Line #55 Main/AppealToTradition


1	->''"And how do we keep our balance? That I can tell you in one word..."''
2	-->-- '''Tevye''', ''Theatre/FiddlerOnTheRoof''
3
4	[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Appeal_to_tradition Appeal to Tradition]]--also called "Appeal to Antiquity", or "We've Always Done It This Way,"--is the polar opposite of AppealToNovelty, where the ''older'' position is right. See also TheyChangedItNowItSucks, NostalgiaFilter, OlderIsBetter, LuddWasRight, GoodOldWays, and NewMediaAreEvil. This tends to be rolled out regarding consumer products and morality; in the former case, they don't make 'em like they used to, and in the latter, it was better in the good ol' days. Old ways do tend to be workable, or they don't become old ways in the first place; what makes this a fallacy is the unstated assumption that no better way is possible. See also CultureJustifiesAnything and NobodyEverComplainedBefore. Quite similar to AppealToNature. Cases of TheyChangedItNowItSucks often fall into this fallacy (e.g "Character x has always had blue eyes before, so changing her eyes to green is bad.")
5
6	One thing that looks like this fallacy but is not: If a novelty is logically inconsistent with what the reformer is ostensibly setting out to do. If a would-be religious reformer attempts to change doctrines on which the entire religion rests, then his opponents are right to point out that he does not seek reform, but rather the complete destruction of that religion.
7	----
8	!!Examples:
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11	[[folder:Advertising]]
12	* Many businesses have signs saying that they have been doing "X" since a given year. This type of promotion emphasizes how they can be trusted purely for how long they were around and that quality is guaranteed because they wouldn't still be open if they were terrible.
13	* A commercial for the allergy medicine Claritin bragged that "while other brands have recently changed their formulas, Claritin chose not to change", leaving out that, when many companies change formulas, it's usually for a pretty good reason (e.g. dangerous ingredients). Well, when it's not just to keep their patents going, anyway. It's not as if multinationals spend millions to overhaul their production protocols and practices for fun.
14	* Blue Bell claims to "taste just like the good old days." Its commercials also include a lot of old timey things.[[/folder]]
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16	[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
17	* This is Nene Kinokuni's standing on cooking in ''Manga/FoodWars''. Make no mistake, her Japanese cooking ''is'' exceptional and of outstanding quality, and she takes great pride on preparing the best Soba Noodles, but she's so stuck up on believing her way is the only correct way, she never thinks of any ways to innovate her dishes or the effect it'd have on the people who eat them. As her (former) ChildhoodFriend Satoshi Isshiki points out, she's only ever focused on what she was taught by her family [[spoiler: which ultimately causes her defeat in the Regimental Shokugeki, because she was so focused on adhering to her traditions that she completely failed to realize the effect the cold environment would have her dish's taste, and thus it losing its flavor compared to Soma's.]]
18	* ''Manga/RedRiver1995'': This is one argument brought up when the Hittite Senate is debating over whether to allow Yuri (a commoner) to marry Kail Mursili (the emperor), since it is traditional that royalty only married nobility or other royalty. The trope is then defied by several other members of the Senate replying that tradition is not an absolute authority, and it is wise to either ignore or alter tradition when it is necessary. The debate soon turns to the ''practical'' pros and cons of having Yuri marry Kail.
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21	[[folder:Comic Books]]
22	* One 1970's issue of ''Magazine/{{MAD}}'' managed to do this in "A Mad City[=/=]Suburban Street Scene We'd Like to See": The wholesome utopian city featured a number of HonestJohnsDealership businesses in the form of honest appliance repair at low prices, an insurance company that sold policies with no fine print, a fur dealership that only sold synthetic furs, efficient garbage and mail service, a pharmacy that only filled prescriptions, honest cops who don't take bribes, a taxpayer-funded sports stadium that only charged $1 general admission, no pollution, and the draft board and welfare offices were closed (due to everyone being happily employed). The suburban town had a well-staffed doctor's office with no waiting, banks with low-interest lending rates, a wholesome hamburger restaurant supplied with pure, top-grade beef, the smoke shop is closed down, and an integrated school system. This may have been a tongue-in-cheek parody since real-life city and suburban conditions at the time were far from ideal, and a number of the businesses and city services (particularly New York City) were far from perfect, and school integration was a touchy issue at the time, especially in TheDeepSouth.
