Every time I buy a new version of my word processing software I am forced to go in and tweak it to work the way I want. One thing I am always forced to change is the automatic way in which it changes my two spaces to one. What am I talking about?
When I learned to type I was taught to put two spaces after a period. This set off the beginning of the next line and made it easier to read. I still do this by habit but the current default is to put one space. I imagine the reason is to save space on your hard-drive. One space multiplied a thousand times can make a difference. I still like the old way. I think it made sense then and I think it makes sense now.
This only becomes an issue if I insist that it is the right way to do it and others must do it my way. It becomes and issue if I make it a matter of right or wrong. It causes problems because I am taking a tradition and trying to anoint it as truth.
It is easy to get confused. We get used to doing things a certain way and think it has always been done that way and because of that it is right. Wrong. Tradition has value but it is the value of habit not the value of eternal essence. Habits help us get through routines without a lot of thought. Tradition helps us get through the day because we don’t need to always rewrite the standards and expectations but it is simply a cultural device. It is subjective.
Truth is objective. It exists outside our frame of reference. It does not change because we want it to change or because we do not like it the way it is.
For truth we need to go to eternal sources like the Bible or time-tested sources such as the Constitution. For tradition all we need to do is watch how our children show that the nut doesn’t fall far from the tree.
Stand up for truth. Bend a little on tradition.
homo unius libri
Good lesson for all of us.
ReplyDeleteNow, if I can just apply it more consistently in my own life....
DeleteGrace and peace.