Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
band whose music sounded like noise to me...and people went wild. It was intimidating.
Then I got to know Vivian, who explained to me that this is a subculture that once a year
gets to come together here on Seattle's waterfront. I walked through the crowd again, with
a different attitude. I celebrated the freedom and tolerance that made that tribal gathering
possible. A few years later, I noticed I got strangely emotional when talking with police
who said they enjoy the Hempfest assignment as a two-way celebration of respect and tol-
erance.
Take your broader outlook to work. Until we have “cost accounting” that honestly
considers all costs, there is no real financial incentive for corporations to consider the en-
vironment, the fabric of our communities, the poor at home or abroad, or our future in
their decisions. Executives of publicly held corporations are legally required to maximize
profits in the short term, but with leadership and encouragement coming from their stock-
holders and workforce, they are more likely to be good citizens as well as good business-
men. I encourage my employees to guard my travel company's ethics and stand up to me
if I stray. And they do.
Remember that many would love to travel and gain a broader perspective, but cannot.
Find creative ways to bring home the value of travel by giving presentations to groups
of curious people not likely to have passports. I did this back in my twenties by hosting
a monthly “World Travelers' Slide Club,” and do essentially the same thing on a bigger
scale today by producing a radio show that I offer free each week to our nation's network
of public radio stations.
Consider an educational tour for your next trip (see, for example, Augsburg College's
Center for Global Education,
www.augsburg.edu/global
)
. Even if you normally wouldn't
take a tour, visiting trouble zones with a well-connected organization is safe, makes you
an insider, and greatly increases your opportunities for learning. I've taken several such
tours, and each has been powerfully educational and inspirational. Educational tourism is
a small yet thriving part of the tourism industry and offers options worldwide.
