In last week’s blog list of New Year’s Travel Resolutions, I pledged that I would “refuse to let small-minded victims of 24/7 news shrink my worldview.” A few days later, at a New Year’s Eve party, I finally found a way to enjoy Fox News.
The TV was running without the volume, and we were listening to early-1960s girl groups like the Shirelles and the Supremes. Watching the Fox talking heads–popping up in various boxes, hands busy helping make their points, the visuals were amazingly in sync with the playful party-and-heartache lyrics of the songs. It was an absolute delight. (If you make a Supremes channel with your Pandora app, then listen to it while watching Fox News on mute, you’ll be there.) I guess it was particularly enjoyable because, even without hearing a word they were mouthing, I knew the “newscasters” were sowing fear while the audio track was celebrating life.
Older people seem most vulnerable to the 24/7 news fear-mongering. A week ago, a loved one called me up. He was almost breathless, saying that 283 Americans were nearly blown up by a terrorist. I pointed out that, while the thwarted attack could have been tragic, on that same day, 20,000 children around the world actually died because of bad water and no immunizations.
With the failed attempt to blow up a plane last week, blankets on laps and trips to the toilet are now suspect on flights. Egged on by our hysterical media, we’re fixated on a risk we can never completely rid ourselves of. But that’s not news: The Department of Homeland Security has kept our airports at code orange (“high risk”) for the last three years straight.
The irony is that those most obsessed with the risk of terrorism are the ones empowering the terrorists…whose purpose, after all, is to frighten us. The people who need to travel the most are the ones whose worldview is shaped not by actually going places, but by 24/7 news coverage. And those news stations are peddling fear for profit. If it bleeds, it leads…and a thwarted terrorist attack at Christmas, if properly stoked and prodded, can turn into several days of huge ratings.
Last night, I enjoyed dinner with a 20-year-old who recently spent an exciting week in Cuba. He was filled with stories…and wisdom. Now he’s planning to learn Arabic in Syria. The University of Damascus offers Arabic courses to English-speakers for free. The US Department of State warns that Syria is unsafe for travel, and our media is shouting about how dangerous our skies have become. But, inspired to learn a new language, experience a foreign culture, and meet the Syrian people, my young friend is ignoring all of those risks. He’s way too young to be listening to the Shirelles. Why is he not afraid?
Here’s to less fear in 2010.
Rick…. as a man of faith you should be comforted in the knowledge that God calls us all home on His timetable. Thus, I’m totally on board with you in that we should not live in fear! Having said, that, I find it interesting (and not at all surprising) that you choose to single out Fox News as being the fear monger! Funny how you ‘progressive’ thinking people tend to demonize those whom which you disagree as opposed to engaging in open and honest debate. Oh how you HATE those damn opposing views to your progressive utopia!
Great idea Rick. I live in India and remember last year on the day before Indian Independence day I went shopping and the girls in my office told me not to go out because it was a dangerous day. When I asked them if anything had ever happened that day they said no…but that it could. I went out and did my shopping and was perfectly fine. I figure my odds of getting hit by a car (especially here) are much higher than being a victim of terror so I’ll continue to live my life; all the while being as nice as possible to people I come in contact with so as to try and dispel any predjudices they may have.
Smart idea folk. I live in India and remember last year on the day before Indian Independence day I went shopping and the girls in my office told me not to go out because it was a dangerous day. transfer smart
I taught my children the old Hubbard phrase found in Dune, “Fear is the mind killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.” As children we would discuss these few sentences and what they mean. I agree, we have no need to fear. We must use common sense and try to choose wisely, but fear we should move through it and take positive actions for our lives and for those in our care. I have been studying Arabic for the last few months and my objective is to be moderately fluent by the end of 2010. I will spend several months in the UAE to achieve this and I am very excited about it. In addition, this June I hope to begin the Camino de Compostela in St Jean Pres de Port in France and end in Santiago. As an aside, it is almost laughable to single out Fox News; a pox on all their houses. We have so little true news programs anymore. What passes for news channels on cable is so much drivel passing as news commentary that I have chosen not to watch it. The most I watch now is the evening news. Don’t get me started on politicians; please just give us a few politicians that don’t try to spin the story and make every action as partisan as possible. I am disgruntled with all of them and none are good, honest, forthright, moral, fair individuals. Enough with the disgusting topic of mine; thank God we can travel, meet those different from ourselves, and learn their customs and languages. God bless each of you and thank you again for your blog. I enjoy it very much.