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25	[[folder:Fan Works]]
26	* ''Fanfic/CodexEquus'': ''Deconstructed''. Reactionaries and traditionalists are almost always portrayed as little more than stubborn, delusional romantics who end up destroying themselves and others with their obsession with the 'old ways' and their refusal to accept change. The transient nature of all things within the vast timescales of the setting renders any appeal to traditions hollow, because at the end of the day they only matter as little as everything else.
27	** Because of the [[JerkassGods Elternteil Deer Pantheon]]'s influence, the Alvslog Deer Herds are deeply conservative, adhering to the ancient traditions of precursor Deer civilizations that promoted racial/moral purity and stalwartness as well as living InHarmonyWithNature. Unfortunately, said traditions advocate the persecution of all things deemed 'evil' and 'corrupt', including [[FantasticRacism non-Deer]] and [[HalfBreedDiscrimination Deer hybrids]], causing the Alvslog Deer Herds to become increasingly puristic and xenophobic. Their perceived successes as rulers/guardians of nature has also led to them developing a collective arrogance as well. As a result, many creatures and divines, including other non-Alvslog Deer Herds, hate the Alvslog Deer for their attitudes and treatment of others.
28	** [[https://www.deviantart.com/comments/1/869479644/4928500610 Confusionism]] (based on the real-life [[Creator/{{Confucius}} Confucianism]]) is an ancient Chineighese philosophy that advocated filial piety, loyalty to the government, and devotion to tradition and rituals. Created by the Chineighese scholar, Confusious, [[{{Pun}} Confusionism]] was a response to the extreme political unrest that plagued Chineigha at the time of the '[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spring_and_Autumn_period Summer and Winter]]' and subsequent '[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warring_States_period Warring States]]' periods, with the intention to create a perfect society ruled by 'supreme' virtuous mortals called the 'Junzi'. While it was hugely popular in the Second Age in Chineigha and later much of the Far East, the main problem is that Confusionism was ''horribly'' oppressive, promoting BlindObedience to a stagnant and stratefied hierarchy that [[NostalgiaFilter glorifies the past]] to almost [[EvilReactionary reactionary degrees]]. The other problem is that Confusious, while well-meaning, was ultimately a product of his time, and the attitudes reflected in his philosophy created a toxic culture filled with [[StayInTheKitchen misogyny]] and [[HonorRelatedAbuse honor-based abuses]]. The end result was Chineigha (and the rest of the Far East) falling behind in social, cultural and technological progress, leading to its infamous '[[HumiliationConga Century of Humiliation]]' at the hooves of its imperialistic Western counterparts, as well as decades of devastating CivilWar and revolutions after the imperial regime finally collapsed. The latest Oriental pantheon that would inherit rulership of Chineigha, now Qilina, realized what a bad idea Confusionism was and replaced it with philosophies that are more tolerant to both progress and the rights of sapient creatures by the present day.
29	* ''Blog/MiraculousRewrite'': Roland ''claims'' that this is the reason why he didn't approve of his son's relationship with Sabine. After she beat Tom in a baking contest, he became 'obsessed' with testing out new ideas rather than following their ''traditional'' recipes. However, this is little more than a thin veneer for his prideful racism. When Marinette points out that Sabine won the contest with one of ''her'' family's traditional recipes, Roland snarls that that doesn't count because it isn't '''his''' tradition.
30	* In ''Fanfic/TheNightUnfurls'', [[HeManWomanHater Vault]] uses this to justify his intention of building a [[NoWomansLand Sex Empire]]. He says, "back then, women did whatever the fuck we wanted them to".
31	* ''Fanfic/{{Shorn}}'': The Order of Harmony insists that anyone wishing to access their troves of knowledge must shave their manes and tails and present themselves as humble applicants... including the Princesses and the bearers of the actual Elements of Harmony. Rarity refuses to do so, challenging the others' insistence that this ''must'' be done because tradition ''demands'' it. Ultimately, the Order's head [[HoistByHisOwnPetard destroys his own standing]] by ranting about how the bearers 'need a stern hoof to rein them in', revealing that it's more of a personal power trip for him.
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34	[[folder:Film -- Animation]]
35	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Klaus}}'': One of the central plots of the story is the feud between the Krum family and the Ellingboe family. Midway through the movie, when they are questioned by children of their family the why of the feud, the only answer is "tradition". They've simply always been feuding, with no clear indication of what or who started it, and dating back to the stone ages.
