【Issue147】求拍求拍，我觉得这第四篇有点儿长进了！

yxwang1988UID: 2735195

TOPIC: ISSUE147 - "Tradition andmodernization are incompatible. One must choose between them."
WORDS: 463
TIME: 00:45:00
DATE: 12/29/2009 12:39:03 AM


The writer's assertion that tradition and modernization are mutually exclusive has his point to some extent, but there are ways to conciliate. Successful examples nowadays reveal the fact that given sufficient governmental attention and public awareness, a balance can be achieved between these two.

Nowadays, as technology revolutionizing the way we live and work every day, traditions, which define the identity of an ethnic group are challenged in two ways, i.e. physically and culturally.

Physical objects like hovels, bazaars, costumes and etc are treated as barriers of modernizations by city planners. Old villages and traditional dwellings are disintegrated to make space for shopping centers and car parks. Mobile hawkers who are previously an integral part of people's life are banned in a lot of cities of China to improve the so-called 'city outlook'. Also, in Beijing, the capital city of China, there have been debated for long whether Hutong (old Peking pathways, too narrow for automobiles) should be preserved for cultural reason or removed to accelerate the modernization of Beijing City. This seems to be a dilemma.

While many developing countries like China are  too obsessed with economic development, developed counties like Singapore have started to take effective method to protect their culture. Singapore River used to be the most important wharf of these country. Most current Singaporeans are decedents of migrants who worked there as laborers, striving for a better life. Not only that, this area has many historical buildings like premium court, post office and government hall during the British Colonial period. In order to develop this golden area as heart of the country's economic development while keeping all the traditions there as well, Singapore came up with a novel solution. Nowadays, all colonial buildings are still functioning but serve different purposes. They became museums, high end restaurants, history theatres and so forth. Statues depicting the ancestors struggling against all odds are scattered along the river as a featured exhibition. Not only that, skyscrapers labeling multiple financial magnates bend in very well with the traditions, making this place a symbol of the country's prosperity and people's dream for better life just like years ago. Such good practice is not unique. US cities like Boston and Philadelphia are doing just as well. Old traditions are still playing an important role in modern citizens' life.

While physical objects can still be stored in museums or be embellished in many other ways, religions and soft traditions are somewhat more at stake. The world's great powers are exporting their beliefs, value systems, languages and ideologies in many ways. Among them, commercial cultural product like Hollywood's blockbusters and Japanese comics and anime are suppressing and even eliminating the culture of many countries. These products are bundled with the incentives of modernization and economical development, putting people of developing country in vulnerable positions.  Many Indians nowadays do not know how to speak Tamil (or other native language in India. there are obviously a lot). New generation Chinese kids enjoy Christmas more than Chinese Lunar New Year. Warriors in African Tribes lost their habitat and thus food source in the jungle as rainforest being torn down. These soft traditions are finding themselves less valuable in today's international world.

Fortunately, this sad fact can be tackled by education. Alphonse Daudet contended in his famous novel "The last class" that the most effective way to eliminate a culture is by abolishing its language. Today's problem is much more subtle compared to the gunfire and explosives in the Prussian invasion. Nonetheless, the only way soft traditions being preserved is to continue practice its rituals and ceremonies, converse and correspond letters in its own language. This can be solely done through education. Instead of focusing only on the richer end of the planets, educators should also keep sufficient amount of knowledge of their own culture in the textbook to avoid a loss of identity. Public awareness should be raised that the culture is the most valuable thing they ever had. Foreign countries on the other hand, should cooperate and respect the sacred integrity of local culture. After all, being a step ahead in modernization does not grant the people in the developed world right to condescend.

In summary, tradition and modernization can be compatible. Certain actions should be taken by both government and civilians to figure out creative solutions for physical tradition issue. Global cooperation should be enforced to better educate the people of the endangered culture. A right amount of foreign culture insertion will combine its effect in boosting economy and the preservation of traditions in a seamless manner.


总是在时限内写不完，请问诸位同学有没有什么好办法提高写作速度？总共接近800字的文章我在45分钟内只写了463...况且开始只用了15分钟构思 （高考的时候构思和写作是一半一半分的的说....）.

十分感谢！！！