After Trump had ended his jingoistic celebration for the Fourth of July, a man called Tony Meehan (no doubt of Irish background, judging by the name) said “I felt very patriotic.” He rejected the suggestion that tanks and war planes were a bad idea when celebrating national independence day. “They’ve had military presence with our aircraft ad tanks and all that before. President Kennedy had it, Eisenhower had it, a lot of /Reagan had it, so it’s a tradition. “
There can’t be a more risible reason for doing something than the claim “It’s a tradition”. There’s a tradition in the Dail of party leaders announcing that, if they are the largest party after an election and needed a smaller partner to form a government, it most definitely would not be Sinn Féin. Of course they can choose to take whatever political stance they wish, but to justify it on the grounds of tradition (“We’ve always said we won’t work with them”) is the most mindless.
It’s also the word you’ll hear very frequently over the coming weeks: Orange marches are traditional : that is, we’ve been doing this for a long time, so that justifies doing it now. We discovered the other day that there’s a tradition in Ireland – and England – of putting down greyhounds which are found to be slower runners than other greyhounds. In parts of the world there’s a tradition of female genital mutilation. For quite some time, on the grounds of tradition, Orange bands marched down the Garvaghy Road..
A tradition is only good if it serves a worthwhile purpose. A tradition of giving 0.7 % of national GDP (as recommended by he United Nations) to developing countries is clearly a noble tradition (even if it’s more often acknowledged in the breach than the observance). After a wedding, it’s traditional for the family and friends to have a meal and a hooley: a fine and joyous tradition, which acknowledges that friends and relatives are happy at this union. And there’s a tradition of flashing your car lights to warn other drivers that they’re approaching a speed trap: again, a neighbourly and helpful tradition.
But to believe because Kennedy, Eisenhower and Reagan liked to show off their war toys , that the current president is justified in doing likewise, is down-right bone-brained. Americans have a tradition of ‘regime change’ when a country has a leader they don’t like; that doesn’t make it a good thing.
And the fact that Orangemen have been swaggering down our streets and country lanes, rejoicing in a bloody battle fought over three hundred years ago does indeed make it a tradition but – how can I say this gently? – a misguided one.
The same goes for the tradition of decorating Eleventh Night bonfires with the flags and photographs of people you don’t like – at best a misguided practice, at worst an expression of intolerance and hatred.
Except a tradition can be justified on the grounds that it adds something to the commonweal, then it should be modified or even dumped. Yes, I know: a July without a single strutting drummer. The very thought is a balm for the minds of the anti-strutting half of our population.
‘Tis the season to be marching and arrogant: tra-la-la-la-la-la.
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