The Death of Tradition

      Over the course of many generations, the concept of tradition has become more and more hollow. We as human beings have lost sight of the big picture. We have become the race that doesn’t want our ancestor’s antiques or the memories associated with them. Joan Didion writes, “Las Vegas seems to offer something other than “convenience”; it is merchandising “niceness,” the facsimile of proper ritual, to children who do not know how else to find it, how to make the arrangements, how to do it “right.” All day and evening long on the strip, one sees actual wedding parties, waiting under the harsh lights at a crosswalk." Any person can tell that tradition is on the brink of extinction just by facing a few known facts. First, many years ago it was respectful to ask permission of the parents to marry their daughter. Well welcome to the 21^st century because we are the generation that goes with sudden impulses!

            I really think that the essay “Marrying Absurd” by Joan Didion wouldn’t have been as effective if it hadn’t taken place in Las Vegas, Nevada. The state of Nevada is far from traditional; it has taken the sanctity of marriage between man and woman, and has turned it into a drive-thru sideshow.  Joan Didion writes “one sees the signs way out on the desert, looming up from that moonscape of rattle-snakes and mesquite, even before the Las Vegas lights appear like a mirage on the horizon:  “Getting married? Free license information First Strip exit.” I am glad that Joan Didion used Las Vegas, Nevada as the setting because there were many examples of how tradition has changed and died over the years. This essay made me realize how lazy we humans really are and it really is all about convenience with us. Whatever’s easiest for us, that is what we go with.