America does not have a culture that is static like those of Europe and Asia, but a dynamic culture. (Truth be known, I do not believe cultures are static, even European ones. Cultures, in my opinion, are living, breathing aspects of humanity, much like languages). American cultures is one that changes with every generation and one that is a credit to its founding principles. Why did the founders not make English the official language? Perhaps in order not to dictate to the generations of the future what our culture was to be. After all, the ideas of the American Revolution were ideas that broke with tradition and customs; ideas that were experimenting with a new concept in a new world; removing the shackles of the old and embracing the uncertainty of the future.
Two years ago I saw the DADA exhibit at the National Gallery of Art and New York’s MOMA. DADA was a cultural movement which its founders referred to as anti-Art. The inspiration for this form of art was the irrationality behind World War I. The artist who participated saw a contradiction in the claims of civilization by the European powers while they butchered their children in the trenches. The artist wanted to break away with traditions which dictated norms and behaviors, even when they contradicted themselves.