Quote Originally Posted by ForresterModern View Post
Even though I believe some of what DFWII says above is likely directed at my comments I agree with a lot of what he says.
Well, yes and no...I wasn't really trying to respond directly to you--just following a train of thought that your remarks prompted.

And I agree with much of what you say.

This issue...in this thread and several others that I have looked in on recently...comes down to this for me: freedom is about choice. And choice always, always, brings certain constraints and responsibilities along with it. Sometimes we call those "rules," sometimes "conventions," sometimes even "duty."

We all make a choice about how we present ourselves...on a daily basis. And no one has the right to gainsay those choices. But once you have made a choice, isn't it disrespectful to...yourself and your ability to act with, what? "integrity?"...to disavow those choices?

For instance, I'm not a Catholic (and have nothing against Catholics--my Ulster Scot grandmother was a Catholic) but if I was...and especially if I had deliberately chosen to become a member...I would feel honour bound to abide by the "rules" of the Catholic faith and church.

Similarly, if I say I wear a kilt to honour my Scots ancestry, or the traditions of the Highlands...or even because I like highland attire...I, personally, would feel honour bound to abide by the "rules," "conventions," "customs," 'traditions," (whatever way you want to express it) of highland dress. The choice I have made is a deliberate and purposeful association with a specific culture and its traditions.

If I were the kind of person who wore the kilt because I liked the freedom and...perhaps (hard for me to get into that mind-set)...avant-garde look of it, I think I would try to downplay the Scots connection as much as I could. If only because if I couldn't feel pride in wearing a "man skirt" for its own sake...couldn't find sufficient justification without calling up a somewhat spurious connection to which I didn't really owe any allegiance, it would make me defensive.

Now maybe that's why I am what Panache calls a "staunch traditionalist'--maybe I feel more comfortable with a raison d'etre for acting in a way that other, more judgmental folks might consider slightly anti-social. And maybe that's a character flaw, I don't know. But its also a survival mechanism and I never question survival traits no matter how obscure.

Now that's just me, just my opinion...but I'm the only one I can speak for with certainty.

[I just think the rubber chicken is silly...and I think that's what it's meant to be.]