Do you take comfort in the past: do you value tradition? It is a question I’ve pondered for years, and today I’m still unsure where I stand. I realize we humans have probably been ritualistic from the very beginning, but I wonder if baseless social mimicking still has a purpose in this age of cheap, persistent information.

My consideration started decades ago when I was witness to a borderline-argument between a loved friend, who I still really respect today, and a liberal who I thought was crazy. My sane friend (let’s call him Brian) wasn’t defending the display of Confederate artifacts that started the conversation, but the ranting stranger was basically foaming at the mouth with her interpretation, raving about the danger of acting without awareness and sensitivity. I was pretty ignorant in my twenties, so I didn’t get it. In the midst of all the emotion I totally missed her point about the symbolism, and, given I had grown up in the South, it never occurred to me how wrong its message was.

Okay, it was an argument, probably around 2005. Brian is a smart guy and also from the same area, so in his attempt to defend the concept of social communication he probably ignored the immediate subject and its nature. And, in retrospect, it seems like a dumb time to take a more general stand on the purpose of traditions, but whatever. I understand now what the stranger was “saying”.

Despite the enduring sensitivity of this particular discussion, today it is an example of a broader consideration of human behavior. For example, back then the Internet wasn’t such a ubiquitous tool — but today it is, and anyone can find any background on nearly any subject. Anything. So, perhaps now accepting the answer is even more difficult than the education itself.

And with all the information we now have, I could argue there is no excuse to carry forward any habit or pattern from the past without a full investigation. We have the resources and we have the time, so we should know why we act and own it, right? But that argument would miss a wider philosophical issue. Humans aren’t robots, and we don’t act on data alone. So does that imply we are bound to ignore pertinent information through our thoughtless social structures? Will we always mimic the past without understanding its origins?

Considering the amount of strife between us after evolving for hundreds of thousands of years, I often wonder if we must abandon what we now consider our humanity in order to improve the situation, or if can even be improved upon. That’s an even wider contemplation about our character, and, admittedly, a judgmental one. After all, I have difficulty understanding the inherent value of human nature when I can’t even comprehend my own.