Simples John P. There are lots of traditions, not one. The quest for authenticity assumes there is an importance about Collector Music that doesn't exist in other forms. It's just personal enthusiasm, there is no national core, no key sentiment that will reveal itself that tells us who we are anymore than the quickstep or Elizabethan court madrigals.

The post was a response agreeing with Goose Gander's statement "'What is Folk?' is another way of asking 'Who Are We?' for some people." I'm saying 'who we are' won't be found in Collector Music any more than another form C21st exposes us to. It's important, as are all musics, but not in the way people sometimes suggest.