I never know when a blog topic will come my way, but I try to be flexible and make use of every opportunity to address issues as they come up. In my last blog, 'A Haiti Story,' I related an experience I had in that country with a shopkeeper in the hills who took money [...]
I never know when a blog topic will come my way, but I try to be flexible and make use of every opportunity to address issues as they come up.
In my last blog, 'A Haiti Story,' I related an experience I had in that country with a shopkeeper in the hills who took money and promised to send a rocking chair from his location to Worcester. Based on many incidents in many different countries, I felt justified in being cynical about the chair making it north. To my surprise, the man was as good as his word and my female colleague, who was more trusting than I, received a beautiful and comfortable piece of furniture for a ridiculously low price.
Some readers, two in particular, were critical of my cynicism and compared me to Donald Trump. They really know how to hurt a guy.
I asked if either of them even had a passport. They took umbrage and felt insulted, and they accused me of being 'thin-skinned.' Apparently in their minds it was a ridiculous question, as if everyone has a passport and it was as if I'd asked them if they'd graduated from high school.
Actually, it was a very legitimate question.
For example, my wife and I have gone to Scotland five times in the last five years, and we've talked to many Scottish folks who have traveled to the United States. They mentioned three items really stood out for them as they observed Americans:
(1) The size of the people (obesity) (2) the size of the portions on restaurant plates (3) the number of Americans who DON'T have a passport.
Those observations were in my mind when I asked the question. I was pretty sure that most Americans do not own a passport.
A wee bit of research proved that was correct. Here's part of an article written by Jack Fischl from Matador Network written in June of 2016:
'Sixty four percent of the population of the richest and most influential country in the world (the United States) have never been abroad. Our citizens can be our best diplomats by showing the world who we really are, but we have to leave our own country first.
According to the State Department… 36% of Americans own a valid passport (and therefore 64% do not)…that means that a healthy majority of the population has never left the United States.'
Let's break that down. It means that in a room with 100 people, 64 of them do not have a passport. Approximate TWO-THIRDS of Americans are passport-free.
This is sad because Mark Twain once said, 'Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness.'
My cousin Luigi, who was born in Italy and visits his home country frequently, said that in Italy 100% of the people have a passport.
We can cut Americans some slack, because there are good reasons for this difference.
From Worcester County we can travel 3000 miles west and 2000 miles south and still be in the US. That's the reason Americans are monolingual, something Barack Obama said out loud that pissed everybody off.
If you travel around the six-state New England region, that same amount of distance in some parts of Europe would have you crossing the borders of six countries.
It's more expensive for us to travel because we must cross an ocean to get started. I'm envious of our Scottish friends who travel all over at far cheaper prices because they're already in the thick of things geographically.
But they have a mindset that includes travel, and they have a curiosity to see the world. Here's another excerpt from the Matador Network article:
'How we decide to use our time and money are major factors in our failure to get abroad, as is a general lack of travel ambition… According to a 2012 LivingSocial study, three of Americans' top ten dream destinations are right here in the United States, including Las Vegas and Disney World. Really? Of all the amazing places to go in the world, with seven continents and over 200 countries, we pick Disney World as a dream destination? Let's dream a little bigger than that.'
I know people who have plenty of money and plenty of time but have no interest in leaving their back yards. Did you know that when George W. Bush was elected president he had only traveled out of the country twice? Prior to riding on Air Force One, Donald Trump hardly went anywhere.
Based on that Mark Twain quote, Republicans need to concentrate on traveling. Perhaps then they wouldn't be so prejudiced, bigoted, and narrow-minded.
Anyhow, asking someone if they have a passport is not an insulting question, as evidenced by the evidence I've provided.
I'm constantly maligned and misrepresented. What are you gonna do? (insert smiley face here).