Change, or the ability to {{U}}(31)
{{/U}} oneself to a changing environment is essential {{U}}(32)
{{/U}} evolution. The farmer whose land is required for housing or
industry must adapt himself: he can transfer to another place and master the
problems {{U}}(33) {{/U}} to it; he can change his occupation, perhaps
{{U}}(34) {{/U}} a period of training; or he can starve to death. A
nation which can't adapt its trade or defense requirements to {{U}}(35)
{{/U}} world conditions faces an economic and military disaster. Nothing is
fixed and permanently stable. {{U}}(36) {{/U}} must be movement forward,
which is progress of a sort, and movement backward, which is decay and
deterioration. In a changing world, tradition can be a force for
good or for evil. {{U}}(37) {{/U}} long as it offers a guide, it helps
the ignorant and the uninformed to take a step {{U}}(38) {{/U}} and,
thereby adapt themselves to {{U}}(39) {{/U}} circumstances. But if we
make an idol of tradition, it ceases to be a guide. It becomes an obstacle
{{U}}(40) {{/U}} on the path of course. Man is to accept the help which
tradition can give but to be well aware of its limitations in a changing
world.