I know that most of the readers will not agree with me but honestly speaking, this topic has been bothering me for some time now. I do respect old conventions, customs, and things but I am also of the view that most of the times we over-romanticize about them.
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Before talking about my practical experiences, I would like to mention a very interesting news story from Egypt. I was watching a Television show which was telecasting unique news from across the world. The show contained a report on the 1000 years old remains which had been discovered by the excavators. The remains also contained some scriptures which upon decryption showed pointed to a very interesting phenomenon and that was over-romanticising the past. The summary of the writings was that “in the past, people would respect their elders, would have mercy on children, would help each other in every difficulty and would not crave for wealth but those traits no longer exist”. This decryption of old remains shows us how they would over-romanticize about their past and the same convention is followed by us.
Now jumping to the present times. I was once having a conversation with an old person of our tribe about his youth. He was very passionate about his young age and rightly so but he would also criticize the present generations. The old man was of the view that in the past people good had every good quality which is now lacking in humanity. I asked him would they not fight with each other over minor disputes? He agreed with me that there were so many fights in the past. I then asked him would the powerful landowners not grab tenants’ land without the state not even bothering about it? He shook his head in affirmative. He said that the state control was very weak compared to the present day strict policing rules. He then agreed with me on many points and said that there is actually a trade-off between good and bad qualities. Many bad things have disappeared but given rise to many bad things as well or vice versa.
Then the old person talked about a bitter but important habit of the younger generations and that is their focus on the imaginary world of the Internet. He said that the youth would be chatting on Facebook and other social media without bothering for what is going around him. I had to agree with him but I also said that though Internet has decreased physical interaction among people it also provides an excellent opportunity to connect and talk to people from across the globe. This not only gives you a better understanding of what is going around in the world but also the fills the gaps which exist among different nations, cultures, races, and religions. He agreed to my point of view and then we finished our chat with the positive note by agreeing to the fact that both times have merits and demerits.
My respect and support for old customs are unflinching but I also think that we should not a barrier in the path of a positive change. Some people in every society try to stop change by mixing old traditions with religious teaching. I would definitely say that no religion teaches backwardness and all religions teach positivity, development, and prosperity. Respecting culture and traditions is a great thing but we should not be prisoners to them because change is the only thing which is constant in the universe. On the lighter note, I would tell Facebook to accept the change of Steemit.com and be more beneficial to its users and supports. Lots of love STEEMIANS.
Interesting post. I might not be of help with clearing the question, but I guess we are all wired to remember mostly good things from the past. Even if you look back into your childhood or a relationship you had years ago... when we come over a point in time this happens with our mind, our memory. We remember mostly nice things, good moments. To be honest I think that's good. Ok, we are a bit sad and dissapointed at present time, but just imagine how would we feel if we would carry all the pain and bad memories with us all this years. It's not healthy. So I guess we are built in this a kind of self-protecting manner. As you have noticed yourself this was the same through the whole history.
Thank you so much for your great analysis @wavelane. It is I guess in our blood to remember old things.