Traditional values Conscience of our nation

Lionel WIJESIRI

If you read the editorials and the letters to the editor and speak to people, you will notice that there is a general concern expressed over the decline of traditional social values in Sri Lanka today. It is nothing to be surprised. In recent years, we have begun to talk a lot about our traditional values. It has also been the subject of debate and controversy by the news media.

What are these values? In reality, they refer to the standards and beliefs that most of us embraced from our earliest beginnings and throughout the majority of our history. It is believed by many, including myself, that these values were a part of what made our country a great nation.

Our traditional values have always been the foundation of other national traditions, such as: honour and respect for the family, diligent work ethics, absolute values of right and wrong, honesty in business practices, wholesomeness in leadership, respect toward authority, moderation rather than excess, taking responsibility to provide for our own - such as one's spouse, family and children, and so forth.

Such values were also the ethics of our national heritage, which civilized our population and instilled character and maturity. People learned how to behave, to have good manners, good morals, to be honest, unselfish, generous and considerate of others. They were taught the benefits of discipline, hard work, and responsibility. They were given good role models of how to be loving and kind to their spouse, encouraging and supportive to their children. This was the discipline which caused marriages to last, families to succeed, and which made our nation strong and vibrant.

RESTORATION

That is why many of today's social leaders are looking to a restoration of such traditional values. They have realized that those values, which our ancestors preserved, are the cure for the sickness that plagues our nation.

And on a more cynical angle, politicians, too, have come to see it as a remedy for the numerous costly government social programs. The government has to spend billions of Rupees each year trying to fix the ills of society, which are the outcome of the absence of traditional values: drug abuse, abandoned children, abandoned elderly, litigation abuse, welfare abuse, failure of education, lack of discipline in the schools, rampant crime, etc.

The religious leaders believe that all of these woes and much more, are the by- products of a society without values which originally came from a life-style of religious lives. Realizing this, more and more religious leaders are beginning to appeal for a return to moral religious values.

It is said, "They which fail to learn from history, are destined to repeat it." One fact is clear: Unless there is a revival of traditional values in our nation, like Rome, we will corrupt from within and will die as a nation.

So what could we do? First, we need to reconcile the fact that the social context in which these values developed through the past centuries is very different from today.

The introduction of a market based economy as a part of the development process in itself introduced new values in the society. Apart from influences of foreign travel and tourism, the mass media is perhaps one of the greatest sources of external influence and values. The introduction of television and the Internet has also enabled our people to have instant access to not only global information but also whetted their appetite for consumer goods.

Although modernization creates numerous opportunities, many people are been marginalized in the process. The gap between the rich and the poor began to widen more and more. The ultimate result was the human greed at its most depraved form draining away the spirituality that has helped shape our traditional values.

We have to consider today the benefits and costs of modernization cautiously. Considering the relevance of traditional values in addressing national issues, it is now more necessary than ever to ensure the intergenerational transmission of values. Otherwise, the unbridled modernization may destroy the cultural fabric that has enabled our society to live in harmony with each other and with the natural environment.

Considering that about eighty percent of our people are still dependent on traditional livelihood based on agriculture, there is a need to provide a sense of continuity amidst change since culture and traditional values form the bedrock of our national identity.

EDUCATION

I believe the major part of the solution lies in our education system. Let us ask ourselves: does our education system provide adequate impetus for imparting traditional value education to the younger generations?

Today, the education system is regarded more as a means to an end i.e., a road to a better job and a better salary. This is in contrast to the traditional notion of education where it was more-or-less seen as an end in itself in the individual's quest to remove ignorance and attain greater knowledge for its own sake.

Whatever traditional values we intend to leave behind to our future generation, the education is perhaps one of the most powerful tools to propagate the intended values. In terms of policy too, the Government should seriously consider to introduce traditional value education into the education system, as part of a separate subject in the primary and secondary grades in schools. This will help in the bid to better integrate all races into society.

The Education experts could consider whether there should be compulsory lessons for 11 to 16-year-olds about our core values and the contributions of different communities to the country and Sri Lanka's importance to world culture.

In a world of ever increasing globalization, strong, cohesive communities depend on mutual respect, understanding and shared values. These are part of our traditional values.

The vibrant, diverse communities we have in Sri Lanka are a cause for celebration. It is no barrier to developing a stronger sense of understanding among citizens with purpose and values.