Wednesday, September 11, 2013
English IV Journal #1: The Role & Relevance of Tradition
What do you think is more important to a society and culture’s success, change or tradition? Is a traditional culture that has been outdated still relevant? Why/ Why Not? What groups/ types of people would prefer change and what groups would prefer tradition?
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Change is a 'get out of jail free' card from the prison of redundancy, while tradition gives us the guidance to take on everyday struggles and procedures... but which is more important?
ReplyDeleteLook at it this way: tradition is the basis of a culture/society; you cannot establish either without certain customs or ways of doing things, even the way you think. Do we want a reckless-mindset for society or a reserved, responsible one? Tradition, however, can evolve through change, and change is eminent. Therefore, change must be derivative of tradition, but we cannot measure importance on what came first.
Looking at it vaguely, change is needed. It is needed so that we cannot become bored how things work, or it is needed to adapt to certain situations a society might be placed in. For example, President Obama based his first term of presidency on change, because the way we ran things seemed outdated or incompatible with the advancing society. Can we say change is more important than tradition? No, we can't; change has as much significance as tradition does, and they work like yin and yang, BALANCING each other.
What groups would prefer which... let's take, for example, liberals and conservatives: conservatives (usually) value tradition in our nation's current state of recovery over changing it. We need to first understand what's going to work and what won't through examining the elastic and inelastic demands for our economy. Liberals favor the change that the current administration pushes for to get the results in a blind dart throw; will Obamacare bring consumer confidence up, or will it work for no one? Conservatives want to stay with what's been working, but liberals want to attempt to change society, improving it to become a eutopia.
In my opinion there's a good and bad to both options whether it can be traditional OR change. From what i see and believe in, the old generation would prefer an old time tradition. The reason why, back then in time, tradition would always be passed down to generation after generation, but as times goes on, a new generation has arrived and sometimes things has to prefer as change instead of tradition. Our generation now, we all prefer change then a good old tradition.
ReplyDeleteDustin Piring
ReplyDeleteWhen it comes to both tradition and change, both can lead to the success of a society. But the question is which one is more important? It all depends on what the situation is.
Looking at tradition. You should know that you expect the same thing every time. There is no change. Just like what Eric said, you cant really change ones mindset if you continue to do the same thing every time. Many will become very bored and may try to avoid the tradition completely.
When it comes to change many believe that change is a good thing. People don't want the same thing all the time. One good example is a birthday party. You don't want to be doing the same thing every year. You are going to want to try something new each time for a better experience.
So, in my opinion i agree with what Roman said, that right now we cant really decide which one is really greater. Tradition or change because many families follow a specific tradition. But in the future i believe people are going to favor change rather than tradition.
I think change is more important because if you can change then its a new you and if your tradition was not so great with society and cultural success then its basically a good thing because if you changed from a bad tradition of some sort then you broke the chain. A traditional culture that has been outdated is no longer relevant because the tradition has changed leaving it up to the next person to set a new tradition that still follow the last one. The groups that would prefer change would be the group who always has to follow tradition and they are tired of it, and the group that would prefer tradition would be the group that always has to change and cannot follow what other people are doing and they can't come up with their own ideas anymore, or maybe they would just like to know about their history more and what their tradition was.
ReplyDeleteTradition, in broad perspective, is more important to a society and culture's success. Tradition serves as a base for a community. It's what the changes refer to, to make the right decisions for the group. No one would really have an identity without having cultural roots. To purists, change might be viewed as sabotage to the culture's deep-rooted traditions, though to others, it's seen as essential to the progress of that society in today's world. Implementing change can be beneficial, in the way that change keeps the society up to date.
ReplyDeleteA traditional culture that has been outdated, is still, in fact, relevant. The blood of the traditional culture still runs through its descendants' veins. The practices are subtly being practices day by day, by means of clothing, to language, to the food that is being eaten for supper. The traditional culture allows present members of the society to see and recall where they came from. Newer generations are those who would must rather see change, while older generations and cultural purists would prefer to stick with tradition. Without change, the world wouldn't have gotten to the point where we can use computers or heat food in a microwave. Despite the fact that change can benefit a society in the long run, it's still essential to know how to go back to your roots and value its impact on the world around you.
