There is a tension in this subject that surely exists in all cultures and in all inddividuals. There is a need to embrace "the other" to progress and develop, yet there is also a tendency to reject and flee from "the other", and cling to what we know. Sometimes we swing to one extreme, rear and rejection of "aliens". next we are embracing the new with relish, chucking away vast amounts of value in the process. These forces need tension to be in some sort of healthy equilibrium. I am acutely aware of this sort of cultural tension in alot of my working life, as I work with recording music from groups of people trying in various ways to asssimilate(ir coexist) in a culture not of their own. Sometimes it's very alarming.
    Richard Bridge and McGrath from karlow seem to exemlify the two ends of this pendulum swing very accurately, thugh I expect on another day and another topic they may swing back inwards towards each other.