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38	[[folder:Film -- Live Action]]
39	* ''Film/{{The Princess\|2022}}'': Julius cites this as why he feels he must marry the Princess to be king.
40	* In ''Film/TwiceRoundTheDaffodils'', John is disgusted to learn that Chris is training to be a chef, claiming that being a cook is no job for a man and that he should be swinging a pick instead.
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43	[[folder:Literature]]
44	* ''Literature/DiaryOfAWimpyKid'': This trope is the driving trope of ''Old School''. First of all, Mom wants her family to take a break from electronics and live like the old days. She successfully convinces the town to set an Electronic-free Weekend. Second, Greg goes to Hardscrabble Farms, which is old-fashioned and doesn't allow anything modern.
45	* ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'':
46	** Used to justify pretty much everything the Unseen University does.
47	** In ''Literature/TheScienceOfDiscworld'', when Ponder Stibbons has a radical ''new'' idea, he has to claim he got it from a book a few hundred years old for the faculty to take him seriously.
48	** There's a similar situation in ''Literature/{{Pyramids}}''; the pharaoh's time is spent carrying out rituals, and the whole country is being held in a sort of stasis [[spoiler:because [[ItMakesSenseInContext the pyramids are recycling the same bit of time over and over]]]].
49	* In the ''Literature/{{Gormenghast}}'' books, so many traditions have grown up around the castle and its ruler that the Earl must spend virtually his entire life carrying out one pointless ritual after another, leaving only an occasional hour before bed in which to do something because he ''wants'' to. Many of the castle's servants are born into their professions, and trapped in a similar bind. The court even includes a "Master of Ritual", a sort of GrandVizier whose entire job is to keep track of all these traditions.
50	* In "Literature/TheLottery", this is how the townsfolk justify [[LotteryOfDoom the eponymous event]]. They're appalled that nearby towns have given up the grand old tradition of [[spoiler:stoning a randomly selected person to death]], because it's what they've always done.
51	* ''Literature/{{Oathbringer}}'' (third book of ''Literature/TheStormlightArchive''): One of the causes for friction between Dalinar and the ardents is that he wants answers about the nature of the world and religion, while the ardents are insistent that religion is right because it is right and because it has been done this way for centuries. Dalinar tells a story about how he was taught to tie his takama (a shirt for sword duels) three times instead of two, and how his master refused to allow him to do it any other way, because that's how ''his'' master taught him. Dalinar found his master's master, and he said the same thing. Dalinar found that man's master, who was very short, and he just said that he tied it three times to keep himself from tripping over the end.
52	-->'''Dalinar:''' I love tradition. I've ''fought'' for tradition. I make my men follow the codes. I uphold Vorin virtues. But merely being tradition does not make something worthy, Kadash. We can't just assume that because something is ''old'' it is ''right''.
53	* In ''Literature/RiversOfLondon'' DCI Nightingale's defence of TheMasquerade pretty much comes down to we've always done it this way. To say Peter is not impressed would be an understatement.
54	* The {{novelization}} of ''Franchise/StarWars: Literature/RevengeOfTheSith'' confirms that rigid adherence to millennium-old training and dogma proved the undoing of the Jedi Order. The Sith (their dark-side enemies) spent that millennium in hiding, developing and refining their new tactics; when they reemerged, the Jedi were powerless to defeat them and wound up annihilated. Yoda (perhaps the oldest Jedi Master and one of the few survivors of Order 66) blames his own arrogance and rigidity for the Jedi's defeat; this is one of the factors that leads to Luke and Leia ''not'' being raised as Jedi, but growing up in actual families until the time comes for them to be trained to be a new type of Jedi.
55	* Gunther attempts to do this with his sister in ''Literature/{{Unique}}'' to dissuade her from dating a non-werewolf. Not only is Emma not having any of it, but their father and pack leader is equally opposed to traditions that largely consist of behaving badly and then claiming it's just acting like wolves, when real wolves would never stoop to such behavior.
56	* In ''Literature/{{Victoria}}'', this is the main argument of the [[EvilReactionary Retroculture]] advocates. Since Western Civilization worked very well for three thousand years, and society has gone down the drain in only a few decades after secularism and political correctness got started, the solution to all problems is [[JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope obviously]] to return to the tried and true values of the 19th century.
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59	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
60	* ''Series/DoctorWho'': Meta example: This is why the Classic Series' 25-minute cliffhanger format persisted for so long even when some writers, including "Vengeance on Varos" scribe Philip Martin, preferred an experimental format of two 45-minute episodes.
