Theme of Salon Zoom Meeting

Theme of Salon Zoom Meeting: Tradition

For several questions, I have provided links that will take you to related online information. Try coming up with your own thoughts first – then investigate the links or ignore them – whatever you wish. If the links don’t work with just clicking your mouse arrow, hold down your Ctrl key as you click. Any problems with a link please let me know: rgordon118@tampabay.rr.com

Appetizer:

Let’s open our discussion today by reading together – or even singing together – the lyrics to the song Tradition from Fiddler on the Roof. Or perhaps we could convert this appetizer to a dessert at the end of our discussion.

Questions:

Too many questions? No need to feel that you -- or our group as a whole – has to cover all or even most of the questions. Our talk can just focus on just those questions – or quotations, too – we find of special interests. Might be a good idea before our meeting to star those questions/quotations to which you would like to respond.

1. What does tradition mean to you?

2. Are there National traditions you object to?

3. Are there traditions from your childhood that you still place much value on? Any childhood traditions you would like to see changed?

4. What other cultural traditions would you like to change or eliminate?

5. How might it be said that traditions are living things?

6. Can you cite present negative traditions that you would like to see disappear? Traditions from perhaps around the world?

7. Pick any one of your favorite traditions – a tradition the origin of which you don’t know. Then be prepared to tell us what your research revealed about its origin. Or if you prefer, see what you can find out about birthday celebrations.

8. Who are some traditional characters in our culture? Why might it be important to note how many are male? Female?

9. Are there some traditions regarding masculinity? Feminity?

10. How do traditional national characters unite or fragment our society? What do these traditional national characters reveal about our society?

11. If you were a kindergarten teacher, what traditions would be important for you to instill in your students?

12. What traditions do we have regarding dancing?

13. Why do you would wish some current traditions would fade away?

14. If you belong to a religious congregation, what are some traditions you would like to see changed in that congregation? How could you help bring about these changes?

15. What are some traditions you are glad to see have disappeared?

16. If you had the power to start a new tradition, what tradition might that be? Why might our society benefit from this tradition?

17. Why would you change any of our National traditions?

18. Is there a country you would like to visit because it has many traditions different from what you have been accustomed?

19. What are traditions in our culture regarding clothing that are very much in vogue today? How about ripped jeans? White wedding gowns? Black ties?

20. Can you give examples of past traditions that you are happy to have seen pass away?

21. In the last twenty years, what traditions have faded away? Speaking of the word faded, how would you distinguish a fad from a tradition?

22. Which of these traditions or fads would you change: ripped jeans socks ear rings tips tattoos

23. Evaluate these traditions:

a. Children should be seen but not heard.

b. Spare the rod and spoil the child.

24. What traditions do we have regarding marriage? The role of women in our society?

25. How can a tradition be changed?

Quotations:

1. “Tradition means giving votes to the most obscure of all classes, our ancestors. It is the democracy of the dead. Tradition refuses to submit to the small and arrogant oligarchy of those who merely happen to be walking about.”
― G.K. Chesterton, Orthodoxy

2. “Teaching is not a lost art, but the regard for it is a lost tradition.”
― Jacques Barzun

3. “Tradition is not the worship of ashes, but the preservation of fire.”
― Gustav Mahler

4. “It is a fine thing to establish one's own religion in one's heart, not to be dependent on tradition and second-hand ideals. Life will seem to you, later, not a lesser, but a greater thing.”
― D.H. Lawrence

5. We should accept diversity in culture and tradition and coexist peacefully.— Haile Selassie

6. Create your own method. Don't depend slavishly on mine. Make up something that will work for you! But keep breaking traditions, I beg you. — Constantin Stanislavski

7. To all of you I should like to say that in the course of this war you will have to acquire the experience and achieve the success which alone can build up a national tradition for our Army. An army that has no tradition of courage, fearlessness and invincibility cannot hold its own in a struggle with a powerful enemy. — Subhas Chandra Bose

8. Tradition is not to preserve the ashes, but to pass on the fire — Gustav Mahler

9. “Tradition means giving votes to the most obscure of all classes, our ancestors. It is the democracy of the dead. Tradition refuses to submit to the small and arrogant oligarchy of those who merely happen to be walking about.”
― G.K. Chesterton, Orthodoxy

10. “Every tradition we hold dear was once a new idea someone proposed, tried, and found valuable, often inspired by a previous tradition that had been outgrown. The responsibility of people in power is to continually eliminate useless traditions and introduce valuable ones. An organization where nothing ever changes is not a workplace but a living museum.” – From The Year Without Pants, by Scott Berkun

The End