Tradition or Progression?

I took a very long walk today, and ended up sitting on a bench gazing at the Arc De Triumf, which is one of my favorite (albeit stereotypically favorite) structures in Barca. A white woman in a hijab caught my eye and got me wondering about culture, and due to the playground she was seated near - kids.

I understand the desire for parents of a certain race to have their children marry into that same race. Really, I get it. The ease of families meshing seamlessly due to cultural similarities, the instant comfort and connection you feel when encountered by one of your "kind." All that jazz. It makes sense to me.

I also understand the argument that if a child is born to a set of parents from different ethnicities, one of the cultures will suffer some degree of deterioration when passed on. Marriage means compromise, which means instilling some of your traditions in the kid, but also being cognizant of the fact that your other half gets a say too. Obviously, the child will be exposed to both, but not all, and therefore won't have 100% of each one.

What I'm not sure I quite understand, is if this is truly a bad thing.

On immediate reaction, I think - of course! That would suck! Unlike at home, where it's almost expected of an Indian girl, people here are amazed that I can speak Gujarati and understand a good amount of Hindi. Tack on the 2 types of Indian Classical Dance that I've learned and they lose it. Suppose I couldn't have all of that though. That, plus the myriad of other virtues my culture has bestowed upon me. If I could only choose half, which half would I choose? Is there a way to really know which parts of tradition are worth saving, and which aren't as important? And if there is a way of knowing, who decides - parent or child?

Then, upon further examination, I wonder if maybe the assimilation is actually a good thing. What if you really can take the best of both worlds, and create a superhero of a kid that has multiple flavors at his/her disposal? It seems that this Cultural Version of survival of the fittest could turn into something pretty evolutionary. Of course things aren't always as they seem, but I'm not sure that a fear of losing antiquity should be a reason for us to write this possibility off, as risky as it may be. After all, where is the line between being well versed in multiple areas, and being spread too thin?

I am completely aware that this is just a bunch of questions, but I'm hoping with time and observation (or lack thereof), I'll reach some kind of answer.

For a day with only one morning class, it was pretty frickin mentally taxing.

PS - The only thing related to Barcelona in this post was the setting. Woops.