Traditions;The Conditioning Of The Human Psyché

This paper was written in 2005 for an Advanced English course at Vermont Technical College. Presented with minor modifications for grammar & clarified intention. Also note the addition of modernized section headings for organization and effect.

(Note: This was written before I knew of what a ‘meme’ was. Had I not stumbled upon that idea, I would likely have described this as ‘thought germ’ — hence the references to fecal matter and soiled fabric.)

Definitions:

A tradition is a story or a custom that is memorized and passed down from generation to generation, originally without the need for a writing system. Tools to aid this process include poetic devices such as rhyme and alliteration. The stories thus preserved are also referred to as tradition, or as part of an oral tradition. (Wikipedia)

Superstition is a set of behaviors that may be faith based, or related to magical thinking, whereby the practitioner believes that the future, or the outcome of certain events, can be influenced by certain of his or her behaviors. An example is the belief that it is bad luck to wear gold and silver together. (Wikipedia)

psy·che (sï-kë) n.
1. The spirit or soul.
2. Psychiatry. The mind functioning as the center of thought, emotion, and behavior and consciously or unconsciously adjusting or mediating the body’s responses to the social and physical environment.
(Dictionary.com)

Incessant — unyielding; annoying.
Fathomable — understandable limits; the extent of.
Assimilated — Taken and turned into something usable.
Lest — in care of; at least; due to; usually following an action implying fear.
Manifesto — That which as been manifested, proclaimed, or came to being.
Bigot — One whom is overtly lacking the ability to change their opinion, particularly referring to racists and sexists.
(self created / common knowledge)

Of planting seeds and soiled hands.

Sure, we’ve all heard them. Those incessant little catch phrases that hang around in every conceivable nook and cranny in fathomable society. Stuff like “don’t sit to close to the TV, you’ll rot you eyes out” or even implied ones, like that it is expected to bring wine or a desert when going to a dinner party. What purpose does it serve to have these things riddled through-out our brain, like a plague onset from our impressionable youth?

They are told to us by our parents, our relatives, and gained from friends. They thrive in schools, offices, and governmental institutions. They are whispered behind backs, and said to your face. They are used in so many ways that they begin to collect like little piles of debris on our minds, like traces of something besides who we are, taunting us to be followed. For the most part they are followed without reason, trusted without doubt, and assimilated on a whim.

But why are these things so prevalent on our mind? For what reason have these seeds been planted? To answer these questions, we have to delve into what they are, and extract the very nature of these social manifesto.

Everyone follows traditions every day without knowing that is what we do. When you wake up in the morning and off your alarm by instinct, that’s a tradition ( or not, much to my roommates dismay). When you wash your hands (lest I hope you do) after using the toilet, you are following one right there. When someone comes up to you and greets “hello”, you instinctively respond with “hi”, or if your in a non receptive mode, “hello yourself”, in a traditional manner. But these aren’t the ones that interest me. They support themselves and we can see fully as to why they are here. The alarm is out of necessity, the washing of hands for germ protection, and the last a response to portray courtesy. These are what I call “simple traditions”. They are mere routines that we go through day after day because they are useful to us, and they have easily discernible roots as to their reasons for existing (heck, most of them were likely invented by those using them).

Of Lost Stories & Talking Shit

What happens if you can’t find the roots of the tradition? One would think that we would simply forget the traditions, and over time they would fade away to a similar state, long lost and forgotten. But this is rarely the case; like an old dog, they have a tendency to stick around way past their prime. These “complex traditions” survive in our constant evolution of ideas because that was how they were designed (… or evolved). I am pretty certain we’ve experienced the subtle nature of this type of information replication at one point in our lives. Because I can assuredly say that we’ve all heard an occasional nursery rhyme.

The good people at rhymes.org.uk assert: “The origins of most nursery rhymes reflect events in history” (Rhymes). It is as if the rhymes are little vessels of important history, and they are innocently transferred from generation to generation through word of mouth. You see, with traditions, somewhere down the line someone had to explain a method (such as washing your hands) to someone else. It might be spread not because of utility, but simply due the poetic nature of rhymes. These idea keep getting passed along from one person to the next, parent to child, friend to friend, until it gets so saturated within the fabric of society that no amount of washing will get the stain out. (I.E. don’t go around defecating on your own hands, you’ll regret it).

