Grann describes Wah'Kon-Tah as a "mysterious life-force that pervades the sun and the moon and the earth and the stars, the force around which the Osage had structured their lives for centuries, hoping to bring some order out of the chaos and confusion on earth; the force that was there but was not there--invisible, remote, giving, awesome, unanswering" (23). He then goes on to describe how "Many Osage had given up on their traditional beliefs, but Lizzie had held on to them" (23), and quotes a U.S. government official who complains that women like Lizzie "keep up the old superstitions and laugh down modern ideas and customs").
When should the abandonment of traditional belief and customs be regarded as progress and when should it be regarded as a loss? When is it fair to dismiss a belief as a superstition? When are traditions and beliefs passed on from generation to generation worth defending and when should they be discarded?
I believe that it is never okay to dismiss, or abandon, your traditional beliefs. Abandoning traditional beliefs is never progress. For many people, myself included, traditional beliefs and customs are ties to a time that we will never know, filled with people that we will never meet. Our inherited beliefs and customs are what remind us what we once were. I will never get to see my ancestors roam the countryside of North Carolina or pre-statehood Oklahoma, but these customs and stories remind me of where I came from.
ReplyDeleteI have to disagree with Tyler because of some key exclusionary details. I think it is okay to abandon your traditional beliefs if they are bigoted; for example, a child born into a family of KKK members should dismiss his family's traditions and customs. It is never really fair to dismiss a belief as a superstition, unless you believe every person of the Islamic faith is a terrorist. Sometimes it is okay to throw out ancient traditions, like human sacrifice. Generally speaking, though, I think one should always preserve and defend their heritage, so long as it is honorable. As Tyler said, they are clues into how our ancestors lived.
ReplyDeleteI have to agree with Kennedy, as some beliefs are very harmful to people and to society but that does not mean that all beliefs are to be done away with. Passing a black cat and counting that as bad luck is superstition and should be cast aside, as it can be harmful to black cats, while believing in a higher power, that there is something that one person cannot understand, is not. It is a loss of tradition when it is forced to be lossed, much how the Native Americans were forced to abandon their customs in favor of a more West ideal and thought. How is Wah'Kon-Tah different than people believing in God or gods? Why would it be superstition instead of a legitimate religion? It is a part of culture, and culture helps people grow and connect in ways that is hard to find anywhere else.
DeleteOn the one hand, yes certain traditions should be dismissed Kennedy, but on the other, it is a choice for the person whether or not to dismiss it. Kennedy suggested that a child born into a family of KKK members should dismiss the traditions. Although, in my opinion, that would be the right thing to do, it is up to the person whether or not they think they should or should not give up family traditions, no matter how horrible they seem to others. I think with beliefs turning into superstition, yes I agree with both Kennedy and Kassie. Beliefs should rarely ever be turned into superstitions. Kennedy uses a great example on how many believe that if a person is of Islamic faith, they are a terrorist. Silly "beliefs" like that are superstitions. Assuming something about a person just because of their religion is inappropriate. Tyler states my opinion very clearly, but in the end, the decision is in the hands of the person making it.
Delete-Sam Pratt
The abandonment of traditional beliefs and customs should only be celebrated if the change results in a better quality of life for the parties who are changing. For example, if a group who had traditionally relied on witch doctors decides to adopt the practices of modern medicine, that should be praised. It is a change that will result in less sickness in a community, longer lives, and a higher quality of life. Change would be considered a loss if a group, the Osage for example, gave up a tradition that is a building block of their culture. If the Osage decided they were going to change their clothing style and wearing blankets the way Mollie's family wore them became taboo, I would consider that a loss. The many diverse cultures and all of their practices help to make America unique, so traditions and beliefs that have persisted for generations are undoubtedly worth defending.
