Issue 207_倒数4天_跪求狠拍

pigaretUID: 2749103

TOPIC: ISSUE207 - "Rituals and ceremonies help define a culture. Without them, societies or groups of people have a diminished sense of who they are."
WORDS: 608          TIME: 00:47:16          DATE: 2010/2/7 12:24:25

There are rituals and ceremonies performed and celebrated everywhere around the globe. From tribe sacrifice in the early time to the parades of people in streets of modern times, these types of gatherings strengthen the social ties and generate senses of belonging. Yet Individuals, while submerged in the sense of security being a member of certain group, take risks of being deprived of its own identity concerning the limits the group may impose on them.

Human is social animal, which requires him/her to find its ties to relate to other people. In ancient times, the most effective way to achieve this purpose was to take part in rituals. Rituals of our ancestors mostly focused on giving assurance. As men are vulnerable in front of wild animals and furious natural disasters, they choose to unite as a whole to strengthen their forces. By participating in a ritual, an individual was allowed to join the union. Thus s/he found the sense of belonging and gain boldness to face dangerous situations. Since being acknowledged by a group of members, s/he was able to realize his or her own potentials with the help of others. Therefore, an individul knows better about his/her unique identity.

Likewise, in modern times, almost every country celebrates its national holidays as well as other ceremonies to commemorate the triumphs in the past. Therefore, the descendants of those heroes and heroins would have a clearer picture of where they come from and what mutual indentities they do share. This is especially true in the 21st century when the world merges as a united whole. With the develpment of communication and transportation, people of different nations and races get better chances to know each other and start to absorb the ideas from outside the limited group. The lifestyles, even beliefs, gradually take more and more similarities. Many claim that this phenomena, although assures a wider perspective of the world, results in the loss of identity.  This may well explain why Korean government felt the urge to claim to the UNESO that Mid Autumn Festival is originated from their culture. It appears logical that a holiday could save the world villagers from their identity crisis.

However, obtaining a sense of who we are cannot be achieved only by knowing which group we belong to. What should not be neglected is the responsibilities as well as the power we have which could provide us with some freedom to realize the unique quality of the individual. There are certain strict norms shared by group members that may impose too much stress and danger to its individual. In Shirley Jacksons novel The Lottery, a woman was stoned to death by villagers to ensure a better harvest after she was picked by drawing the lottery in the annual ritual. The story, despite its contrived story line, well reflects the limit of choice within certain communities. Even in modern times, we find similar cases in the Greek Letter Societies which aquires its new members to finish the inhuman tasks given by the old members. Some even caused fatal crimes. Thus, if a community places too much emphasis on maintaining its authority instead of allowing certain freedom of choice to its members, the identities of the individuals will be nothing but a sacrifice for the wellbeing of the other few.

In sum, I would like to point out again that rituals and ceremonies should be considered as double-edged in helping build the identity of its members. How an individual gets better understanding of who s/he is should not be based only on the similarities the community shares, but should also on the distinguished character of him/herself.

pigaretUID: 2749103

我终于变成新兵了···不容易啊~~马上都要考了，希望是好运咯！