The Paradox of Tradition

The Paradox of Tradition
Excerpt from Camera Lucida, 2009

The funny thing about tradition is that it changes subtly through time. Innovations happen by building the new from the old; by adapting the past into our own present environments. This is what modern artists just don’t get. They are stuck in a rut with their experimentations and self-expression. The true inspiration and, paradoxically, change comes by pursuing tradition

"On to Restoration!"

Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino (1483 – 1520)
The School of Athens
Fresco, Apostolic Palace, Vatican City
200 in × 300 in
1509-1511

James Kalb, on his site Turnabout, has a long treatise which he titles, "On to Restoration!"

I wasn't aware of this page for some reason, but it was written in 2004. I will humbly say that its objectives resemble much of what is on Reclaiming Beauty.

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On to Restoration!
By: Jim Kalb
February 20, 2004

Welcome to On to Restoration!, the center on the web for counterrevolutionaries, restorationists, and the unreconstructed. We include reflections on what it’s about and links to discussions, projects and resources. You may also listen to a spoken introduction to our site (requiring RealPlayer).

What is “restoration”?

Bringing back what has been lost, when what has been lost is necessary to a fully human life.

What has been lost that is so important?

Recognition that what we can see here and now is not self-sufficient, that at the center of things is something that goes beyond the merely human, that we live by what is transcendent.

What does that have to do with anything?

What doesn’t it have to do with? The whole of life depends on what man and the world are.

So get to the point.

The point is that today’s public order, the one all respectable public institutions and authorities support, is antihuman because it denies fundamental aspects of human nature. It tells us that safety, comfort, and the satisfaction of desire are the point of life; that increasing and equalizing such things is the noblest goal conceivable; that love, loyalty and sacrifice are personal tastes like any other. Such a view cannot last or long remain tolerable. It must and will change.

Why so combative?

Whoever fails to toe the line liberal sectarians draw is now defined as an extremist and bigot, if you want to discuss things with the world you have to use the world’s language. Rather than argue the point it is better to accept that we are extremists or whatever and get on with the substance.

And that substance is …

- The traditional American polity, rooted in ordinary experience and in Greece, Rome, Jerusalem and the European Middle Ages, has disappeared, destroyed by the technological and egalitarian hedonism of the modern outlook in general and liberal thought in particular.

- The liberal and technocratic drive for absolute dominion has resulted in a culture war in which the victors are imposing a suffocating political correctness in the guise of tolerance. Our Culture Wars—Discussion and Resources, which includes links to other resources, and our essays on “The Tyranny of Liberalism”, “PC and the Crisis of Liberalism”, “Liberalism: Ideal and Reality”, and “Liberal Tolerance” describe the process and its consequences.

- The new order makes “inclusiveness”, which destroys the distinctions and ways of thought that moral and social order require, the supreme moral principle. Our Anti-Inclusiveness FAQ, with links to resources, and our essay on “Vindicating Stereotypes and Discrimination” may help clarify the issues.

- In particular, attempts to abolish gender and traditional sexual morality in the interests of liberal monism have led to social and moral catastrophe by radically disordering the most fundamental human institutions and relationships. For discussion, see our page on Anti-Feminism—Discussion and Resources and our Sexual Morality FAQ, including resources.

- The attempt to abolish ethnicity under the banner of anti-racism has also been catastrophic, because it results in the abolition of all cultural particularity and therefore the very possibility of standards other than money and power. Our essays on “Freedom, Discrimination and Culture” and “Anti-racism” lay out the problems as we see them.

So what do you propose to do about it?

A fundamental part of the answer is restoration of contact with tradition and the transcendent. Our Conservatism FAQ, “Understanding Tradition and Conservatism”, and “Radical Traditionalism and the New World Order” point to some of the issues and possibilities. We are not the first to call for restoration, and our Traditionalist Conservatism Page includes a large collection of links suggesting a variety of approaches.

The problems are deeply rooted, and have even affected conceptions of what is rational. Some new conception of rationality, or reversion to older and broader conceptions, is therefore necessary. In opposition to technocratic tyranny, the transcendent order known through tradition must somehow be combined with freedom.