ReplyDeleteThe abandonment of traditional beliefs and customs should be regarded as progress in cases that the beliefs or custom was harmful to other people. For example, back in the times that human sacrifices were custom, this would be considered progress. In the example of our book, it would be considered a loss. The customs of the Osage such as wearing the traditional clothing were not harmful to anyone else. It’s also an opening to culture and history of our ancestors. Even in the case of progress, it is not okay to completely erase these beliefs of customs from history. For example, human sacrifices are no longer preformed, but we still have the knowledge of these rituals. It is never fair to dismiss a belief a superstition. Although we may not always understand a belief, that does not mean that we can dismiss it as a superstition. No certain belief is wrong or right. Traditions should be passed down from generation to generation and are worth defending whenever the belief does not hurt others and is a tradition that would be considered a loss to lose.
ReplyDeleteI have to agree with Kaylee. Though I understand where Tyler is coming from, I disagree. The abandonment of traditional beliefs is not meant to be disrespectful to our ancestors or to try and completely erase history. Instead,it is to try and move ahead and make progress. In our history, there are good traditions and bad traditions. As Kaylee was stating, there are acts of customs in history such as human sacrifice that are better left in the past. In cases like that, it is better to have knowledge of such acts rather than still practice them. If the tradition or belief does no harm then I believe it should remain to help people connect with where they come from. The harmful traditions and beliefs can stay in the past.
DeleteI agree with Mitchell as I believe the abandonment of traditional beliefs and customs is good when they change the way people live for the better. There are many traditions that have been changed that has changed our lives for the better. A tradition that has been changed is having a midwife come to your house to have a baby and now going to a hospital to have a baby. This tradition makes life easier on the mothers and the survival rate of the babies. I also agree that they shouldn't be erased because as others have said, it helps us know and learn about how ancestors and their cultures.
ReplyDeleteI believe that traditional beliefs and customs abandonment should be regarded as progress when better results are found from the change, and when it appears to work more fluently than the past beliefs that were held. When abandonment of traditional beliefs and customs should be seen as a loss is when conditions clearly worsen, and people are less than happy with how they are living. I think it is more of a personal preference on when beliefs should be kept or done away with, but I think keeping at least a small part of original beliefs is necessary, if they are not harmful, because essentially, that's what you came from and it is important to remember your roots. Change, however, is not a bad thing. People must adapt with time, and time changes things usually for the better.
ReplyDeleteI believe no one or any group should abandon a part of their beliefs or traditional culture unless it is harmful to a group or person. I do think that progress is needed in every culture to be able to better themselves, but complete abandonment of any traditional belief should be counted as a loss. People should always remember where they cam from and not abandoning traditional beliefs is a way to keep that culture alive. Adapting to the world around you is important, and is something every group needs no has had too do, but it is important that cultural beliefs are not forgotten.
ReplyDeleteThe abandonment of traditional beliefs and customs is always a loss and a gain. Once beliefs and customs are lost, parts of people's cultures are also becoming lost. However, with the lost of culture others will be formed and added upon. Some traditional beliefs are regarded as progress, such as the end of slavery, but this still did not stop the prejudice and inhumane acts against others based on nothing more than race.
ReplyDeleteThe abandonment of traditional beliefs should be regarded as progress only when that tradition or belief would impose on another person's tradition or belief or it would cause harm to another person or group of people. Just because we do not agree with another person about their religion or whether or not they are superstitious, does not mean that we should regard their beliefs as any less valid than our own. It is a matter of respect and a willingness to embrace diversity. Progress is inevitable, but as some others have said, abandoning your traditions and beliefs should be viewed as a loss. Our culture and beliefs are the only things that some of us have to connect us to our past; our history and our people. We can sit in a classroom and study history, but it becomes more intimate when we truly learn about ourselves, our families and beliefs that are passed down throughout generations of people we are connected to.
ReplyDeleteI believe that disregarding traditional belief could be deemed as a loss in the sense that you are losing something that makes you who you are. I believe that keeping tradition is essentially keeping alive your ancestors, who kept it before you. Although I believe these things to be true, I also think that at some point you must choose for yourself what to believe. If you believe what your parents believe then is it your belief if you didn’t make the conscious decision to believe that? You should at some point in your life be informed enough to make your own choice on what you believe when it comes not only to religion, but anything and everything in life.
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