civilization is desirable

Upon reading the New York Times Style section last Thursday, I read an article about Comme des Garcons whose label, perfumes and stylist, Rei Kawakubo, were brought to my attention when I was living in Paris by a dear friend who worked there and was in charge of their perfumes.
This article caught my attention, not only for bringing to the foreground what this artist has been doing for all of these years without any concern for following any trend but for following herself - whether as a designer or her belief in her designers - but for a sentence that she states at the end which has been itching at me since I came back to the United States from Paris:
"America hasn't quite grocked the idea that civilization is desirable; that culture is the cornerstone of civilization, and that thriving culture supports unfettered - read: occasionally offensive - art.
Art can't just press your pleasure buttons and sell itself to you. It can't need to care whether you like it - that's the space where new ideas are born."
I have constantly felt this unsettled by this in presenting myself and my company. Trying desperately to live outside the box with the pressure to push me inside. You need an unequivacle self certainty to manage this or be a risk taker.