Law is binary. You are either guilty or not. Lawyers make lots of money “proving” one thing or another. In general, you can push right up against the line (and even tiptoe a little over it) and still be completely “innocent” .
Tradition, on the other hand, is analog. It is also where we spend most of our lives. There is rarely, for example, a thin line dividing rude behavior from acceptable, but it is certainly possible to act more and more rudely .
When we interact with society, we expect rules based on law to be in place, but those are almost invisible most of the time. We are buffeted by tradition and its expectations – how far to stand apart, how loudly to express opinions, what to wear, general demeanor and behavior .
It is therefore far more jarring when traditions change dramatically then when most laws do. Old people especially can be blindsided and upset by all the terrible erosion of “normal” behavior as the young sweep away the “olden days”.
Everyone eventually settles into the “new normal” and adjusts their expectations accordingly. Traditional change – lacking enforcement apparatus – is often less jarring than law change.
The old people do occasionally try to get their revenge by passing laws to formalize those old traditions .
HuntingtonHarborThoughts 