hmmm...

So, if "Culture" isn't about ideals and philosophies, then it sounds an awful lot like nostalgia and fashion -- not necessarily in that order.

And the desire for "multiculturalism" sounds like 2 parts patronizing ("oh look! ...aren't they cute?!" -As I observe around the N. Indiana Amish community) and 2 parts nostalgia (we must preserve this culture at all cost ~~~ whether or not the culturally engaged actually wish to preserve their culture), and 2 parts liberal self-loathing (oh, if only we could be have those really cool attributes that the people whom we are not have!).

If it's not about clashing ideals then I would submit that everything else that is classified as "Culture" is merely giving way to progress, as ever.

We don't talk about an American culture. There is no American culture -- certainly not one that we want to "preserve". That's because American culture is dominant and, in the midst of it, we realize that its culture is merely defined by progress -- the next new thing. We are in the midst of seeing how culture evolves. From the middle, we can only look at other cultures and define them. We don't see ourselves.

Cultures aren't deemed superior and then foisted upon other cultures. New cultures are deemed superior and adopted by other cultures. The Brits didn't force feed us the Beatles. We happily adopted the Beatles as the one of the biggest cultural advancements of our generation. We can still listen to Glenn Miller if we'd like to -- but our culture is changed forever. Nobody is FORCING the technological age on more primative cultures. The other cultures see the benefits of technological advancement and WANT to advance themselves -- their older cultural ties are easily, volitionally discarded when a newer, easier, healthier, safer way of living is made availible.

Advancement for advancement's sake is not wise.

Neither is nostalgia something that needs to be prompted -- we're nostalgic beings.

There's nothing superior about being "different" unless there's something wrong with "same".