strangers. Every tradition is an idea formed by someone who thought it would be a good idea to repeat over again. Some people like change and some people like to keep things the way that they are. Regardless, a tradition is something that people believe to be an unbroken, non-tampered-with practice.