ThirstyFish

Last night, I watched the Yo-Yo Ma documentary "The Music of Strangers" and I was impressed. In summary the message was: "Creativity exists where cultures intersect". So true. Diverse coffee shops "brew geniuses".

In our day and age, a number of things are challenging creativity and innovation. The first is the emergence of a monoculture. Thanks to globalization, neoliberalism, television and the internet, cultures and behavioral patterns are merging into a universal pop-culture that is driven by commercialism and superficiality. The second is the recently reincarnated and rapidly strengthening right wing populism that we are observing in the United States and Europe. The adherents of this new political populism assume the supremacy of their own cultures and are disinterested in "other" cultures - especially the ones they consider to be "lesser". But this is not limited to the right; Many so-called liberals also claim cultural supremacy and are trapped in their own bubbles. Cultural isolationism is one of the sure-tell signs of decline.