One would think that there would have to be some kind of mega-genius behind it all, pulling the strings like a big puppeteer. But that’s the magnificence; the system is set up so that these things just sort of happen. Imagine a big game of dominoes with people being the blocks, the system is just there waiting for something/someone to set it all off. (I find dominoes sad really, it was such a depressing game. Fun to play, however.)

The Cool System

Our system is kind of cool when you think about it. Some guy, a great sage perhaps, living thousands of years in the past, can have his wisdom filter right up through to the current day. Your mind, at this very moment, could house the answer to all of eternity, as it could verily contain the wisdom of a past thinker whom belated such data unto you. If anything it is cool simply because we know not to wipe our butts with our hands, and that, my friend, is what I call “sage advice”. The very foundation of life as we know it is based on tradition. Traditions are so much a part of our lives that we’ve even done things as a society to perpetuate these methods; we call them schools, or in the case of the philosophical and religious tradition: churches. It must be a good thing then, if they are so prevalent to society?

But a tradition is only as good as its source.

Damned Lies

Haven’t you ever been lied to? We follow Traditions without questioning because we have seen no reason not to. Traditions have arguably helped those in the past, so they must good, right? Well, I believe that all traditions should be questioned, because until we know the reasons for it’s arrival, we can’t understand it’s true purpose. Richard Dawkins, a widely known skeptic and scientist, worded my thoughts rather elegantly in his piece about believing in things:

“…Traditional beliefs often start from almost nothing; perhaps somebody just makes them up originally, like the stories about Thor and Zeus. But after they’ve been handed down over some centuries, the mere fact that they are so old makes them seem special. People believe things simply because people have believed the same thing over the centuries. That’s tradition.
The trouble with tradition is that, no matter how long ago a story was made up, it is still exactly as true or untrue as the original story was. If you make up a story that isn’t true, handing it down over a number of centuries doesn’t make it any truer! “ (Dawkins)

Mr. Dawkins implies a lot of things in that article that many might not agree with, but his points about how tradition is formed, and its essential flaws, are clear. There is no way to know the intentions of the original simple tradition, nor is there an easy way to verify that the tradition had a basis in reality in the first place. Worse yet, it might be intentionally wrong!

Alas, the nature of society is a two way street. We have great scholars, philosophers, artists, musicians, writers, and any number of wonderful people that can be praised for their work. Einstein, Mozart, Donatello, Molynuex. But we also have murderers, rapists, bigots, sadists, and any number of foul creatures that lurk in the dark (for whatever reason). Manson, Hernandez, Bunker. Our collective minds are scattered with any number of these types, good or bad, with varying degrees, and thus so traditions can be created by those with either viewpoint, and manipulated by those who disagree anywhere along the lengthy path of transferal.

Take, the notion that only the good ones are passed down from generation to generation… From the viewpoint of a bigot, the ideas originating out of racism are good ideas. The groundless and biased accusations / opinions of racism are so much of a tradition in some families that they are virtually unable to admit anything contradictory to their beliefs based within; Often anything against such views being perceived as being some sort of personal attack.

The Un-Cool System

Our system is kind of un-cool when you think about it. Some guy, a great idiot perhaps, living thousands of years in the past, can have his un-wisdom filter right up through to the current day. Your mind, at this very moment, could house buckets of endless stupidity, as it could verily contain the mis-thoughts of a past fools whom belated such idiocy unto you. If anything it is un-cool simply because we know “not to step on a crack or break our mother’s back”. — Traditions don’t feel all that magnificent now (I was never good at dominoes). It gets even worse if you were lied to or otherwise intentionally manipulated through the use of traditions…

The Tapestry of Godwin’s Law

Lets start off as Politically Incorrect as you can get by saying that Hitler was a genius… at propaganda. Right from the beginning he did all the right things to manipulate people:

1) He created a false sense of security,

2) He systematically took down rivals through means that seemed justified,

3) He took every opportunity given to him to do his bidding,

4) He propagated his ideas through every possible method of communication in the day.