I think that you are right Rick. I spent one week with my father last summer. He watched Fox News 24-7. The fear mongering takes your breath away. As for me I will travel to Italy again this March. I will suffer the indignities of TSA shakedowns and other government programs meant to make me feel safe.And I will continue to trust in most of the rest of the world’s population to be as decent as I and my family are.
Ironically, when I was only getting two channels over-the-air (why pay for cable when you can get TV for free?), I relied primarily on the local Fox news for my weather reporting due to the fact that the other channel I got would go WAY overboard any time there was any possibility of a weather event. They would continually disrupt normal programming to warn people to take cover and run the same doppler radar images over and over… The Fox weather people were much more sane. Then just before the digital switch, they pre-empted the last episode of Bones I watched as they did the same dadgum thing the other channel was guilty of–running the same radar imagery over and over, droning on and on about what ended up being a weather non-event. A few days later, the digital switch went into effect and I can no longer even get Fox (and only miss Bones), but now I can get 5 PBS stations and all of the other major networks. I still only watch the news to get the weather and quickly switch back to PBS Create or Q to learn new things.
Thank you, Rick! Your post is the breath of fresh air and reason this country so desperately needs. Maybe we should all take a collective deep breath, exhale, and relax . . .
Rick, clearly you have not watched CNN or any of the big network newscasts lately—they are just as dirty as Fox News when it comes to over-hyping. The news game is all about ratings and they are all guilty of playing the game–not just the network that is contrarian to your liberal views.
Agreed! About the travel & the 24/7 news channels. Especially to the commentor who said “a pox on both their houses”! If we are labeling, I’ll wear the conservative tag but either way I think the news media is a blight. Their eyes are bright & dialated, like they have overdosed on terror. Everything is so twisted. I’m definitely of the opinion that there is more wisdom gained in a week of travel (even in your own state) than in a lifetime of this “news.”
Thanks, Rick…Again I feel that you’re spot-on with your posts! Happy 2010!
Like a cat who has lost his whiskers, we are often thrown off balance by tragic events and even near misses. So we forge the chains we wear in life including our anxieties. But a bit of fear (caution) that is not paralyzing is wise. It keeps us alert, it precipitates inoculations, it causes us to plan, it makes our eyebrows rise when someone is too much of a demagogue or zealot on either side of an issue.
Rick was NOT criticizing the Fox News station. He was observing that there is a lot of scary news on TV these days and people need additional options for fun such as rock music. I agree.
Too harsh.
Having just returned from Greece a week after the thwarted bombing and having to endure the crippling security measures I am not traveling any more any time soon. I got a hands on full and up close and personal body search pat down in Paris and my bags pulled apart, totally apart twice, and not going through that again willingly. I will wait a year or two for things to die down.
Wanda injects a note of realism into the world of the travel business which would have us dismiss our own concerns – but what are the travel industry’s motives? Travel people who try to minimize the public’s concerns must realize their agendas will be scrutinized and second-guessed. When it comes to travel, is there really a correlation between 20,000 children who die of starvation and people who simply want to get safely from point A to point B? It seems to me there has always been an element in our society which wants a simple answer and solution to every problem – there is none.
Rick we love your books, we love your shows, we love your tours but you are out there man. You are a scarey man.
Rick is a world traveler! He guides me on the journey! Hapy New Year’s Wishes to the man of knowlege and amazing openess to others!
I think some people are missing the obvious: Mr. Steves only mentioned Fox because that happened to be what was on the telly at the time. And yes, Fox does rachet up the paranoia–let’s call it for what it is. But I would be remiss to not mention that I’ve heard a good share of harsh criticism of President Obama and Secretary Napolitano on CNN as well. Frankly, both CNN and Fox could tone it back a bit. I mean, air travel is still the safest form of transportation, terrorists and misrepresenters of Islam be damned….