Alexandra Barton
ReplyDeleteI think change and tradition are both important to a society and culture’s success. First, tradition is a brought down belief or behavior that is passed down within a group or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. Family is an important meaning to society and without family there wouldn’t be tradition, since everything gets passed down to next generation, how would you understand your past from your family members and ancestors.
Change is also an important factor to society and culture’s success. Some people witness change as good or bad thing. Some people change for the better and some for the worse. When change occurs in a family, one person might impact the change and that one little difference might change the next generation and get passed down to their children. Change in a celebration or a family gathering is an example of this.
A traditional culture that has been outdated is still relevant. It’s like family values. Some families have mottos for each other, while some have adjectives to stay connected as a family.
In general the groups or types of people that would prefer change are families that have difficulties with one another or families that don’t stay true and honest with one another. The families that would prefer tradition are the types that stay humble and supportive with one another. At the end, I believe that change and tradition are going to be both involved with families today and for the generations to come.
I think we need both tradition and change for society and culture's success. Though in my opinion if it comes down to it we need change more for the success of society and culture. It just depends on what it is that we are trying to improve on. You should already expect the same thing if it's tradition, nothing changes. On the other hand a lot of people in today's society believe that change is a great thing. Some people see change as an opportunity, and a way to reinvent themselves. A lot of people judging from our generation today, I think would rather pick change over tradition.
ReplyDeleteIf you look at any modern day society and were to examine its current day culture and were to even trace back its original culture when it had been a small village of sorts, you'd see that change, major change in fact, has occurred. But although change has happened, it is also important to see the roots of a society and recognize its importance as well. For change of a culture cannot occur without a traditional first existing.
ReplyDeleteTraditions are an important part of any society that even after hundreds of years of cultural evolution, will still be celebrated and recognized. For one, look at the celebration of Mardi Gras, it's a celebration done for people to enjoy themselves right before lent. It had begun hundreds of years ago even to Pagan times but even in the time of Roman power. Another example includes the Amish people who still follow the old traditional living style of being dependent on ones-self and family without the use of modern technology. With these traditional cultural aspects of life still being recognized today shows that traditional cultures are still viewed as important as the ones today. But although we still view old traditions highly, we still evolve ourselves which means our culture must as well.
As our population grows and our technology gets more advanced, there is no doubt that our cultural views will change as well. Cultures will adapt and change as time goes on for as population increases, more and more people with different views and ideals will come together and end up causing cultural switches or even fusion. Like on the border regions of any two countries you'll see that there are fusions of the two cultures from each country being mixed up together. Like on the south-east border of France, there is a large amount of French-Italian citizens living there which will cause new slang to form from the intertwining languages and cultures.
In all, changes in culture will occur no matter what happens, but it all requires a traditional culture to exist first hand to develop onto. Traditional cultures will always be relevant to any nation just as the past is important to help understand the future, and that future is the change that will occur every single day.
- Zachary Borja
change and tradition can be two different things. Change is something that doesn't stay the same. When compared to tradition, tradition is established and does not change. Both can impact a society's success but which has more weight? With change come new things and a simply change in something can set off a ripple effect. it can be like the revolutionary war where a change in the people views on the government cause a war and in time our independence. where is tradition like with most native people, they find it to be a success for they lived by the tradition from birth and find it to be the way to live life. Some where in nature far away from civilization lies natives that live by their tradition for ex. hunting and living off the land. to them that is success in their society. When you go back to the question of which is more important in society, in my opinion change can make more of an impact on society for one small change can set a chain reaction in time.
ReplyDeleteJustice Pangelinan
ReplyDeleteChange and tradition are both very important to a culture's success. Change because advancement such as traditional ways of farming can be changed with the help of the cotton gin. This way is obviously more efficient than the traditional way of picking cotton. But tradition is also important because it preserves the culture. For example, cooking tortillas on a tortilla flat iron skillet or making spaghetti the way grandma makes it because thats the taste we're used to and thats what we know. People that would go for change is the new generation.
