Polyglot Incarnate

Changing culture is either a long, slow process or a short, violent process that is almost always followed by a conservative reaction. I think that Clay Shirky is correct in identifying the real problem behind the development of the internet. 

Now, there’s always the argument that the “traditional” or “old” ways of doing things are passé; that just because something has been done a certain way for centuries is not a good argument for keeping things that way. This I find to be a gross oversight of the real difficulty of changing over to a new way of doing things. It is insensitive, it demonstrates a lack of real understanding of what a specific change will mean to the individuals that it will affect the most. 

Americans run into this difficulty when trying to understand why French Muslims are not allowed to wear headscarves in public, why it is illegal. What Americans fail to understand is that the French have very clearly, and for a long time, defined religion as private. Meaning that it has no place in the public sphere. The French have worked for centuries to achieve and maintain this definition, and now in the past few years they are being asked to readdress this issue. An issue they have already moved past. Americans don’t understand this established decision, and only assume it to be culture. Which, when placed by itself does not seem like a good argument.

This situation is similar to the clash of the “old-style” education system (relying heavily on books and paper) and the “new-style” education system (relying on the internet and email). The Western World has long established teaching methods and and education system. While these methods and systems may vary nation to nation; the difference is negligable. The recent development of the internet is challenging the old establishment, battling the (now) standardized culture.

This is not unique to the Western education system: it is also challenging our definitions of public and private, our manners, how we interact with people… It’s changing our culture. Sometimes change is good, sometimes it isn’t: We should proceed with caution, whether we welcome the change or prefer the old, tried  and proven ways.

Signing off-

Alice