I really need your recommendation!
The speaker asserts that rituals and ceremonies help define a culture and it is the only way to preserve culture identity. It has merit from a normative standpoint, and I agree insofar as ritual and ceremonies is certainly a important means of preserving culture. However, the assertion is indefensible. This is not their sole purpose; nor are rituals and ceremonies the only means of preserving culture identity.
True, the speaker's assertion that rituals and ceremonies help define a culture is quite compelling, for the reason that rituals and ceremonies is part-and-parcel of culture. A telling example involves that Japan, although a modernized and developed country, cling tenaciously to their rituals and ceremonies which rooted in oriental traditional culture. To promote understanding, and therefore the transmission across generation of these culture properties, such as kabuki, a classical Japanese dace drama, used to perform before the Imperial Count as ritual, exhibitions and workshops are organized to educate future generations. Their preservation demonstrates a recognition of the necessity of the past, of the things that tell its story, of a better world with great tolerance of differing values points and people who are different from ourselves. Secondly, ritual and ceremonies are vital parts as expected in identity preservation, as ink is to a pen or wheels are to a car. Were it removed ,the minor culture risks total assimilation and loss of identity.
Beyond this concession, however, I disagree with the statement because it seems to recommend that the rituals and ceremonies is the only means to preserve cultural identity. Consider, for example, The Unite States, where the population is ethnically diverse and social unity is based primarily on common values and beliefs. Some kinds of cultural identity may result of various conditions including location, gender, race, language and religious beliefs. Furthermore, in the era of technology, cultural identity may be defined by social network of people imitating and following the social norms as presented by the media. The second important reason why I disagree with the statement is that the purpose of ritual and ceremonies is not sole for the cultural identity. For example, many shrines in Japan offer purification rituals to ward off ill fortune for people passing through those unlucky years.
In sum, I concede that rituals and ceremonies help define a culture. Nevertheless, they also serve as a purification function. Moreover, to some extent, the speaker's claim overrates the importance of preserving cultural identity
