Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
captured and brought to justice, Britain made a point to learn from the event
(by reviewing security on public transit and making an ef ort to interact more
constructively with its Muslim minority)...and life went on.
h e American reaction to the shocking and grotesque events of 9/11
was understandable. But seeing another society respond so dif erently to its
own disaster inspired me to grapple with a new perspective. If the goal of
terrorists is to terrify us into submission, then those who refuse to become
fearful stand dei antly against them.
Every time I'm stuck in a long security line at the airport, I rel ect on one
of the most disconcerting results of terrorism: h e very people who would
benei t most from international travel—those who needlessly fear people and
places they don't understand—decide to stay home. I believe the most power-
ful things an individual American can do to i ght terrorism are to travel a lot,
learn about the world, come home with a new perspective, and then work to
help our country i t more comfortably and less fearfully into this planet.
The American Dream, Bulgarian Dream, Sri Lankan Dream:
Celebrate Them All
I fondly remember the confusion I felt when I i rst met someone who wouldn't
trade passports with me. I thought, “I've got more wealth, more freedom, more
opportunity than you'll ever have—why wouldn't you want what I've got?” I
assumed anyone with half a brain would aspire to the American Dream. But
the vast majority of non-Americans don't. h ey have the Bulgarian Dream,
or the Sri Lankan Dream, or the Moroccan Dream. h
anks to travel, this
no longer surprises me. In fact, I celebrate it.
I was raised thinking the world is a pyramid with us on top and every-
body else trying to get there. Well into my adulthood, I actually believed that
if another country didn't understand that they should want to be like us, we
had every right to go in and elect a government for them that did.
While I once unknowingly cheered on cultural imperialism, travel has
taught me that one of the ugliest things one nation can do is write another
nation's textbooks. Back in the Cold War, I had a Bulgarian friend who attended
an English-language high school in Soi a. I read his Soviet-produced textbooks,
which were more concerned about ideology than teaching. He learned about
“economics” with no mention of Adam Smith. And I've seen what happens
when the US funds the publishing of textbooks in places such as El Salvador
and Nicaragua, with ideological strings attached. h
e economics of a banana
