There's an old story about a study of chimpanzee social behavior that I never have found the confirmed source of the research, but it goes like this:
Researchers placed several chimps in a cage together with a banana bunch hanging from the ceiling and a pole that could be climbed to get a banana. Every time one of the chimps would try to get a banana by climbing up the pole, when they reached a certain point a slight electrical shock went through the pole. This of course caused enough pain for the chimp to let go and give up on getting the banana.
After a few unsuccessful tries, the chimp not only quit trying at all, but would actually prevent other chimps from going up the pole. Even after the electrical connection was turned off, the chimps would not try anymore. Anytime one of them even went near the pole, the others would yell loudly or even pull the offender away from the pole.
The researchers then pulled out one of the chimps and subbed in a new one. With the pole still completely unhooked from electrical current, the other chimps sternly enforced the 'no pole' rule on the new chimp. The new chimp never even made the pole and after a few times of trying and being held down and yelled at, he gave up completely.
They subbed out the chimps one by one until all the original chimpanzees had been replaced. Again - with none of the chimps that had actually been shocked remained in the cage, the new chimps each continued to enforce the 'no-pole' rule, even though none of them had any personal knowledge of why - they merely followed learned behavior.
Here's another old story I know, that I do know the source on:
One day some Pharisees and teachers of religious law arrived from Jerusalem to see Jesus. They noticed that some of his disciples failed to follow the Jewish ritual of hand washing before eating. (The Jews, especially the Pharisees, do not eat until they have poured water over their cupped hands, as required by their ancient traditions. Similarly, they don’t eat anything from the market until they immerse their hands in water. This is but one of many traditions they have clung to—such as their ceremonial washing of cups, pitchers, and kettles.) So the Pharisees and teachers of religious law asked him, “Why don’t your disciples follow our age-old tradition? They eat without first performing the hand-washing ceremony." Jesus replied, “You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you, for he wrote, ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.
Their worship is a farce, for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God.’ For you ignore God’s law and substitute your own tradition. Then he said, “You skillfully sidestep God’s law in order to hold on to your own tradition.
For instance, Moses gave you this law from God: ‘Honor your father and mother,’ and ‘Anyone who speaks disrespectfully of father or mother must be put to death.’ But you say it is all right for people to say to their parents, ‘Sorry, I can’t help you. For I have vowed to give to God what I would have given to you.’ In this way, you let them disregard their needy parents. And so you cancel the word of God in order to hand down your own tradition. And this is only one example among many others.”
Then Jesus called to the crowd to come and hear. “All of you listen,” he said, “and try to understand. It’s not what goes into your body that defiles you; you are defiled by what comes from your heart.”
That's Mark 7:1-15 from the New Living Translation...
IF GOD HAS GIVEN YOU A VISION AND DESIRE TO DO SOMETHING IN HIS WILL -
---go get ya a banana and don't let them other chimps hold you back or teach you their bad habits.
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