My Americana. XXI. The mote and the beam

[shkrobius]

Abolitionist Republican Platform of 1856 is the beginning of emancipation of black slaves through its insistence on prohibition of slavery in the Territories. However, it is forgotten that it was the twin pursuit: the abolitionism was coupled to anti-Mormonism and it was argued along the exact same lines

...it becomes our duty to maintain... the

Comments

[i_eron]

Yes, in the past there were clashes of "Judaeo-Christian" and pagan traditions. Eventually they were resolved in a complex way and the modern wide Western society is the product of all that. Over time the evolving "tradition" incorporated elements from many different sources. You put it well, the way the society works is a "tradition" which is based on nothing but a tradition. This is exactly how Sholem Aleichem's Tevye explains it. It is a gradually evolving tradition and the wider public is not interested in its beginnings and its dubious mongrel basis

[shkrobius]

>>Try to ask an orthodox observant Israeli Jew, why he wears the black suit and the hat. This dressing code is clearly not required by the original Jewish law. Tradition, he will explain, our forefathers did that, and he will be right

[i_eron]

I meant not the dress code as distinguishing the group from other groups, that is clear. But try convincing an Orthodox Jew that "the particular dress code is unimportant". In our summer weather it would be an interesting discussion. If I were in a relevant position for this, I would have tried to reform the dress code for practical reasons. But instead it has survived transplantation into Israel and even won new adepts among the Sephardi groups. Replacing even an "unimportant" tradition is not an easy task.

All right, I shall read more about the abolitionists. I had a different impression, especially when thinking about the British anti-slavery opinion of the early XIX century or the Russian peasant-freedom crowd of the mid-XIX century.

Still, the point is that in a democracy there is a powerful built-in push towards 1) widening the electorate and 2) pleasing the electorate. So any group able to argue that they are discriminated against has a good chance to secure its desired change.

[shkrobius]

I've heard this explanation many a time. Nobody was telling that this particular dress code was important. Maybe you should ask around, I doubt that you will hear different answers