Where are we now? Many world leaders seem intent on putting Laozi's genie back in the bottle. Governments in the United States and Europe are increasingly nativist and strive for more concrete (literally) borders, fewer immigrants, absolute assimilation, and a warding off of those cultures deemed threatening to the peace of the majority. In other countries, policies ostensibly based on the philosophy of "keeping different cultures united yet distinct" are actually motivated by a desire for a homogeneous state, in which all people share a system of like values and, effectively, have their edges and distinctions planed.

We face a choice: we can fight tooth and nail to make our own culture dominant at the exclusion or disintegration of other cultures; or, we can embrace all cultures as valuable. Do we want familiarity at all costs, or are we willing to nourish a more colorful society?

When you view this sculpture, you have to bend over the heart-stone suspended in the middle to read the small text. This involves you in the balance. Sometimes the biggest problems arise from our having just enough exposure to a culture to fear it, yet not enough exposure to embrace it.