day no. 16,044: tradition! or traditionalism?

"Tradition is the living faith of the dead, traditionalism is the dead faith of the living."

-- Jaroslav Pelikan, The Vindication of Tradition

Tradition is the voice of our ancestors guiding us through their wisdom. Traditionalism is the habits of our ancestors adopted without wisdom. Where the first generation believes, the second assumes, and the third abandons; traditionalism is that second generation operating on the assumptions of their forefathers without, unfortunately, any of their faith. Tradition, however, is the second generation adopting the principles of the past by adapting them to the circumstances of the present. Because it lives in spirit, it can adapt in form, whereas traditionalism is only alive in form without any of the original spirit left in it.