In this country the health concerns and the environmental concerns are as deep as in Europe. All the surveys show that. But here we didn't have the cultural dimension. This is a fast-food culture.

The environmental crisis arises from a fundamental fault: our systems of production - in industry agriculture energy and transportation - essential as they are make people sick and die.

American culture is torn between our long romance with violence and our terror of the devastation wrought by war and crime and environmental havoc.

The point of my work is to show that culture and education aren't simply hobbies or minor influences.

Making the City Of Joy gave me the best political education of my life. It became a wrestling match between an Englishman who had gradually ceased to be a Marxist and a culture that was becoming more Marxist by the day.

In fact I believe that we need better sex education in our own culture here in America so that young folk learn about things like venereal disease before they encounter it.

My wife wanted my children to have some Chinese culture and education. She believes the children need to learn two languages and two cultures.

Education must be not only a transmission of culture but also a provider of alternative views of the world and a strengthener of the will to explore them.

The question is will we continue to fight what may be a rearguard action to defend universal literacy as a central goal of our education system or are we bold enough to see what's actually happening to our culture?

As the tension eases we must look in the direction of agriculture industry and education as our final goals and toward democracy under Mr Mubarak.