61	* ''Series/GameOfThrones'': This is Hizdahr's main explanation for the brutality of the fighting pits.
62	* ''Series/InsideGeorgeWebley'': "Brief Encounter" reveals that Rosemary is against the idea of women driving as she feels it is a man's job.
63	* In ''Series/{{JAG}}'', a carrier’s Command Master Chief quotes [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarTwo Admiral Chester Nimitz]] and states that a naval ceremony must strictly adhere to traditions so as to “honor the multitudes of sailors before, who have participated in it”. The traditional ceremony he was talking about was a “Crossing The Equator” hazing ritual in which two female officers were groped and put into sexual situations. Sarah [=MacKenzie=] retorts that Admiral Nimitz most likely didn’t mean that tradition to involve “women getting their ass pinched”.
64	* ''Series/{{Rome}}'': Lucius Vorenus (a commoner) brings this up when he's a guest at the Julii household and Atia (an aristocrat) asks him what he thinks of the institutional problems of the Roman Republic. He skirts the issue of reform with an appeal to the longevity of the republic.
65	* The ''Series/StarTrekEnterprise'' episode "Fortunate Son" has our heroes dealing with a cargo freighter whose [[NumberTwo First Officer]] Matthew Ryan firmly holds onto this philosophy. For example, he scoffs at the warp 5 engine on ''Enterprise'', saying that a slow warp 1.8 is just fine for them -- even though, as former cargo boomer Travis Mayweather points out, a faster engine will let them get their cargo where it's going in far less time, pleasing their customers and letting them perform more runs. It would also make it easier to escape from dangers like the Nausicaan SpacePirates who keep harassing them. Captain Keane, on the other hand, isn't too thrilled about the inevitable changes in space travel but grudgingly decides to adapt.
66	* ''Series/UtopiaFalls'': New Babyl is very big on tradition, with deviating from it being enough for some (like Phydra) to immediately deem this wrong and subversive.
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69	[[folder:Music]]
70	* Music/WeirdAlYankovic: [[Music/StraightOuttaLynwood "Weasel Stomping Day"]] is about a FictionalHoliday where people spread mayonnaise on their lawns, then put on viking helmets and hiking boots in order to crush weasels to death. After several stanzas describing the various ways in which townsfolk violently kill small animals, the narrator happily states that "It's tradition, that makes it okay!" in order to mock the idea that an abhorrent act is acceptable if it is "traditional."
71	* Hinted at in the 1969 [[Music/TheDoors Doors]] song "The Soft Parade", which, given the constant religious/mythological imagery in the lyrics, is probably meant to be a critique of religious traditions: "All our lives we sweat and save / Building for a shallow grave / Must be something else we say / Somehow to defend this place / Ev'rything must be this way."
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74	[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
75	* ''TabletopGame/BleakWorld'' has the Blood Governors suicidally sticking to the ancient tradition of [[TheMasquerade Vampire Secrecy]] every other organization other than the BrainwashedAndCrazy Society of {{Lesbian Vampire}}s prefers to give up the secrecy and live among humans as equals.
76	* A common attitude in the ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'', but believed ''especially'' by the {{machine worship}}ing Adeptus Mechanicus. It's an entire religion built around the idea that ancient[[note]](ancient by 40k standards - so, before the year 31,000 CE)[[/note]] technology is best. Invention is deemed heretical so the only way to make progress is via ArchaeologicalArmsRace.
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79	[[folder:Theatre]]
80	* The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJO35zU5bXg "Tradition"]] song from ''Theatre/FiddlerOnTheRoof''. The whole story is about the clash between tradition and changing times, and how to keep one's cultural identity while also keeping up with the times.
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83	[[folder:Video Games]]
84	* ''VideoGame/CoffeeTalk Episode 2: Hibiscus and Butterfly'': After deleting her audition video due to cyberbullying, Riona plans to find fame the "traditional" way as opposed to using "shortcuts" or going online. Rachel, on the other hand, argues that the entertainment industry is rapidly changing and that "traditional" doesn't always mean "better".
85	* Deconstructed in ''Franchise/DragonAge'', where several ancient cultures and empires are on the verge of crumbling, but refuse to change their ways because "tradition."
