The Shedding Of Tradition
(1950-2008)

Tradition is established by communal experience, and as such is the expressions of social wisdom. Since 1950 our society has abandoned the following traditional customs and manners:

• Murderers are executed.
• Suicide is a crime with failed suicides liable to be punished by the law.
• Justice must be seen ( the names of criminals and their accusers are no longer published).
• Men are expected to strive to behave like gentlemen, women like ladies.
• Ladies before gentlemen—a direction for males to always give way before females thereby ruling who should go through a door first etc.
• A gentleman always gives up his seat for a lady who is standing.
• Children who misbehave are smacked.
• Children should only speak to adults when spoken to by adults.
• Children should be seen and not heard by adults.
• Children are expected to surrender their seat so an adult can sit down.
• Unless people involved know each other intimately they should address each other by their title and surname —Mrs Smith, Master Brown, Miss Adams. (Titles have disappeared along with the use of surnames.)
• Strangers must address each other as Sir or Madam.
• People in authority are addressed as Sir or Madam.
• School children refer to each other by surname.
• Matters between family members are domestic disputes and are not the concern of the law.
• The father is the head of the household; his word is law.
• A father is expected to be the sole bread-winner for the family.
• A mother is expected to devote her time to her family and her home.
• Housework is the responsibility of the female members of the family, and is not a concern for the adult males.
• Meals are prepared by the mother for the whole family to sit down and dine together.
• Each family has a doctor who has long experience of the family and visits when his patient feels too ill to attend surgery.
• A family consists of two parents and children.
• A family with only one child is considered to be raising a spoilt child.
• Childless parents are pitied as being unable to achieve pregnancy.
• The social stigma of divorce, which is considered a sign of failure
• Marriage is permanent unless one partner dies, or betrays the other sufficiently for divorce; which is then resolved by a trial, which identifies and punishes the guilty partner.
• Wives promise to obey husbands as part of their marriage vows.
• Couples who live together out of wedlock are considered to be living in sin, and receive no legal recognition of their status.
• If an unmarried man makes a girl pregnant he is expected to marry the girl.
• A child born out of wedlock is a bastard and despised as a product of sin. With the cost of raising the child to be born by the identified father, or else the mother.
• The social stigma for being an unmarried mother; she receives no pension from the state and is despised as sinful.
• A man and a woman can only share an hotel room if they are married
• Only a virgin bride is entitled to wear a white bridal gown.
• Pregnant women attempt to disguise their condition.
• The importance of using Plain English.
• The presumption that words that refer only to the male sex may include both sexes e.g. "No man is an island".
• Imperial Measure (replaced by metric).
• The Hippocratic Oath.
• The citing of Proverbs e.g. "An empty vessel makes the most noise", "Spare the rod and spoil the child".
• A minute's silence has become a moment's silence.
• Smoking is a pleasurable activity, which is only forbidden in areas where a flame is dangerous, or in those few areas set aside for non-smokers; the bottom deck of double-decker buses, the odd railway carriage.
• Christian names have a standard spelling (see those displayed by the girls on store check-out).
• Neighbours are expected to be quiet.
• Work attire is expected to be smart unless the demands of the job make it impossible.
• Men are expected to wear a neck-tie at the office.
• Men have short hair, women have long hair.
• Only men are soldiers, police constables, boxers, footballers, bus drivers, etc.
• Homosexuality is an illegal and despised activity.
• Nudity is forbidden in the media and in public areas.
• A public display of a mother breastfeeding is considered indecent.
• Swearing is forbidden in the media and public places.
• Children are taught kerb drill as soon as they attend school for their safety depends upon it. Traffic is not expected to slow down outside schools.
• Customers are served by, and are expected to take the goods selected by, the shopkeeper.
• People are expected to go to church or Sunday school on the Sabbath
• Tradesmen are expected to use the rear door to announce their presence.
• Celebration of a lifetime's service to one firm upon retirement with presentation of a timepiece.
• The stigma of having a dead-end job.
• Celebration of Guy Fawkes on the evening of November 5th.
• Hair is dyed a natural colour.
• Labels appear on the inside rear of a garment
• The accepted method of opening food containers does not contaminate the contents. As of circa 1975 the mechanism supplied to open cans of drink dips part of the outside of the can into the contents.
• Red Light means traffic must stop until a green light shows. As of 1999 it is possible to see drivers deliberately ignore red traffic lights; they do not just speed in an attempt to beat the red light, but halt at the red light, check the intersection, then proceed.
• Cyclists obey the Highway Code. Cyclists brazenly flaunt all he rules of the road (circa 2000), except those that suit them.
• Infants are kept separate from adult work and play. Since the year 2000 I have witnessed infants being minded at work and adult dinner parties. Babies now (2003) accompany their mothers to parliament and high school.
• Headlines of newspapers are printed with a capital letter starting each word. Circa 2003 only the first word has a capital letter.