When I heard about the one hour freeze in your seat rule I emailed my Congressman “Sometimes you hate to be right. I didn’t expect the shoe inspections and the restrictions on liquids to prevent another terrorist attempt on an airplane, and they didn’t. Now the TSA is once again doing something to be seen to do something, instead of doing something useful. Please rein them in!” and “But perfect security is a chimera and flying would still be exponentially safer than car travel even if he had succeeded. Please don’t let TSA make it more miserable than it already is.” I’m seriously considering taking Cunard next time I go to Europe, especially as I just got back from Syria and Lebanon, among other places, which are both on the new extra-security list.
Well, for one thing, your young friend isn’t afraid because he is 20 and therefore invincible. But honestly, you are spot on and it is amazing what rights and privileges we will give up in fear – case in point, WWII Germany. I for one fight every day to keep from succumbing to the barrage of “scary” news.
I don’t know what the answer is anymore than anyone else. But I do know that if the plane had blown up the economic ramifications to our economy would be far reaching as fragile as it is, in addition to the horrific loss of life. I am old enough and wise enough to filter through the news, any news, and I am grateful for the bravery of the people who thwarted the attack. I chuckled at the young man who is hot to go to Syria, wait until he has some life experience under his belt and then ask him if he would go. Right now the danger is not in his face just like I guess the 3 hikers who stepped foot in Iran and still remain in prison. At 20 in college most of us were clueless as well, no fear.
When it comes to travel, is there really a correlation between 20,000 children who die of starvation and people who simply want to get safely from point A to point B? I think Steve’s point here is that we should look outward to the world as a whole (which is what he does as a world traveler) rather than progressively inward. If we focus all of our attention on the bad things that might happen to us, then we lose sight of many of the things that are actually happening elsewhere in the world that also deserves attention.
Rick: I suggest you take a look at the latest Zogby Poll on ‘spiritual’ people including evangelicals, on how they look at amnesty, jobs for illegals, profiling, Care for illegals. The fact is that even Christians realize nation-wide that Islamofascism is more dangerous than the MSM and pundits think it is . And profiling , as Mossad and El Al in Israel does, is the only way to stop these thugs. Just talking about foreign news, well read The Economist my friend. If you actually think that forgetting this Islamo horror because we should be looking to the Lord, will work, is proof that you are young, far younger than I am . I remember the horrors of the Nazis and Communists. Perhaps you do not.
Rebeccah, spot on! That is precisely the point — not which news station says or doesn’t say what you want to hear, or what one, singular event can do to frighten millions. But those who pinpoint specific lines in Rick’s blog entry and get angry at him for it, by their own actions, demonstrate that the big picture and global perspective are precisely what are being missed. Flying IS the safest means of travel, and one incident doesn’t make that any less true. Fear can affect your whole attitude about travel and even your approach to daily life. Let’s not let ourselves be controlled by that fear.
Like a drunk looking for his (her) car keys under the street lamp because that’s where the light is, we will always have people who take only one position on an issue and refuse to change.
Nancy T above talks about the “economic ramifications” of a plane blown up and the “horrific loss of life.” This is exactly where we Americans don’t get it. One plane and 300 people are tragic, but would have no measurable impact on a mighty nation of 300 million people with a 15 trillion dollar annual economy. Am I callous about the loss of 300 lives? No. That’s how many died on our freeways today and every day. That’s how many die every week in our country because of handguns. Why would the one-time event of a bombed plane deserve more attention then these ongoing tragedies? When combined with insular people and hysterical news, the bombing of a single airplane and loss of those 300 lives would actually create a panic that would hurt our nation far more then the actual event itself. That’s why I believe my calm, collected irreverence toward these created fears is patriotic.
Rick, in terms of lives lost, I can’t disagree with your analysis. From a pure numbers perspective, you are right. I just find it peculiar that so many ‘choose’ what deaths to get worked up over. Why did the media focus so much on the 2,000th death of a soldier in Iraq a few years ago? Was it because the war was/is so unpopular with them? Was it to hang something on Bush? Did they not know how many died in the first hour of D-day? Statistically our soldiers are ‘safer’ in Iraq than they would be in several major cities across America! So using your argument, murders in a city such as Detroit, should get as much if not more play, then the death of a soldier. (BTW… did you know that there were NO TROOP FATALITIES in December) The fact is, when ‘fear’ is pushed, it is more often than not based on the agenda of those pushing it.
