Should We Preserve Traditional Arts QUESTION: In some countries, traditional arts are becoming extinct. Some people think that we should try to keep them. What is your opinion? ANSWER: One side effect of globalisation is that in some countries, traditional forms of art are increasingly replaced by foreign forms, resulting in local art forms dying out. Some people are worried about this trend, and they believe that traditional local arts should be preserved. There are many reasons for the preservation. First, traditional local arts are unique to a country. They make the place or country unique. Its people are often proud of the art forms, and the existence may help to maintain solidarity and unity of the people. In addition, every different traditional art contributes to the diversification of world arts. In this sense, every one of them is precious and worth out efforts to preserve. Once an art sinks into oblivion (All the works are destroyed, or all the artists have passed away.), it would be next to impossible to bring the art back. For this reason, saving the endangered art forms is urgent. However, it must be noted that preserving a dying art form often has practical difficulties, and these are not always affordable for a country. This is especially true when a traditional art is replaced by some obviously better rivals, and the majority of the people in that place prefer the modern arts. In such cases, an attempt to save the traditional art form would be costly, and may not be really worth it. Giving the public the chance to choose whether to appreciate the traditional art form might be a better idea. In conclusion, in general, traditional art forms should be preserved for their role in keeping a people feeling a sense of belonging to the same group, and for the diversity of world arts. But in some cases, the people themselves should decide if it is worth the cost.