Agadir – Most people consider traditions as belonging to the sealed realm of the past and relate them solely to ancestral heritage.
The perception of traditions as such is totally the opposite of the spirit of traditions and may prove to be counter-productive especially in societies that aspire to break away from backwardness and make it into the sphere of enlightened and advanced societies. Traditions should in the first place be based on proven best practices rather than on folkloric assumptions or perceptions. In this manner, the door will always be kept widely open to the ever evolving ‘best practices” in different areas of social interaction.
In this respect, we may come to establish and deeply anchor a new tradition of “respecting time” for instance. If we, as a society, manage to do so we will certainly go one step higher up the ladder of civilized nations. Not only that, but we will certainly be more productive, more positive, more competitive and above all more success oriented.
Another tradition we could think of adopting and keeping in our society is queuing and respecting the queue while seeking services or waiting to get products. Needless to say that in modern and post -modern societies the “Plastic bubble,” an inherent social notion regulating personal space, has it that a pre-established space interval between people standing in a queue is to be respected and very much observed.
Yet another tradition we may wish to consider and possibly establish in our society is turn-taking while holding a conversation or discussion. As may happen in plenty of instances in some societies, a lot of people wish to voice their opinions, ideas, concerns or what not at the same time. The end result of such behavior is obviously chaotic communication with all what that can entail. Turn taking between speaker and listener can prove to be efficient, more practical and civilized. Agreeing on this principle may not be that easy as a lot of training has to take place before people could become positive listeners and efficient speakers. I started with listeners because listening is the more difficult part of the two. Listeners have to be auto-disciplined and open to others’ messages to perform the art of positive listening before they could switch roles with speakers.
Respecting the environment and the public domain is something to think of as a potentially healthy and rewarding process that could be turned into yet another tradition. Fighting recklessness, carelessness and vandalism and replacing them with caring, sharing and mutual help towards achieving a better protection of the environment and safeguarding public domain property is the way to get that tradition established.
A culmination of these hoped for traditions would be establishing a zero tolerance for cheating and bribery in all spheres of public life and administration in our country. If by any chance our society comes to reach this point or level of awareness, adopts this zero tolerance policy and turns it into a new tradition, I am sure it will become a role model to plenty of other developing or emerging societies.
Skeptics will certainly laugh at this. Resistant to change will fight it with all their might to keep unchallenged their tenure status. Others will tell you they heard this ‘cassette” over and over again, and it is pointless even to bring it back on scene. Can they say the same about successful traditions the Germans and the Japanese managed to establish in their societies? If these two instances seem out-of-reach to some, then they had better make themselves a cup of tea and spend three hours to thoroughly enjoy it. The task is definitely not theirs. If, on the other hand, some others are more inclined to be on the side of the “Yes, it is possible” and the “Yes, we can” spirit then they had better start now, their beneficial impact will surely make a difference on the long run.
This is no ‘pie in the sky” as it may seem, policies that get appropriate enforcement turn into good and orderly habits. Out of the good habit formation process slowly and surely emerge the contours of a new tradition that people will eventually come to cherish, observe, protect and subsequently transmit. That said, there will always be enough room for old traditions. They will always remain as cherished and treasured essential parts of the rich and diverse cultural legacy from our past and common history.
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