Overly harsh. Repair.
Am I the only one that sees the glaring hypocrisy in the original blog entry, as well as the responses. Did I miss the part where we stopped accepting people’s differences and the ability to have a civilized conversation when we do so? Isn’t the point of “traveling as a political act” and experiencing other cultures to appreciate our differences? Since when does appreciating people’s opinions (even when we disagree with them) exclude Fox News and the far right? This is the very thing that Rick preaches against…..being closed minded. So when others are living in fear, why don’t we lead by being a better example, rather than stereotyping, prejudging, and being hypocrites…..you know, all of the things that we hate about “those” people.
I get it Rick you don’t. Hand gun deaths won’t crash our economy or possibly unleash more terror attacks. One airplane blown up could crash our fragile stock market. You saw what 9-11 did to a robust economy what would another attack due to a country on the verge of depression? After a completed airplane attack then what suicide bombs in open malls like in the middle east if they get away with the plane. Our country is in the middle of a financial disaster and a plane crash of this magnitude would stop people from traveling and cause fear and panic the likes we have not seen another Lockerbie. It is not just the 300 people that would be killed but what about their families and would business people want to fly any more or people who are going just for the fun of it…why take the chance if your country can’t keep you safe. I am sorry for people around the world that don’t get the right immunizations or their water is dirty but I pay my taxes and those taxes go to foreign aide and I depend on my government to give aide to those who need it and other countries as well. I can’t save the world but we can try to save the lives of our fellow Americans. We did not pick this fight the radical muslims did we are just trying to get along and live our lives. Calm and collected irreverance is relative. By posting it in your column makes you just as bad as the media hyping it up. You just keep it going along by even publishing this whole blog topic. You don’t like Fox don’t watch it, this is America switch the channel. This whole topic has nothing to do with travel and is a personal agenda. You can get involved like church groups do with hands on involvment if you want with building houses in Mexico or give your own money to charities instead of sending the kids to school that cost over 100 grand a year, choices Rick choices.
Here’s to less fear in 2010 … amen to that. I wonder what’s with strange paranoid streak that runs through so many Americans (regardless of political, ethnic, or religious bent). Whether the plane is blown up or not, if we live in fear, the terrorists win. Keep on traveling everyone …
Don’t take the media too serious folks. The other night I was watching the Jon Stewart Daily show, and they went through looking back at every decade back to the 40’s by imagining how much better it was in the old days. And the laugh was that every decade had something scary or uncomfortable. So someday this will be the old days and there will be other problems to solve.
Rick I was in Syria this year, I was a bit worried going there, I tell you what, its a great place, the people are so friendly, more trusting and friendly than most in the USA and Europe. on my many travels, people ask me, “are you american” and you know there is an undertone in it. Im Irish actually In Syria they asked me that question with pure interest and kindness. In villages people just wanted us to go inside there house to eat with them since they dont really see visitors.
While it’s interesting to read the various philosophical takes on traveling in this day and age plus airline security procedures by readers responding to RS, it’s even more practical and useful to read what actual passengers in the past two weeks have been encountering. The devil we know is better than the devil we don’t and being informed takes away the mystery and at least a bit of the emotion. On January 5, 2010 the New York Times nytimes.com began running a series under its Travel Section titled IN TRANSIT What International Travelers Are Experiencing (with heightened security checks.) There are more than 264 reports so far from actual travelers from around the world and it’s instructive to read them all but you can cherry pick what other readers have felt are the best by clicking on Readers’Recommendations at the top of the page. RS guides will likely have some amusing stories to tell at the 1/14-1/16 reunion at Edmonds. They are seasoned travelers so maybe they can help RS frame the issues in a way to help reassure the rest of us. C’est la vie et bon voyage. Bill Kester
NancyT makes some valid points about the impact which atrocities have on our society. We are a people who have not been attacked very often on our own soil (9/11 and Oklahoma City) so unlike some countries which have been thru the school of hard knocks, it’s not so easy for us to go on with our lives after a tragedy – especially one in which we think, that could have been me. So NancyT, much as I regret her pot-shots at RS’s personal choices, expressed what many people worry about. Rick Steve’s challenge is to be honest about his point of view, promote travel, and put things in perspective. Our job, as prospective customers, is to weigh the pluses and minuses and as (usually) rational travelers decide if the view is worth the climb. Personally, I feel air travel is safer after an event. Flaws are found, equipment replaced, passengers more alert, governments and agencies step up their info exchange, more air marshals etc. I just wish more people at all levels were held accountable by losing their jobs when they drop the ball. I hope the 1/14-1/16 reunion at Edmonds brings a flurry of reassurance to RS’s core group of customers and that translates into a banner travel season.
