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Since nowadays’ society is based on individual self-interest and ambition, some people argue that people should put more importance on conventional ideals that value family and the neighborhood to make society a better place. However, I disagree with this idea because first, it is an inevitable natural process that traditional values fade into the mists of history. Secondly, even though people restore old-fashioned concepts that respect family and local society, there is no guarantee that the world will be a greater place to live.
To begin with, a situation where traditionalism disappears and individualism emerges is now an inevitable flow in the whole world. There is a plausible reason why conventional ideals die down whereas individualism gets settled. In fact, the word “Individual greed and selfishness” are just another degrading expression of individualism, and to be specific, individualism is one of the “lifestyles" in modern society that pursues individual self-interest in fairness. The reason for the new lifestyle settling down is that the generation who experienced the time when society valued conventional ideals have realized how meaningless and obsolescent the ideals are. In addition, that generation is now well aware that the development of one society (can derive from/is based upon) personal achievement which was so-called individual selfishness or greed. For example, the main Keyword in the modern society of Korea is MZ generation. This generation who has grown up by parents who place a weight on community or family showed different attitude toward society. The “MZ”s put their interest first over their company or community because they realized their old generations’ sacrifice did not matter a great deal in society as they grow up. Also, the older generation do not blame the younger ones for not showing their sacrifice, because they fully understand the modern flow of individualism and it is unavoidable.
Secondly, even though traditional beliefs that emphasize sacrifice for family and community are being revived, there are no certainties for a promising future for the world. In the past, traditionalism was a basic ideal in that days. The people in that days put the highest value on their service to family and community. However, the period that prioritized family or community over individual self-interest is not regarded as a better or more peaceful time than now, because, despite the fact that the prosperity of the time was based upon personal sacrifice, those people cannot get proper rewards or appreciated enough for their services. For example, in the middle of the 20th, Korean War occurred, and young men sacrificed their lives for their families and country. People in those days showed their respect to those young men just for a second, but soon they were forgotten and now those young men were aged with nothing. They have suffered from the wound or trauma of the war for their whole life and some of them cannot even receive proper rewards for their service which lead them to experience financial adversity in the end. The sacrifice for their local community or dear country proved to be nothing.
In conclusion, I firmly believe that individualism which means the appropriate pursuit of self-interest should be the first ideal over traditional beliefs in modern society because the concept of “individualism” is an irreversible global flow. Also, the older days, when traditional beliefs have important meanings, are actually proved as not so peaceful or a better place to live in. Consequently, there is no use in reviving obsolescent ideals in modern society. |