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Where do people get the idea that cultures don’t or shouldn’t ever change or evolve? It depends on the nature of the change. If European culture had been frozen before the influences of Asia and the Americas, think of how boring the diet would be, because Europe was culinarily-deprived. No vanilla or chocolate. No tomatoes or potatoes. Most of the spice rack comes from India and the rest of Asia and Mexico. No pizza or spaghetti with tomato sauce. Forget chicken masala. Chocolate bars? No. Most of those fancy French and Italian pastries, gone.
I personally believe that the US will eventually become fully bilingual and most likely eventually a Spanish-speaking state, and I don’t see that as a bad thing. Shakespeare and Mamet will still be available and appreciated right along Cervantes and Borges.
Politics
Like it was a good thing when classical Greece and Rome “changed” or should I say degraded into the centuries we now call the Dark Ages, when reason gave way to superstition, self flagellation, and idiocy? On having multiple languages; it’s inefficient. You have to print everything multiple times. One language, whatever it is…would do a lot to unite the world. I speak pretty good Italian, but I know I easily miss 20%, especially the subtle things. Hell I can’t even understand an Irish person who supposedly speaks the same language. What is good about that? Change goes both ways. Things can get better or turn to shit, so saying that “change is good” is complete bullshit.
Since cultural change and globalism are inevitable, I think the issue becomes how to best compromise tradition with globalism. I hate not being able to order the food I want in some exclusively-Spanish restaurants in Miami; all I can do is avoid them or go with a Cuban friend. I like my fish (cervantes).
Can you imagine the utter ghastliness of a world without European cheeses, chocolate, pastries, sausages, sauces and alcoholic beverages? It it simply too horrific to imagine! Cultural change is so underrated.
Chocolate came from Africa and vanilla from Mexico and Mesoamerica. Most of the spices used in sausage making come (came) from outside Europe. European meals in the dark and middle ages were pretty unimpressive affairs by today’s standards.
Points taken although Chocolate came from MesoAmerica. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_chocolate
Robert, I think the Church is responsible for the de-enlightenment of which you wrote.