86	** The last two remaining dwarven kingdoms refuse to leave the underground despite being stuck in a ForeverWar with the Darkspawn, nor loosen their rigid and oppressive caste system that contributes to their decline[[note]]The caste system only allows nobles and warriors to fight darkspawn, restricts social mobility since lower castes can only be raised to the status of their spouse if they have a child of the same gender as the higher caste parent, and castless are forbidden from meaningfully contributing to Orzammar society at all, whether fighting the darkspawn or making/polishing the weapons for warriors to fight with[[/note]]), just because "this is the way it's always been."
87	** Tevinter similarly refuses to loosen its restrictive caste and slavery system, even though doing so would prevent them from crumbling as they are.
88	** Most elves refuse to give up trying to reclaim or keep alive their lost ancient culture after being conquered and enslaved by humans twice, though the Dalish take it to greater extremes.
89	** The Grey Wardens can also ''refuse'' to research ''any'' new ways to fight darkspawn and end Blights, strictly adhering to the way the first Grey Wardens did it in the First Blight because... that's the way the first Grey Wardens did it in the very First Blight. Whether this happens is almost entirely up to the player's choices. As the series goes on more and more alternatives to the Warden's way of doing things have been discovered [[spoiler: prolonging Wardens' lives despite the taint, curing the Taint, stopping Blights without destroying the soul of an Old God in the process, etc]] but the Wardens may adamantly refuse to break tradition if the player's actions lead that way.
90	* ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins'': During the City Elf Origin, if you ask your father why you have to enter an ArrangedMarriage, he responds, "Tradition, child!"
91	* ''VideoGame/DragonAgeInquisition'': After a huge magical explosion kills off all the major religious leaders of the world and creates a giant demon-raining hole in the sky, the Chantry refuses to deal with said demon-raining hole in the sky first, arguing that it is more important to follow tradition by electing a new Divine first (which could take months) and ''then'' following her orders on the subject. The game essentially opens with the PlayerCharacter and a handful of declared heretics starting their own religious organization (the Inquisition) to deal with the new problem since the Chantry's old traditional way (lots of political grand-standing and bureaucratic procedure) would be too slow and address the world-shattering crisis too late.
92	* Deconstructed in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'', as the people of Spira rely solely on the tradition of the Grand Summoner and their pilgrimages in order to defeat [[EldritchAbomination Sin]] and bring about The Calm (the period in which the populace can live without fear of their villages being randomly destroyed by an [[BuffySpeak evil whale-thingy]]). However, this only lasts for a few years at most, (the most recent Calm having lasted about a decade) so Sin would return again, and perpetuate the 'spiral of death' that the land is caught in. In addition, the [[TechnologyIsEvil machina-using]] Al Bhed, the only ones who challenge the ritual because of [[HeroicSacrifice what happens to the summoner in the process]], are ostracized by the rest of society, as they believe that Sin was born because of the use of machines. [[spoiler:And it turns out it was actually the traditional Summoner's journey that was allowing Sin to come back, among other factors]].
93	* In ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas'', the Mojave branch of the Brotherhood Of Steel is on the verge of extinction because the leader refuses to break their long-standing tradition of isolationism, even though they haven't been in contact with the main branch back in California for decades, and to keep enforcing it at this point is suicidal. This is mixed with HonorBeforeReason as the last he heard, the Brotherhood was at war with the NCR, which is also the biggest faction in the Mojave. There's also a purist faction thats even more hardline than he is, who wants to return to open hostility with other groups, even though they'd get overrun by sheer numbers. Elder [=McNamara=] is all too aware of this and he carries the burden with a stoic sadness.
94	* In ''VideoGame/DoomEternal'', the [[BigBad Khan Makyr's]] "justification" for all the horrible things she's subjected humans to (including a [[HellOnEarth demonic invasion]]) is basically "We've subjugated [[TheRightOfASuperiorSpecies lesser races]] for millennia, so what right does a [[PunyEarthlings mere human like you]] have to stop us?" Even when the Doomslayer proves she's not so superior (in terms of fighting ability, at least), she still [[MoralMyopia sanctimoniously lectures]] him about daring to take away her "right" to be the ruler.
95	* ''VideoGame/StarWarsTheOldRepublic'': The Sith Inquisitor PC's ArchEnemy Darth Thanaton justifies nearly everything he does to them with Sith tradition, starting with attempting to murder them after they [[spoiler:apparently kill their master Darth Zash in self-defense]]--on the justification that Sith tradition demands that a fallen Sith Lord's power base be totally destroyed. In their first meeting, the PC can retort [[QuoteToQuoteCombat with the last line of the Sith Code, "The Force shall free me",]] arguing that the [[ScrewTheRulesTheyreNotReal whole point of being Sith is to not have to follow rules]]. Even his colleagues on the Dark Council eventually start to get sick of it when he appeals to tradition [[spoiler:to get their help after the PC beats him fair and square in a ''traditional'' AllowedInternalWar on Corellia that was his idea to begin with]].