Advancement is key to growth of a society. Tradition would be most likely wanted by the older people that have been around longer and have been taught by their parents the way certain things should be done. Either way, change and tradition work hand in hand harmoniously.
Steffon Williams
ReplyDeleteWhen it comes to a society and its success, I think that change is more important. Change can benefit a lot, most people are in want of change because anything for too long can get old and outdated. Many would prefer new and improved. I do not think that traditional culture that has been outdated is still relevant. If a tradition is outdated it’s time to get a new tradition because there is no need for the old one. I think the wealthy or people who were born in to wealth wouldn’t want change and people of poverty would want change
I think tradition is more important in society. Society is based off of tradition. Tradition is not outdated, but more altered. For example a girl on the day of her quince is supposed to wear a big white dress. I didn't like that so I got an orange dress. You see I still had the whole traditional ceremony just without the white puffy dress. In other words there are loop holes in traditions that when found won't change the tradition dramatically, but will satisfy enough to where both sides are happy .
ReplyDelete-Emely Perez
Change is a significant aspect to any society and culture's growth. Success is based off of how well change is perceived and executed. Without a society making changes at times, there would not be much progress of that group. Although tradition is usually the basis for a society, at some point in time that tradition was technically a change. Change affects the route of any community, whether positive or negative. You don't know what works and what doesn't work until you've tried it out, which applies to any society. I think outdated traditions are labeled outdated for a reason, they are something of the past. But despite that, they shouldn't necessarily be forgotten about. They molded the path of a culture some way or another and it contributed to the advancement of that society. Ethnic cultures are probably more prone to hold on to traditions because of the personal attachment to traditions. On the other hand, political and societies are more for change because otherwise they would be stuck in the same place with no advancement.
ReplyDeleteTradition seems to be more important to a society and culture’s success than change. Tradition gives people something to live by and to refer to when in a dilemma. Traditions answer question that citizens cannot answer for themselves. When you are in a relationship with somebody and want to have a baby, you refer to tradition to help lead you in the right direction. Tradition states that you should get married, preferably in a religious setting. So that is what the majority of people do. tradition is how women take on the man’s last name in marriage and how the woman stays home to take care of the kids. Although tradition is important and people think it should be followed to ensure a rightful life sometimes change is beneficial. When (especially women) break away from traditional customers it can be a positive and empowering thing. Having a career and providing for your family is opposing tradition but our society is slowly becoming more accepting of it. Tradition sometimes causes people to be close minded and they can refuse to accept changes that differ from what they believe is right. A successful society has both tradition and change in my personal opinion.
ReplyDeleteYes, traditions that has been outdated are still relevant. Traditions are slowly decaying in America. Back to my previous point, men are now staying at home and acting like housewives while women act as the providers. Tradition is still relevant because there still remains people that view this as wrong, weird, or insufficient. As if a woman could not possibly make enough money to be the breadwinner.
Tradition is tied closely to religion. People who faithfully follow a sector of religion like Islam, Christianity, Catholicism, and Judaism are more likely to feel that they are obligated to follow traditions closely. Feminist and people who are more open minded would prefer change over religion.
I believe the importance to society to culture's success would differ by how old that current generation is. Traditional culture that has been outdated is still relevant because it shows the history of that group and the many individuals that would like to knowledge and past history of them. Groups that would prefer change in their tradition would be the new upcoming generation because they want to keep up with the rest of the modern world. The elder generation would feel the need to remain in their present customs because that is how they had been born and raised under those customs and that is what they're used to with living.
ReplyDeleteDARREN NGUYEN:
ReplyDeleteBoth changes and traditions can lead to positive things In society but just like anything else it can be a downfall. Both are very important where traditions are most likely carried on from the older generations and passed down to the newer generations, not all traditions are liked but most of them passed whether liked or not. Where as if the newer generations would most likely be use to changes in society, adapting to its course.
I believe that they are both a guidance to success but If I were to choose which would be more important although both is very, I must go with changes because even today society Is going to big changes and a lot of us already accept It while some don't.
