On Tradition

People believe what serves them, or what’s convenient, or what they’ve been programmed to believe for social, emotional or psychological reasons. Religion establishes an authority beyond man—although all too often men (known as kings, priests, etc.) act as arbiters of the Divine. Man accepts the tenets of his fathers based on the weight of tradition through time. Which reminds me of the story about the young girl who questions her mother regarding the practice of cutting off both ends of a roast before cooking. The mother tells the daughter she learned to do so from her mother. When the child goes to the grandmother, she is told the same thing again, and proceeds to the great-grandmother who is fortunately still living. Upon inquiring of the great-grandmother she is told: “I cut off both ends of the roast because it was too large to fit in my roasting pan.”