Boston Atheists

Boston Atheists

I'd like to pose a question to members of this and other, related blogs. Since this is a question to which I suspect myself of already having an answer, my posing it is perhaps more akin to an experiment. My question is: Are there any instances in which the concept of 'tradition' is invoked as a causal explanation and defensive assignment of legitimacy to a belief, action or practice, that don't, in reality, represent an attempt--conscious or unconscious--on the part of the person providing the explanation, to conceal either an element or an essence of irrationality, illogic, illegitimacy, or moral/ethical failure? For instance, claiming that hoisting a Confederate flag above a state capitol is a matter of "tradition" is a clear example of an (usually conscious) attempt to conceal a moral failure and, therefore, an illegitimacy. Another way to ask my question is: Are any of the beliefs, actions or practices that are typically chalked up to 'tradition' actually rational, logical, moral/ethical, and therefore legitimate? I propose that this question is substantially more difficult to answer than most readers will realize at first glance.