So what is the purpose of traditions? What is the purpose of culture, other than an
identity of belonging in a particular group?
Is it okay to say that some part of a culture aren’t ‘in’
anymore, that it is not good enough to keep, and discard it?
It confuses me.
Culture is formed through years and years and thought by
people from who knows when. Maybe some of them aren’t making sense anymore,
because mind develops; science proves things wrong and right, norms and values
changes too.
So there is part of culture that is just... judged as
inhuman, judged as inappropriate and against what is held universally. Does
this mean they deserved to be discarded?
There are also things that are part of culture that don’t
make any sense (like a lot of other things), but it holds sentimentality
towards its member. Maybe they don’t give any harm like the previous culture, but
you know. They don’t make sense. They are useless. Useless except that they
give them some sort of comfort or whatever. Does this mean they can be
considered as discard-able?
I don’t know.
Is it okay, to judge whether a particular culture is wrong
or right? Nope. No. When you’re studying a culture, you have to keep in mind
that there is something behind its actions. There is history of why the culture
is there. Nothing is right or wrong. It is just the way it’s done is different
and we have to respect that. Appreciate the diversity.
But then.
If we’re stripping cultures off to be better person, better
people, better civilization, is it justified?
If we’re discarding rituals and traditions that give people
contentment and keep them as a whole for the sake of health or science or
national unity, is it justified?
Is it possible to keep every single part of a culture as
communication and technology evolve beyond our imagination? And is it justified
to strip them one by one just to be more ‘advanced’ than before?
For the sake of improving, from the notion of being better
than people from the past, is it okay?
Or is it not? Why?
I am confused.
Does this confusion came from the invasion of norms and
ideas where people don’t have and don’t appreciate cultures? Or is it true that
cultures hamper people from being better than before?
I don’t know.
I don’t know anymore.