As a wheelchair-using disabled traveler, I’m just worried that the new airport/plane security measures are going to make traveling even harder for me. I already get pulled into the security line, get touched and inspected all over the place, have my wheelchair taken apart in a million pieces, and then have my medical supplies inspected in front of everyone. Now what are they going to do to me? By the way, I’m a young person and I happen to adore the Shirelles….and Elvis…..and Buddy Holly….you get it.
Must have been quite a New Years bash. Sixties music on the ol hi fi, and Fox News on the telly with the sound off. Is this a caricature of people in their fifties, or what? I just want to know why anyone would want to have a news channel on (without sound) at a party.
Rick, I have to say your comments indicate you are close minded. You seem to be only tolerant of others’ views as long as they agree with yours. This must be what you refer to as the ugly American.
I’ll guess Rick occasionally winces after he writes something in a blog and sees the feedback. For example, in his blog about fear of travel he opines that older people “are more fearful.” Yet one of the fastest growing markets for adventure travel seems to be among chronologically older folks. Take a look at the January 8, 2010 edition of the NY Times nytimes.com and you will find that one of the most frequently emailed stories is one titled: “Seeing Old Age as a Never Ending Adventure – limitations tossed aside by active men and women as the global travel and leisure industry race to keep up” Rick’s trips seem tame compared to what these folks do and I think their rationale is valid: once your 20 or 30 somethings are finally? on their own, you have the time and energy and money and chutzpah to take more risks. Taking a trip with RS, including flying, poses trifling real risk (except for Botticelli’s Revenge) but it can be “relatively” adventuresome for a person who seldom leaves home. So RS’s marketing team should tailor a message, not to those who are overfed and almost dead, but to active men and women over 50. We may not be wing walkers but some of us left the youngsters behind at Outward Bound.
Joe- I suppose the party host had Fox News on (sans sound) to ring in the “News” Year. Since MTV gave up videos long ago, perhaps Fox was their next choice.
Rick I have always enjoyed your newsletters and especially your shows on PBS. We have all your books and love your travel luggage. However, this blog was a little over the top. Are you running for office? Whether you watch Fox, MSNBC or CNN, anyone can find issues. If you are going to make this a political newsletter, count me out.
Older people seem most vulnerable to the 24/7 news fear-mongering. Missed that on first reading! SO not true. I’m 62, and not only do I travel, I just got back from Syria and am planning for Central Asia for this year – maybe with Iran. And I’m really fed-up with the knee-jerk reactions from TSA.
Wow, this is a pretty hot topic! My son is a world traveler and he is not afraid of what could possibly happen to him (though he does use his common sense). He has found the world to be a pretty awesome place and he has made friends with people in all the places he has gone to. My husband and I have learned a lot from our son and have become more adventurous in our travel. We also use Rick’s guidebooks, DVD’s, etc. when we travel. I’ve read Rick’s book “Travel as a Political Act” and I purchased several copies of it to give to my children (all adults) and to some of my friends. I think it’s an awesome book and I agree with Rick’s philosophy about travel. I guess I’m kind of rambling here, but my point is that there are wonderful people all over the world and, of course, there are some not so wonderful people, too, but if we allow those not so wonderful people to scare us away from all the wonderful people, then we are the losers. I’m not sure if this is what Rick is saying in his blog but that is my take on it. Be brave. Visit new places and meet new people. Form your own opinions rather than taking on the opinions of others. Accentuate the positive and eliminate the negative. Make a difference in the world by sharing a bit of our wealth/talents/sweat, etc. with those who are less fortunate than we are. Carry on even though there are dangers out there. Have a positive attitude. Open your mind to different opinions and ways of doing things. I think Rick’s message is a positive one!