96	* ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'': During [[HitmanWithAHeart Thane’s]] LoyaltyMission Shepard shadows a racist turian politician who is being targeted for assassination. Said turian is campaigning for a local elected office by drumming up anti-human sentiment. If your previous actions gave him nothing else to complain about, the turian complains that “Humans think anything ten years old is obsolete! We value tradition. How do you expect them to govern a society that has existed this way for thousands of years?”
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99	[[folder:Webcomics]]
100	* In ''Webcomic/{{Goblins}}'', this is Young-and-Beautiful's reason for not letting the goblin tribe use their magic items.
101	-->'''Young-and-Beautiful:''' For countless generations we have done things a certain way. We can't do everything differently now because it... "makes sense".
102	* ''Webcomic/MyMammaIsInBurnedIsOut'': One of the science lovers proposes a return to "[[Franchise/HarryPotter Hufflepuff/Slytherin]]" purely because he's an "oldfag" from the 2016 election.
103	* In ''ComicStrip/{{Nodwick}}'', Liam Geakes tries to impose a new magic system on the magical community. It's not a good system. It's full of bugs and {{Weaksauce Weakness}}es. Naturally, they're not happy.
104	* In ''Webcomic/{{Roommates}}'' the answer the Erlkönig (Elf King) gives his son's roommate:
105	-->'''[[Literature/ThePhantomOfTheOpera Erik]]''': Excuse me, is there some kind of mystical significance to why a [[Literature/TheErlking Scandinavian/Germanic death avatar]] has just appeared in the living room and bargained favors with my [[Film/{{Labyrinth}} 1980's children's fantasy film]] villain of a flatmate? Because as far as I know, TheWildHunt never involved goblins, and I really don't think I'll like where this is going.
106	-->'''The Erlkönig''': It is tradition.
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109	[[folder:Web Original]]
110	* A major element of Website/TheOnion short "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JnX-D4kkPOQ Should The Government Stop Dumping Money Into A Giant Hole?]]" Nobody in the short really explains ''why'' trucking out massive piles of taxpayer dollars, throwing it in a hole, and setting it on fire is a good idea; the fact that it's apparently considered an American institution that's been going on for decades is enough reason to keep doing it. Even the pundit opposed to the hole is only suggesting privatizing the process and letting "the free market" decide. One pundit claims that even that's too much, since [[SlipperySlopeFallacy it might lead to the end of]] "the Soldier Hole and the Energy Hole."
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113	[[folder:Western Animation]]
114	* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Amphibia}}'', Hopediah "Hop Pop" Plantar frequently has this view, which puts him in conflict with the younger and more rebellious Anne. He does eventually come around to see the benefit of some new impulses. [[spoiler:On a grander scale, this also turns out to be the motivation of King Andrias Leviathan, who wants to return Amphibia to its imperialist colonizer roots]].
115	* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons''
116	** Illustrated in the episode "Whacking Day", where snakes are herded to the town square and beaten to death with clubs. Lisa and Music/BarryWhite are the only characters who are initially disgusted with the idea.
117	*** Ultimately subverted, though, because it turns out (in-universe) that Whacking Day isn't even an ancient tradition, but a fictional holiday dreamed up as an excuse to commit hate crimes against the Irish.
118	** In "The Two Mrs. Nahasapeemapetilons", at Apu and Manjula's wedding, Moe is reluctant to don a floral wreath until Lisa points out that it is an Indian tradition. When he bends down to accept it he receives a [[LiteralAssKicking kick up the backside]] from Bart, who innocently intones "...''tradition''".
119	* ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'': One episode parodies the classic Pepperidge Farm commercial that relies on this trope to sell cookies. The commercial starts out the usual way, with the old man talking about all the old small-town traditions, then goes off on a tangent about the time the viewer killed someone and hid the body, and Pepperidge Farm remembers that too, but will keep quiet about it as long as you buy their cookies.
120	* In the episode of ''WesternAnimation/HeyArnold'' where Harold steals a ham, the rabbi is upset that Harold committed a theft, yes, but appears more concerned that he took ''unkosher'' food.
