[优秀习作] ISSUE147"Tradition and modernization are incompatible, one must choose [复制链接]

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发表于 2003-9-12 11:45:15 |只看该作者 |倒序浏览

147"Tradition and modernization are incompatible, one must choose between them."

In this era, modernization has become such an unavoidable trend in every nation over the world, that we may surprise at those unbelievable changes occurring everyday. The break-neck speed of technological innovation, the tremendous displacement in the whole social structure, and the erosion of traditional values and loyalties are from time to time cited as evidence that we live in a world which improves itself through the continuous process of modernization, in which tradition and modernization are totally incompatible. However, although this contention is not entirely without support, it runs contrary to common sense and everyday human experience.

To begin with, tradition and modernization play equally important roles in individual decisions as well as in social development. Whether it is conscious or not, one who was brought up in a certain cultural circumstance embraces a established set of social normal and value, and all these are called tradition. When he or she participates in the process of modernization, traditions will keep on affecting the evaluation of changes occurring around, further, tradition sometimes acts as the principle based on which a change is thought to be acceptable or not. For supporting example we need look no further than the different attitudes toward "the Dink Family"(which means a family consists only a couple and no child) in U.S.A. and in China. For the majority of Chinese people, this modern kind of family structure is unacceptable because descendants are considered as wealth to a family as well as to the society as a whole. While in U.S.A. it is completely a thing of individual freedom, if one thinks it well, he or she can choose it. At the same time, modernization is obviously a global process that no one can refuse. In these days, one who cannot use computer will undoubtedly lose many job opportunities. This illustrates that to what degree one accepts modernization decides how well he or she can catch up with the world. So every decision made today, whether by a man, a community or a country, is a synthesis of the elements not only from tradition but also from modernization, they are not incompatible at all.

Were to over-emphasize the importance of the modernization with out thinking of the tradition, one would finally be the slave of the newly-developed technology and foreign culture, accordingly, one would gradually lose the self-identity, which is not the original aim of modernization. Tradition, as an important and valuable part of the national culture, more or less includes some basic and everlasting ideas tell people which is right and which is wrong. Appeal to the tradition actually can be considered as a process of social identification in which one will achieve the self-identity.

On the contrary, were to limit one's eyes merely within the scope of the tradition and history, and ignore the trend of modernization will lead to a close-up policy to the new thing and to the world, like what happened in the 19th century in China, which caused a fall-off the great nation with a history of over 5000 years. So to simply put aside the modernization is a behavior lacking of responsibility and courage.

To sum up, whether to the everyday personal life or to the society as a whole, it is impossible to either to totally ignore the effect of tradition or to fear to confront of modernization. And if simply over-emphasize one and put aside another, the social will lose its direction or bogged down in the disturbing stagnation. As a proper attitude toward this problem, we should find a compromise of these two aspects, but not curtly choose between them.