Some weeks ago the FT titled: National angst in the dying days of uniculturalism. In his article Tony Barber related to David Cameron’s speech on the failure of multiculturalism, he mentioned the speech of Chancellor Merckel denouncing Multikulti, he could have mentioned as well Mr. Sarkozy’s initiative on the French identity and many others questioning who they are. The Turkish Prime Minister on his visit to Germany in 2011 said assimilation was contrary to the respects of fundamental human rights. This caused a general tollé in Germany. We are in a basic debate on roots and leaves. The question is not only who we are, but also where we come from. This is a crucial debate for politicians, but politics as it is understood now, cannot resolve this problem by regulation and legislation.
The organization of civil society in nation states and larger groups, majority versus minority, is functioning with rights and wrongs, in or out, black and white, not taking in account sensitive aspects of the space in between, the « nuance ». The diverse is not in the minds as the improvement of the existing. Integration is understood as assimilation, melted up in the majority’s existing right, and the minorities given rights by non-discrimination directives. This model cannot work any more, as we have to deal with small groups, many times with individual cases not fitting in the framework. The language of Art and Music is the expression of the individual, beyond the narrow-minded unchanging existent. Artists are ever since mobile, exploring new horizons, not afraid of new challenges of coexistence, with strong roots in their origins.