re: Tonight, Texas A&M's campus will darken for Silver Taps

"I suspect this was well orchestrated with the intention of being repeated. "

…and I suspect it's possible you're right in this case. However, it is possible that Silver Taps ceremony did change some in its earliest years. It hasn't changed since my first one in '69, so any evolution of the tradition was before then.

Basically it was worth doing, so sure it was worth putting some thought into. We still do it because it's still worth doing and it's worth doing well to respect those who have passed.

Traditions, however, don't have to emerge from random acts and then evolve over a number of years "to get it right".