I realize it's popular to buck the system and rebel against traditions and crowds but do they some times have wisdom. Why is or isn't this the case?
Look to the sources of tradition, rather than the daily application of tradition. In that way, you can see it in a fuller light and understand the roots of the tradition and what surrounds it. In a sense, it might be a tradition to buck the system, just hidden in cycles that reoccur.
Gather enough of them and you can make a wallet. There's wisdom to be found everywhere, all depends on how you look. Sometimes though, simply holding onto tradition, because it is traditional, can seem to fly in the face of the wisdom idea. Just because it has been like this doesn't mean it needs to stay like this. Group thinking can be very productive but also quite dangerous. It can make the individual have to conform, not feel they have a voice. But what is the alternative - solitary and alone? Letting go of group thinking, and especially tradition, tends to leave us on the outside, which for some is exactly where they feel most comfortable. Yet there is something to be said about cooperation, integration, inclusion, rather than feeling segregated. Too many equate the group mind ideology to homogenisation though, where as its real strength is in the individual being who they are and choosing to collaborate for the benefit of all. Something greater comes out of the sum of the parts.
Traditions maintain the ideologies of the current dominant entity or entities, and ensure cooperation in a passionate or at least positive manner, rather than through blatant force or some other method historically proven to end in failure. Every single tradition is birthed from an agenda-concept, not necessarily a completely oppressive or utopian in liberation ( in an imperfect society residing in a reality without absolutes of a concrete and entirely definable nature). Capitalism is the tradition of our worlds society, and every visible,popular, internet,etc idea,ideology,rebellion,conspiracy, etc tends to be a byproduct,vehicle,or inadvertent avenue to making money. Even the distaste,fear, or outright hatred of money...makes money. Hence, our current tradition is more the Hydra than anything now, and everything is pretty much geared toward it.
Traditions bring stability. Unfortunately you have some traditions that are intended to create a hierarchy and others that deem themselves infallible (like religion). These are no good but not easy to get rid off because people raise their children to protect and defend these systems. The more stable and prosperous a society is the higher the chance are that people will apostatize from these traditions and replace them with other traditions like freedom of speech or education. I mean isn't the concept of school a tradition? Are traditions good? Like everything else the answer is relative.