Sunday, June 16, 2019
Traditions
Roger Scruton, Fools, Frauds and Firebrands (2015; rpt. London: Bloomsbury Continuum, 2019), p. 29 (footnote omitted):
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The common law is only one example of an enduring tradition that lives in itself whether or not also for itself. Other examples include the liturgy of the Catholic communions, diatonic tonality in music, the symphony orchestra and the brass band, the pas de Basque in formation dances, the two-piece suit and tie, the offices of Parliament, the crown, the knife and fork, sauce béarnaise, greetings such as Grüß Gott and sabah an-noor, grace before meals, manners, honour in peace and in war. Some of those traditions are trivial; some are absolutely foundational to the community in which they occur; and all are dynamic, changing over time in response to the changed circumstances of those attached to them, so as to hold communities together in the face of internal and external threat.
