We may come to realize, too late, that in our uncritical support for a misbegotten and confused multiculturalism we have fostered a level of intolerance and intergroup violence hitherto unknown in Canada. For cultures are in fact like rivers, and like life itself, they must evolve or die. The richest source of evolutionary adaptation and change, for human culture, is the disciplined pursuit of knowledge. Indeed, science is the only human endeavor with a self-correcting mechanism at its very core. Another innovative source is art.
Aesthetic productions become powerful shapers of the values and habits that promote change.
The third great source of revitalization for any particular country is the periodic entry of immigrants bringing with them new ways of doing things. All three of these vital sources of change are in jeopardy wherever tribalism reigns. But this enrichment requires open communication and the casting off of old tribal grievances and biases. It demands that we allow only the most fruitful and workable of the cultural attributes from the homeland to survive in the new. It cannot happen because an evolving pluralist culture requires interaction and mutual respect and willingness to learn on the part of newcomer and established citizen alike.