I would say that I have been a traditionalist, in thought and feeling, for a lot longer than I have used that specific term to characterize the movement to which I belong. Now, there are some who object to the term in principle, but I think we can use it in a pragmatic way; after all, language is meant to be useful, and having a term that refers to people who strive to adhere to Catholic tradition in theology, morality, and liturgy is useful. (I wrote about this matter here.)
But one thing I’ve noticed is that very few traditionalists know their own history well.
This, I think, is a problem—especially for people who are involved in conversations, whether online or in person, and all the more if they are going to produce podcasts or in any other way set themselves up as public spokesmen for the cause of tradition.
Why is it a problem?
Well, think about what it would be like for someone to be a spokesman on the USA without knowing American history extremely well, or on World War II without knowing the battles and negotiations backwards and forwards. Just being a Catholic, while it gets you very far in regard to the basics of salvation, does not automatically qualify you to set up as a Catholic apologist; and just attending the traditional Latin Mass does not suddenly qualify you to defend it or to interpret the many complex issues that arise in its ambit.
Over the years I have seen some very embarrassing “TLM apologetics” in which the arguments were so severely flawed that anyone who knew their liturgical history well would instantly walk away, more convinced of his anti-trad views than ever. Similarly, social media encourages people to feel confident about sharing every thought that pops into their heads on the SSPX or the Ecclesia Dei period or Bugnini or whatever, but in 9 out of 10 cases they are ill-prepared to address these topics.
I say these things not to discourage anyone from being involved in the melee, but rather, to encourage readers to remember that opinions and arguments will be taken all the more seriously when they proceed from a certain breadth and depth of knowledge — and, therefore, that we owe it to ourselves and to our fellow Catholics to take pains to acquire this knowledge by means of at least some study every day.
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