Vs

By Kakajan Haytlyyev

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Very often people confuse culture with

traditions. Sometimes when people gossip about

someone's private life they would say that he or

she had to do it because it is our culture. They

would say it with a shade of approval although it

is known that a person in question had to do

something against his or her will.

When I end up being a bystander of such conversation, I am

always surprised that people are not concerned whether the

person they gossip about is going to be fine. They are

concerned about the established order and appear to be

satisfied that a compliance with unwritten laws is observed.

It made me think what and where does not work if

someone's well-being is less important than an approval of

a society.

I do not think it is acceptable that frequently use the word

"culture" justifies circumstances that force a person to do

something which he or she would rather not do. Therefore,

I started my research with definitions.

Definition of culture is the arts and other manifestations of

human intellectual achievement regarded collectively.

Culture refers to the cumulative deposit of knowledge,

experience, beliefs, values, attitudes, meanings, hierarchies,

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religion, spatial relations, material objects and possessions

acquired by a group of people in the course of generations.

Tradition defined as a long-established custom or belief that

has been passed on from one generation to another.

According to Reference.com culture and traditions are not

the same because tradition is the passing of beliefs from one

generation to the next, whereby culture consists of the

features that describe a society at any given time.

Reference.com also indicates that tradition often remains

the same over time but culture changes continuously, even

within the same society.

It gradually became apparent why people are confused. I

noticed that some definitions illustrate tradition as

something bigger and constant as compared to ever

changing culture. In my view, this is a fundamental mistake

that undermines culture and overrates tradition.

Although it is correct that nothing remains the same, it does

not mean that culture would continuously change. It is

appropriate to say that culture would constantly evolve into

something better. Culture is something that cultivates,

uplifts our spirit. It gives us something positive and

something to look forward to. Culture is something which

gives hope, provides us with the energy to move forward

although we think that we almost have no energy left. A

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culture of any nation would produce those people who

would start doing something so positive which would drive

the entire nation to the better future. It is a fundamental

force that let people evolve spiritually.

However, historical facts show that tradition, not culture,

instead of evolving is constantly changing throughout the

process of evolution of a society. Facts illustrate that we

used to have one set of traditions centuries ago and now we

have traditions that are substantially different. For instance,

traditions in Europe years ago were that parents of a boy

would have to ask permission of parents of a girl for them

to marry. Pre-marital sex was not acceptable whatsoever.

Soon to be married at times had never seen each other

before the wedding day. However, in our modern world, it

is something unthinkable.

Unlike tradition, culture contains the same components

throughout millenniums - art, literature, architecture, etc.

"New" is created, but the "Old" is also celebrated. When we

talk about culture, the "New" and the "Old" are not

conflicting with each other. Instead, they complement each

other. Moreover, in culture, the "New" often is not possible

without the "Old". But we cannot say the same about

traditions.

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Therefore, when someone is forced to do something against

this person’s will, it has nothing common with the culture.

Because forces behind such circumstances would rather

push a person down instead of uplifting him or her. It would

damage or destroy his or her personality, and take away the

hope making the person's life meaningless. It deprives and

undermines the person by taking away the right to look

forward to any positive future. It will eventually kill that

person's dream.

We need to understand the difference because it is not right

if someone has to suffer just because it is perceived by

society as the right way of doing things. Tradition is not an

objective circumstance and it changes friequently. It shall

not be considered as more valuable than someone’s

happiness.

If we learn how to differentiate culture from tradition, we

may also speed up our evolution as a human race. A better

understanding will make a real difference for real people by

changing their life for better. It will assist us to avoid

circumstances when people have to follow traditions even if

it is against their will.