For us the two necessary poles of traditional order and freedom are symbolized by Confucius and the Icelandic sagas. Our Questions and Answers on the Establishment of Religion consider some of the institutional issues, while our essay Liberalism, Tradition and the Church and our lecture Awakening from reason’s sleep are attempts at a comprehensive treatment. Others no doubt have their own way of articulating the situation; those caught in the modern world can only explore the possibilities and do their best.

Lots of luck. You’ll need it.

The situation looks bad, but if we’re right about human life we’ll win in the end because the liberal order is antihuman and will not last. Of course, the Restoration will no doubt be very different from the Ancien Regime, and from our standpoint may look less appealing. Our essays on “Ibn Khaldun and Our Age” and “The Amish, David Koresh, and a Newer World Order” suggest some of the possibilities. Still, one can try to live well oneself while laying a general groundwork for a better world; consider, for example, our page on human rights. Life can be hard, but it is full of unexpected turns, and while it remains there is hope.

So if I’m interested, what do I do?

Check out the links on this page, look at our resource lists, and join our forum. Educate yourself, and confront the hegemons wherever you can. Such things are just a beginning, though. The point is to change your life and the world!

And in the meantime,

The Battle Goes On!

For continuing coverage, see our weblog, Turnabout.

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Posted By: Kidist P. Asart
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Burke's Wisdom on the Evils of Revolution

Portrait of Edmund Burke (1729-1797)
Date Painted c.1770–1780
James Northcote (1746-1831)
Oil on canvas
76.3 x 63.8 cm
Royal Albert Memorial Museum, Exeter, Devon, UK

Here is some background on the painter James Northcote:

James Northcote was one of a number of prominent painters of the 18th century who hailed from the Plymouth area of Devon, the most notable of whom was Sir Joshua Reynolds, the founder and first president of the Royal Academy of Arts in London. Today Northcote is chiefly admired for his portraits, though his paintings of animals found favour in his lifetime. In his later years he devoted an increasing amount of time to history paintings, including some scenes from Shakespeare's history plays which were exhibited in Boydell's Shakespeare Gallery. [The rest of the long biography is here].

Self Portrait as a Falconer, 1823
James Northcote
Oil on canvas
127.1x102 cms
Royal Albert Memorial Museum, Exeter, Devon, UK

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"Where men are not acquainted with each other's principles nor experienced in each other's talents, nor at all practiced in their mutual habitudes and dispositions by joint efforts in business; no personal confidence, no friendship, no common interest, subsisting among them; it is evidently impossible that they can act a public part with uniformity, perseverance or efficiency. In a connection, the most inconsiderable man, by adding to the weight of the whole, has his value, and his use; out of it, the greatest talents are wholly unserviceable to the public. No man, who is not inflamed by vain-glory into enthusiasm, can flatter himself that his single, unsupported, desultory, unsystematic endeavours are of power to defeat the subtle designs and united cabals of ambitious citizens. When bad men combine, the good must associate; else they will fall one by one, an unpitied sacrifice in a contemptible struggle."

In: The Works of Edmund Burke in Three Volumes, With a Memior [pdf file
Volume I
Thoughts on the Cause of the Present Discontent. p. 187

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Edmund Burke wrote an extraordinary book titled A Philosophical Enquiry into the Origin of Our Ideas of the Sublime and Beautiful. What is remarkable about it is that Burke wrote it at nineteen years of age. I found this book looking for his seminal Reflections On The French Revolution. The full title of the latter is: Reflections On The French Revolution: What Is Liberty Without Wisdom, and Without Virtue? It Is the Greatest of All Possible Evils. I'm slowly working my way through this, but I found Penguin’s 84-page selection from Reflections On The French Revolution which is titled: The Evils of Revolution. A title in this booklet includes this prescient phrase: "What is liberty without wisdom, and without virtue? It is the greatest of all possible evils," which is a quote from Reflections.

There is much to quote from this tiny book, which is just a preliminary to getting into the real thing. Here are just a few quotes:

About the wrong, and destructive, types of leaders:

Compute your gains: see what is got by those extravagant and presumptuous speculations which have taught your leaders to despise all their predecessors, and all their contemporaries, and even to despise themselves, until the moment in which they became truly despicable.

On leaders:

There is no qualification for government, but virtue and wisdom, actual or presumptive. Wherever they are actually found, they have, in whatever state, condition, profession or trade, the passport of Heaven to human place and honour.

