Tradition versus Change and Progress
December 2, 2018
Beyond sporting events, I rarely watch television anymore. This seems strange to my husband who has the television on all day long. For obvious reasons, I turned the television off on the evening of November 8, 2016, and haven’t turned it on much since then, except for Oklahoma football and basketball games.
I’m not missing much. Thanks to 21st century technology such as YouTube and other media streaming providers, I can watch video clips on my laptop or iPhone of Saturday Night Live, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, or any television series available on Netflix, HBO, Starz, or Amazon Prime Video. In the spirit of full disclosure, I probably wouldn’t have bought subscriptions to any of those media streaming services, but I was strongly encouraged by friends to check out House of Cards, Outlander, and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. Which is how I discovered The Crown.
To be honest, I don’t really have time to binge watch programs, but it has proven a good way to pass the time on long plane flights. A few weeks ago, I was scrolling through Netflix and decided to watch the first episode of season 1 of The Crown. A few nights later, I watched episode 2. After that I was hooked. Last week, I finally got to episode 5 of season 2. The episode, which originally aired in 2017, featured the storyline about Lord Altrincham (who was later known as John Grigg after he disclaimed his title in 1963). I’m ashamed to admit this, but I have two college degrees, and I had never heard of Lord Altrincham or the controversy he created in Great Britain when he suggested that Queen Elizabeth and the British monarchy were “out of touch.”
The scene that got my attention was one where Altrincham (played by John Heffernan) recommends to Queen Elizabeth (played by Claire Foy) that she should become more inclusive and accessible and spend more time with “average working people” and less time with aristocrats preserving tradition.
And in those words, I heard my long and ongoing personal struggle with tradition versus change and progress. This particularly hits me during the holiday season because there is the expectation from both my family and my husband’s family that holidays will be observed in the same places and ways that they have always been observed. It’s possible that had my life not changed and circumstances had stayed the same, I too would have been content to spend holidays the same each year. But, I doubt it.
When I’ve asked why something is done a certain way, I’ve always had a problem with the response “because we’ve always done it that way.” Whether it is justified or not, I’ve associated tradition with archaic, outdated ideas. But, I’m not sure that is fair.
In 2018, the Safe States Alliance, an injury and violence prevention professional association that I have been a member of for 20+ years celebrated its 25th anniversary. I love the Safe States Alliance. It is an association where I met some of my closest friends. But in 2009, I was part of an effort to change the name of the association from its original name of the State and Territorial Injury Prevention Directors Association to the Safe States Alliance and rebrand the association to be more inclusive of other professionals working in the field. I have great respect for the women and men who founded the association, but I thought we needed to move forward so that the entire field could benefit. I continue to believe changing the name and rebranding was the correct decision because the association has grown exponentially since that time.
As I have embarked on this journey of self-reflection and learning, I’ve been re-examining my thoughts on whether tradition versus change and progress is an either/or scenario. And, I’ve decided it is possible to celebrate and honor the traditions of the past while still being open to change and progress. This week, my husband’s high school will honor the 50th anniversary of the State Basketball Championship my husband’s team won his senior year of high school. I’ve been part of similar anniversary celebrations. A few years ago, my high school celebrated the 50th anniversary of a State Baseball Championship that my father coached. The celebration was meaningful to my mother, sister and me because my father wasn’t alive to witness it. I’m grateful that my husband and his team members and coach will get to have a similar experience.
In 2019, the Injury Prevention Center of Greater Dallas will celebrate its 25th anniversary. I wasn’t part of the group that established the Injury Prevention Center, but I am profoundly grateful to those visionary leaders who were there before me. While the mission of the Center remains the same, the activities and strategies that we employ are not – they have evolved and changed as our knowledge has changed.
Even the British monarchy, an institution steeped in tradition, has changed and evolved. There’s no better evidence of this than Prince Harry’s marriage to Meghan Markle, an American divorcee of African American descent. By all accounts, Queen Elizabeth, the royal family, and the people of Great Britain, have accepted and welcomed the Duchess of Sussex for what she is – an extremely intelligent, competent young woman who is not afraid to profess her feminism.
During this holiday season, I’m reminded of my favorite holiday memory. It was not a holiday spent in the traditional way our family had spent it in the past. For Thanksgiving 1995, my daughter and I spent the holiday at a rented condo in Breckenridge, Colorado with my parents, aunt and uncle, grandmother, sister, brother-in-law, and nieces. Sure, we did have a traditional meal on Thanksgiving Day, but nothing about that week resembled any previous family Thanksgiving. I will cherish the memories of that holiday always.
There are times when tradition is painful, and it is necessary, even imperative, to do something different. This year, I’m going to try to capture the spirit of the season, not the tradition. It is likely to mean a change in where I spend the holidays. I hope my family will understand.