Great blog Rick, It was so right on. Too bad that people can’t just read and enjoy without getting their politics in a bundle. If you had not mentioned Fox and just said a cable news show, everyone would have enjoyed the blog. It just shows how polarizing that outfit is!
Unless you would agree with the statement that “younger people seem most vulnerable to the 24/7 news fear-mongering”, Rick’s comment about age is correct. Furthermore, the median age of cable news channels is over 50; Fox News’ median age is over 60.
I completely agree with Diane’s post. I think that travel should be as stated in her comments. I also agree with Bill’s post in that if Rick would leave politics out of it, these topics wouldn’t be so heated. It is one thing to have a travel perspective. It is another to use it as a pulpit to preach what not all Americans agree with. It was interesting on the ETBD tour that I took this summer; out of the whole group maybe two couples agreed with Rick politically. Most of them were conservatives. Not one of the other tour members had ever read one of Rick’s blog entries here. It makes me wonder if they did, would they still patronize ETBD. Maybe. Maybe not. Although the letter from the guy from Boston (previous blog entry) was poorly worded and misspelled, I wonder if there are more to follow as Rick becomes more and more polarizing. Rick didn’t seem to care that he lost that customer, but I wonder if he would care if he lost 54% (the percentage of Americans that don’t agree with the current President)of his clients. Remember those that put you where you are now Rick. We are not all liberals. I choose to patronize you because I like what you offer, sans politics. Stick to what we have loved about you all these years.
None, I agree with you totally. I have been on ETBD tours and no one knows his politics and altough shocked to find out his is so radical, still probably would use his products. People may lose respect for him because of this but in the end his books are fair priced and decent. His tours though outrageously priced are good but in today’s economy not on my to do list. In the old days when he touted keep your old car and travel he appears to have been a nicer more polite person. Today he seems to have met his goals and is a grump eager to stir it up to amuse himself because he is bored. He is the king and we are his mere court jesters. These posts just cement what Churchill said 60 yrs ago “if you’re under 30 and you’re not a Liberal you don’t have a heart, if you’re over 40 and not a Conservative you don’t have a brain”.
Rick’s post is about people whose worldview is shaped/warped by 24/7 news coverage. What’s political about that? Nothing like mentioning the phrase “Fox News” to bring out the trolls. If Rick’s politics bother you, don’t read his blog!
To Demosthenes’ comment: if you take the time to read Rick’s other blog entries, listen to him on the radio, or attend his lectures then you would understand that the reactions may not simply be from this single blog entry. Not read the blogs of those that we may disagree with? Now, isn’t that being a little closed minded?
Oh, I don’t know April … it seems like there are lots of closed minded people who read lots of blogs, doesn’t it?
It will take more than a blog post on a travel blog to calm the fears of the traveling public. But thanks for all the advice.
I love it when people reiterate my point for me.
For what it is worth: As a Cuban, I am saddened when someone travels to the island “to experience Cuba”, communism, whatever. What do they learn? How the poor Cubans live in poverty and without freedom. How sad to see the decline of a once proud people. Stare, gawk, point, feel better about yourself. Spend a few days and feel like you are one of them. Then leave and have an interesting story for a souvenir. These travelers spend their money and help prop up the Castro brothers. I have not, and will not, return to the island until there is a democracy there. That is my political act.
WOOHOO Jorge you go. I have lots of friends whose families fled Cuba and have no wanting to go back either. Something is not right with that whole story and we are missing something here. I looked up the state dept regs for travel to Cuba and I don’t think a student could get clearance to go there and if he did he is subjecting the average citizen he encounters to terrible repercussions. http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1097.html I am clearly concerned that we educated people have come down to talking about what channels on TV to watch and how one life may be worth more than another. What is going on here?
I guess it is the responsibility of those who represent the travel industry to downplay the risk of current air travel. I love to travel to Europe, but I think I will wait a year or so until I continue my adventures in travel. Thanks for your point of view but I will listen to those that do not have a vested business interest.
Not sure what travel to Cuba has to do with terrorists trying to blow up aircraft, but I found comparing the US State Dept’s travel advisory on Cuba with UK Foreign Office’s version, as usual, interesting. Also interesting, my verification word is “frisked”!