On revolutions:

The worst of these politics of revolution is this; they temper and harden the breast, in order to prepare it for the desperate strokes which are sometimes used in extreme occasions...This sort of people are so taken up with their theories about the rights of man, that they have totally forgot his nature.

On religion and Christianity:

We know, and it is our pride to know, that man is by his constitution a religious animal; that atheism is against, not only our reason but our instincts; that it cannot prevail long.

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Posted By: Kidist P. Asrat
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Finding Excellence

Hardy Geranium
Watercolor by Kidist P. Asrat
2008


Below is what I posted in my art and culture blog Camera Lucida on November 2009 (five years ago!) about conservatives and conservatism:

Doing Things: And finding excellence

I post this with some trepidation, since I don't want it to be misconstrued as an unnecessary focus on myself. But, I have no one else that I can use for this particular kind of example, so here goes.

I've talked extensively about various conservative groups and individuals in the past few months. I've also become aware that some who call themselves conservative are only so in a few (of their favorite) points. Some are outright libertarians, others have crossed the other side to liberalism

I think we spend an inordinate amount of time talking about, berating, criticising and moaning about liberals. Many conservatives have made this their mission (see Michelle Malkin here, who has a new book out on Obama).

I've always refrained from using my blogs as my sounding boards against liberals. I think it is far more important to put conservatives on track, or to point out their errors. This way, a real conservative body can be built. If we blatantly follow every conservative, just because he is not a liberal, then we have short-changed ourselves and the movement too.

But, one important thing is to DO things, as I wrote in a previous post on traditionalism, where small steps a movement make. This is where each individual behaves like a conservative, and not just talks about it. And since this world is a liberal world, that becomes much more difficult than it sounds. But, therein lies the challenge, and not only that, our very survival.

If I can use myself as an example:

I started out in experimental film. I loved handling celluloid. I would shoot, process and edit all my (very short) films myself. But, I found "art" film to be a dead-end. Rather than glorify art, it has become a hotbed for self-expression of the worst sort. Many (the majority) of the films I watched were, well, unwatchable. Aggressively so.

So, I left, rather than fight the failing system. I found textile design, which ironically attracted me because of the same hands-on, textural effect that I liked about film. Then I encountered another problem. I had very little drawing and painting background, and to my great surprise, our design instructors were just not willing (or able) to teach us those fundamentals. I started taking courses at various school boards, where I discovered a hidden gem of true artists, who I believe have been pushed out of the non-art culture prevalent in colleges and universities.

But what about design? Again, I found a vindictive hate of non-weird, non-edgy designs. Also, anything that looked like it had not been done using the much-touted photocopier or computer graphics, was frowned upon. It is too “old-fashioned” was the phrase. And all we want to be is modern, no?

In the end, I even left that group – psychologically, at least. Ordinary people seem to appreciate my efforts. Women like birds and flowers on their furniture fabric. Color and texture are always welcome. I hardly get a “what is that” when I show my work. I think that is the biggest compliment. My colleagues would beg to differ, of course.

My point is that all this is not a matter of perseverance; it is also a matter of pursuing excellence. If we give up on that, no matter how stubborn and persistent we may be, it will all come out wrong. We have to keep these traditions going strong, we have to learn them and learn how to use them. And then use them.

The funny thing about tradition is that it changes subtly through time. Innovations happen by building the new from the old; by adapting the past into our own present environments. This is what modern artists just don’t get. They are stuck in a rut with their experimentations and self-expression. The true inspiration and, paradoxically, change comes by pursuing tradition.

Expansion Is In The Air

Walter Withers
Born England 1854, Arrived Australia 1883, Died 1914

TRANQUIL WINTER, 1895
Oil on canvas 75.7 x 122.6 cm
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Mark Richardson at Oz Conservative has re-done the look of his site. The heading background looks like parchment paper. I'm constantly surprised at how blogger allows us to make clean, professional-looking sites.

Richardson posted about my Reclaiming Beauty site, and he has referenced a new project by another blogger. He writes:

Laura Wood has announced at her site that planning is underway for an American Traditionalist Society.

He concludes:

It would be great for traditionalists everywhere if this American venture could take hold.

Richardson also has started an Australian traditionalist group which he calls the Eltham Traditionalists, which he named after a suburb of Melbourne.

It is good to see that bloggers are thinking in big, societal terms.
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Posted By: Kidist P. Asrat