Hitler’s propaganda was full of traditions, created in the same sense as a wolf in sheep’s clothing, hard to detect in a field of sheep. In the same way that subliminal messages can manipulate us, an artful use of allusion to well known tradition can infect. A good allusion causes our subconscious make us think: “hmm, he used ‘x’, so he might be somewhat right”.

Take for instance this quote from a bit of propaganda:

“…But you should not be a meek person who gives up everything in order to live in a cave to receive a promised blessing. God does not want that for a person. He should have pleasure in his work. He should use it, but never misuse it, and should be the master of himself.” (Propaganda)

This is part of a Nazi written book called Faith and Action. This passage is very similar to all those within the book that suggest what you should be like as a man. They always reference some form of tradition, be it god, faith, or something very deeply seated within the base of the German fabric. The part about “God does not want…” is a direct, and likely intentional usage of a very firm wording technique, making it very forceful and impressionable. If you read any of the Nazi propaganda, looking for how the writer used some sort of tradition, you will likely find it close by or in support of what they are trying to propagate (their ideas).

No longer is it a simple matter of good and bad traditions, but we have the possibly of really powerful people intentionally manipulating us through the use of traditions. These stains in society can now be shoved right back in our faces to blind us to the real world.

Reductio ad Hitlerum

To change the common traditions of a people, affect their children (schools), offices (jobs), and government (rulers) . Create rumors that are whispered behind backs. Plant seeds in those piles of debris on our minds, setting up a plant to grow and take over, watering them every now and then. Its called brain washing, and they are conditioning you perhaps to do things you do not agree with.

No longer can they be followed without reason, trusted without doubt, nor assimilated on a whim. It is best now to truly stand back from ourselves and think about why we do things the way we do. Is there a reason behind it, or are you simply following some archaic and untrustworthy tradition? Don’t fall prey to those who would be a wolf in sheep’s clothing, instead perhaps create your own personal fabric, one that fits you the way it should, and not one that has been worn out and soiled over the generations. The fabric of society, the traditions that hold it together, is showing its age, and smells of something discussed earlier. Ask the Emperor: how do you know the clothes fit?

Hmm…

And so, I am left with this feeling that I have not answered my original question. Traditions do play a vital role in our way of life, they allowed for the passage of useful information down through the generations. They are there because they could not get washed out, perhaps if only to taste the flavor of stains long forgotten. We have found that they are merely a tool for the furthering of information in society, a tool that does what ever deeds the user gives it, good or evil. A symptom of the need for society to perpetuate it’s information forward. And a way to infect minds.

• The good thing: you don’t have the think.
• The bad thing: you don’t have to think.
• The conditioning: They think it for you.

The cure: Think for yourself.

Quid hoc ad aeternitatem?

Sources:

Wikipedia
Webpage: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traditio…
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supersti…
Website: en.wikipedia.org
Page Title: Tradition
Author: N/A
Method: Search (local)
Page Date: 09 Nov 04

Dictionary.com
Webpage: dictionary.reference.com/searc…
Website: dictionary.com
Page Title: N/A
Author: N/A
Method: Search(local)
Page Date: Unk

Dawkins
Webpage: www.fortunecity.com/emachines/…
Website: www.fortunecity.com/emachines/…
Page Title: Good And Bad Reasons For Believing
Author: Richard Dawkins
Method: Search(www.google.com)
Page Date: 21 Feb 03

Rhymes
Webpage: www.rhymes.org.uk/lost-lyrics-…
Website: www.rhymes.org.uk
Page Title: Lost Lyrics, History & Origins of Old Nursery Rhymes!
Author: N/A
Method: search(www.google.com)
Page Date: 15 Sept 04

Propaganda
Webpage: www.calvin.edu/academic/cas/gp…
Website: www.calvin.edu/
Page Title: Nazi Propaganda: 1933–1945
Author: Randall Bytwerk, et al.
Method: search(www.google.com)
Page Date: 23 Nov 04

I’ve been thinking about these things for as long as I can remember. If you are a fan of these ideas, I love discussing social phenomena on twitter.