121	--> "We don't eat ham! We haven't eaten ham for over 5000 years, there's no need to start now!"
122	* ''WesternAnimation/TheCritic'':
123	** One episode had Jay Sherman's stepsister being pressured by her mother into attending a debutante ball, insisting that she herself had come out as a debutante as a girl and it was important for the daughter to carry on the tradition. (Of course, an AlternateCharacterInterpretation is that the mother hated being a debutante, too, but can't stand the idea of her daughter having a better adolescence than she did, and so is determined to make her suffer.)
124	** This is a recurring theme for Jay's parents (mostly his mother, his father is too much of a Cloudcuckoolander to care either way), being part of classic U.S aristocracy.
125	* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' has had a few:
126	** "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E11WinterWrapUp Winter Wrap Up]]" has the ponies [[PaintingTheFrostOnWindows physically clearing out winter]], using plows to remove snow, bells to awaken hibernating birds, etc. Spike even asks why they don't just use magic and Twilight points out that, even though that ''would'' be much easier and faster, since Ponyville was founded by earth ponies it's tradition to do it manually instead. Later on Twilight does cheat with magic and gets thoroughly chewed out by Applejack for it.
127	** [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E21OverABarrel "Over A Barrel"]] has this for the buffalo's entire motivation: They're upset that settler ponies built an orchard over their traditional stampeding grounds.
128	** "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS6E7NewbieDash Newbie Dash]]" shows that all new Wonderbolts go through a ChillyReception and EmbarrassingNickname process. The nicknames become their {{Call Sign}}s.
129	** "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS6E15TheCartBeforeThePonies The Cart Before the Ponies]]" has Applejack pulling this argument to an absurd degree on Apple Bloom when she wants to build the fastest cart and not the most traditional one. She doesn't really give a reason for wanting a traditional cart aside from, well, that's what the Apples have always done.
130	* In the ''WesternAnimation/OKKOLetsBeHeroes'' episode "Super Black Friday", the Bodega crew is forced to work the "Super Black Friday" sale at Gar's, want to go home early to spend "Shucksgiving" with their families, and are surprised to see how many people are waiting in line for the sale to start. Principal Claus tells the crew that for those in line, the Sale is a tradition in of itself. After the RetailRiot has torn the place bare, Mr. Gar shows up and as an apology for making his staff work on a holiday, allows the tradition of eating pie in the Bodega. When Enid questions how that can be a tradition if it was never done before, Mr. Gar explains that ''all'' traditions are made up, so why shouldn't they make up their own traditions?
131	* ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'':
132	** This was the crux of Uncle Jimbo's argument against changing the town flag, despite the fact that the flag was extremely racist, even by the standards of pre-Civil War America, depicting four white men lynching a black man. This being ''South Park'', the eventual compromise is to keep the flag as it is, but RaceLift three of the four white men; making one black, one Asian, and one Native American. Also, everyone is now holding hands in harmony. Yes, including the man being lynched.
133	** Parodied in "Tooth Decay" with the Canadian Royal Wedding ceremony which is interrupted by the princess being kidnapped by an unseen monster, with the commentators biggest complaint that "this isn't traditional at all". The ceremony itself consists of an increasingly surreal and bizarre series of customs which the commentator gushes over about how traditional it all is.
134	* An episode of ''WesternAnimation/YinYangYo'' had Indestructo-Bob beat up the King of Redneckistan, and due to tradition [[AsskickingLeadsToLeadership he's now king]]. When Jobeaux and Yin show up to face him, Jobeaux is forbidden from using Woo Foo or getting help from Yin, since it's against tradition. Finally, Jobeaux just decides to ignore tradition, saying that if if it puts someone like Bob in charge, it's not worth following.
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137	[[folder:Real Life]]
138	* A German pamphletist sympathizing with the French Revolution mocked appeals to traditions saying: "our forefathers wet their pants, therefore we too have to wet our pants." Which is interesting because Germany often [[SelfDeprecation mocks its own stickling to tradition]] with the Three Laws:
139	-->1. "Das haben wir immer schon so gemacht." ("We've always done it this way")
140	-->2. "Das geht nicht."/"Das haben wir noch nie so gemacht." ([[LawfulStupid "Them's the Rules."]])
141	-->3. "Da könnte ja jeder kommen." ([[SlipperySlopeFallacy "Then anyone could ask for the same."]])
