THERE ARE heated arguments on whether the element of protecting our norms and beliefs that define us as Rwandans is just our conservative nature. I strongly believe that this is the way to go if we are to protect what is dear to us – our culture. To be conservative is to protect our social and cultural values.

Conservatives seek to preserve things as they are and there is nothing wrong with preserving the continuity of traditions.  Traditions reflect our history and cement our identity. 

Why should we easily embrace any kind of change in our society for the sake of keeping up with the times? How do we preserve our culture that way?

I know change is good and culture is not static since it also evolves gradually but if the change is aimed at totally scrapping our cultural values and not just complimenting them, then I don’t see why we should embrace it without resistance. 

Last week many Rwandans held debates on social media on why Rwanda is willing to participate in Big Brother Africa 2014 yet it has scrapped social events such as Halloween that were said to corrupt moral values.

But they forget that participating in Big Brother is a way to promote one’s cultural values, it is like a cultural exchange but I stand to be corrected if I’m wrong.

I don’t see how Rwanda’s participation in Big Brother Africa is going to contradict with our cultural values. Arguments that the show promotes nudity and obscenity are entirely another issue because the last time I checked the ‘shower hour’ is censored and aired very late in the night. And honestly speaking, who showers with their clothes on? I believe in doing the right thing at the right time and in the right place. We forget that before civilisation we used to walk totally naked with nothing left to the imagination. Was society immoral then?  

Adapting to change is a gradual process but it does not mean that everyone can jump on the bus of change without question just because they want to embrace it. If we do that we are bound to lose our sense of direction.