In a society, both change and tradition are important; however, tradition is more important than change in the existence of society, while change is the grandest component of a society's success. Although tradition is the foundation and base of all societies, whether it be from the natives of THAT society or of the society that some one is native to before they move to THAT society, tradition is what sets the first steps of systems that a society needs to survive and function properly such as: ethics, food chain, justice, health, and work. Yes, they are very necessary, but the first version of all things is always surpassed by the following generations. This is where change comes in and along with it comes progress and success. Change is the upgrade of a society, it includes the language, technology, leaders, education, living conditions, sanitation, and much more. A society can exist with tradition, but it cannot succeed without change. A traditional culture is still relevant because it teaches about the past and helps prevent repeating negative events in the past or staying anchored and not changing too radically or too quickly. Change may be a very threatening thought to those who hold high positions, ranks, or wealth because it may cause their luck to make a u-turn and leave them at rock-bottom. It may cause the followers of a leader to awake to the reality and become the new leaders the crowd that begins to flow in a different direction. This is why most of the changes (especially technological) are made to keep us distracted in a way.
ReplyDeleteI think change is important to a society and culture’s because they are not stuck on doing the same think over and over. Change is good because You are trying new things in your life and your not stuck doing what your are told to do .Tradition is something you have to do it repeatedly and you doing things they ask you and you are born to it and they even tell you the way you have to think. What if you it don't fit in or you don't like the way you are teach you would like to change and do something you want to do and were ever you fit in. What if you have an old tradition and that's doesn't fit you or your family you would like to change and do something you like to not what you are told to do because what if that tradition is old and you don't agree with it. Change to me is better because you are doing different things and enjoying like not doing the same thing over. Now and days people still have there traditions but not as much as back in the days because they see tradition as jail cuz you can't do nothing different just do the same. So that's why I say change is more important.
ReplyDeleteSociety has always based what it will do on tradition, yet as time and history have shown us, change is what truly brings about a progression for society and culture. Change is the catalyst for what brings about new ideas and opinions that make society better. Think of tradition and change as the "park" and "drive" options on a car. Tradition keeps you parked in place, safe and stable, but it gets you going nowhere. Change gets you driving and moving forward. While there is a risk of disaster, the benefit of moving forward and progressing far outweighs the risks. We have seen societies that embrace change far outpace those that remain stagnant in tradition. Take a look at the US vs USSR. In the Cold War, the capitalistic US economy was a vehicle of change that promoted innovation and difference that allowed it to continue growing on and on. On the other side of the Atlantic, we saw the USSR fall into stagnation as it refused to accept any changes to meet the changing demands of the world, instead prefering to cling on to its Soviet traditions. Change is necessary, change is needed in order to make sure that a society and culture continually meet new challenges that face the world every day. The traditions of the Ancient Romans would be ill equipped to face the issue of cyberterrorism today, so why would tradition contribute more to society than change? Humans have become the way they are today because of evolution, adaptation, change that has made us able to survive.
ReplyDeleteWhile change is a necessary part of society, it is not to say that tradition becomes irrelevant. We build our societies and culture based on the traditions of the past. We use tradition as a base, a foundation to build with change and progress. While change and progress are necessary to keep humans evolving, we cannot create any change if there is not a base of tradition we can work from. Therefore, while traditions may be outdated, we can still use them as relevant examples of what we can do to change for the better.
Those who support change and those who oppose it can be boiled down to conservatism and liberalism. Both of their meanings are rooted in the fight between tradition and change. Conservatives favor the traditions of the past to build society, while liberals favor progress and change to build society. Once these two camps are set in stone, proponents of tradition and progress become more and more subdivided and distinct. However, the basic argument of tradition vs. change can be boiled down between liberals and conservatives.
I believe that tradition is more important to a society's success. Tradition is important because it gives younger people something to base their lives on. A lot of people act out of influence so tradition controls the way that people think about something. If one thing is done traditionally and somebody goes against that, then it can be viewed as wrong. Tradition in society will always be relevant. If a women tried to get married in a red dress, it would be seen as weird because it is a known tradition that women het married in a white dress only. No matter how far back the tradition is dated, as long as it is passed down, it will be relevant. People who are more religious and spiritual would be more likely to prefer tradition as to change. Change is a difficult thing for many people. It is easier to go with what you know instead of going against it.
Delete-Jose Maciel