142	* The British general Sir Charles Napier, during his deployment in India in the 1840s, attended the funeral pyre of a local dignitary, when he, to his horror, saw the wife of the deceased being led onto the pyre. Napier ordered his men to intervene and hang the offenders. When an outraged local priest asked by what right he had killed men for following their people's tradition of burning widows alongside their dead husbands, Napier answered: "My people have a tradition of hanging men who attempt to murder women".
143	* A bit of [[DeadpanSnarker dry observational humor]] at Texas A&M University is that the college (or more specifically, the [[MilitaryAcademy Corps of Cadets]]) has been going down the drain since 1876.[[note]]Texas A&M was founded in 1876, and has been changing constantly ever since.[[/note]]
144	** A related bit of humor is that anything that happens [[FleetingDemographicRule five years in a row]] has always happened that way and is [[StatusQuoIsGod sacred unbreakable tradition]] (until it is inevitably changed to suit the needs or preferences of the current university students and administration).
145	* Claiming paper books are better than e-books because they're older is this trope. Preferring the feel of real paper, freedom from needing electricity, preferring to study away from the many distractions offered by most ebook readers, frequently jotting notes in the margin, and enjoying buying a physical object are personal behaviors and preferences.
146	* This is one of the main reasons why UsefulNotes/FormulaOne and UsefulNotes/IndyCar haven't added much safer closed cockpits on their cars, along with the idea that closed cockpits would be more dangerous in certain situations (such as a car on its roof or on fire). The argument goes that we've always been able to see what the driver is doing while they're driving, and closing the cockpits would remove that and, with it, the spirit of open-wheel racing. However, [[FatalMethodActing a pair of deaths]] from head injuries sustained in open-cockpit race cars in 2015 turned the tide in this regard. In 2018, F1 introduced the "Halo", a simple bar wrapped atop the cockpit, and Indycar, the "aeroscreen"--a halo, but with a visor--in 2020.
147	* Similar to paper books, vinyl records have been getting this from music fans, claiming that the larger artwork, analog sound, and linear sequencing are objectively better than [=CDs=] or later digital downloads and streaming music.
148	* This is the argument against transitioning to the metric systems in remaining countries using imperial measurements like the United States. Building trades continue to use traditional measurements even in metric countries like English-speaking Canada and Japan simply because they've been in use for so long.
149	* "We've been hunting animals and eating meat for thousands of years so it's okay to continue to do so" and "what about our ancestors/cavemen/etc., they wouldn't have survived without meat back in their time so why shouldn't we follow their lead" are often-used arguments against veganism.
150	* Usefulnotes/EuroFooty teams that suddenly get foreign financial support and become contenders often bring up old fans that complain about losing the charm and fun of the old days, [[SoBadItWasBetter even if supporting the team was akin to masochism.]]
151	* During the controversy about the Confederate statues being taken down in America in the New Twenties, arguments for the statues staying up included "they're a piece of history" and "they've always been there", both of which are examples of this fallacy. Technically, any object created a long time ago that still exists is technically a "piece of history", even if it's a rusty nail. And "they've always been there" states nothing aside from [[ShapedLikeItself "they've always been there"]] (and also is [[SciFiWritersHaveNoSenseOfScale factually wrong]]). Note that this type of argument isn't a fallacy if a person provides a reason beyond an object's antiquity, such as saying a statue depicts a really important person who should be remembered.
152	* Commenters have argued that the Bible must be true because of the age of parts of the Old Testament. They are not even consistent, since they do not respond when asked about even older religious texts like the Rig Veda.
153	* During an interview with Tucker Carlson in February 2024, UsefulNotes/VladimirPutin attempted to justify his war against Ukraine by citing the fact that, in the ninth century, Russia and Ukraine (and Belarus) were a single country, which he was seeking to reunite. This promptly backfired on multiple levels: first, it was pointed out that the capital of [[UsefulNotes/KievanRus said country]] was not Moscow, but ''Kyiv'', meaning that Putin was unwittingly advocating for Ukrainian rule over Russia rather than the other way round. Secondly, the president of Mongolia pointed out that, more recently, Russia had been part of the Mongol empire (which was much bigger at its height than the Russian one ever was). Thirdly, nationalists in China began asking when, in that case, Russia was going to return the Far Eastern territories taken from them in the 19th-century treaties of Aigun and Beijing, especially the port of Vladivostok -- which happens to be the HQ for Russia's Pacific Fleet.
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Context Main / AppealToTradition