I think that the spread of Western cultures can be dangerous, as history as shown, but I think that is due to influence of political leaders who believe they are doing the right thing due to the advancement of their life and culture.  They are also able to convince those around them (and to themselves) that by taking these actions that democracy and culture will only shed a positive light into the lives of the people that they are "helping".  Peasants into French wanted to focus in on the fact that not everyone in France spoke in French, so for their to be more of a sense of being a country, there needed to be that common language of French, other than the different dialects that were found throughout the country.