The comments about Cuba may be off topic but cause people to think. I can remember Batista and his support of the casinos and the rich. I can remember admiring Castro as he tried to elevate the peasants. But what really angered people (many of whom now live in South Florida) was when their property or the companies in Cuba were, as they say in polite company, expropriated – taken over by the state. Why? Because many considered them to be corrupt. Does this ring a bell? How about the U.S.’s 4 biggest banks which control 56% of all the assets in our country. Did we not, as taxpayers, just bail them out. And are we not seeing intense lobbying by them to evade closer scrutiny, especially the opaqueness of their activities with murky derivatives. I understand the irritation of those who want to read solely about travel on a travel site. But are we so insular that we don’t realize that everything we do is interconnected. There are consequences to being ostriches.
I am a Fox viewer writing from my desk in Japan. Just got here a few days ago via United Airlines. As I write, CNN is on the TV & they are discussing the Christmas bomber. Hmmmm…a little overreaction from CNN. Wish they would stop the fearmongering. What a dreadful station…won’t watch them anymore because they fill our heads with nonsense….
Rick love your books and great travel advice but your liberal views turn a lot of people off including me. I will support someone else in the future.
It’s enlightening to read some of the erudite posts from those across the belief spectrum in the context of travel or contrasting health care systems or spending or security. Of course, they have much less value when they devolve into shouting and labeling – but even then those histrionics point up that some are just plain frustrated and to paraphrase the script from the movie NETWORK in the eighties: “just mad as hell and aren’t going to take it anymore.” In some countries, and let’s face it, if you read RS’s blogs, you have at least some interest in other countries even if you haven’t traveled, citizens literally protest in the streets in a highly disruptive way when their govt. screws up. The Japanese trade punches in the Diet. The French farmers throw cabbages. Australian nurses strike in sympathy with airport baggage handlers. Here, we are so polite and orderly nothing changes because at their core both parties are held enthrall by powerful representatives of special interests called lobbyists. And don’t think citizens of all stripes don’t benefit from no change: mortgage interest rate tax deductions; Medicaid boosts for Nebraska and North Dakota; social security payments for even the super wealthy; job security for tax preparers; welfare for bankers; tenure for grossly incompetent bureaucrats etc. We can improve but we’ll have to listen to each other without slugging each other. So what’s wrong with RS posing some issues? If we don’t like it, we opt out. That’s more choice than our govt. often gives us. And again thanks to those who explain their feelings and don’t just scream.
Well said, w. Here’s to civil debate and discourse (both on this blog and throughout America).
Is it just me or do I detect a hint of smugness, of self-satisfaction in the postings of some of our traveling friends? Make no mistake–I am a great lover of travel, restricted only by time and money. Many people cannot travel abroad because of finances or time/family constraints. That does not make them less than the travelers. One of the most intelligent, well-read persons I have ever met was never able to leave his tiny village in Germany, yet his book shelves groaned with volumes of history, biography, theology and works of social significance. Conversation with him was wonderful. Let’s not be too quick to classify the non-traveler as small-minded or bigoted, regardless of age or from where he or she gets the news.
Rick, I agree with you 100%. My husband and I started traveling a week after high school graduation (a month in Europe with our backpacks) and now he travels internationally for work: China, South Korea, Brazil, Portugal, Austria, Japan. I get to Europe regularly, and 4 of our kids did semesters in different countries. I subscribe to 85 podcasts about the world, and it is a very different one than the world Fox, CNN, etc., are always telling you to be very afraid of ad nauseum. Or the one they are wasting full days of coverage on. Balloon Boy, anyone? My husband is also a Navy Reservist, so he is very aware of the actual situation: just not the hyped-up version. The Fox news-models are not.
At 65 I loved the funny and poignant ending: “way too young for Shirelles. Why is he not afraid?”
Rick, Well I agree that we should not be afraid, I can say, with all do respect, that most people in the rest of the country do not understand the great sadness and frustration of native New Yorker’s. You can’t know the loss, when we look at our beloved skyline and don’t see our twin tower, or the fact that in my own neighborhood their are two fathers and missing, or that my best friends daughter who I have know since she was a child had to say goodbye to her husband on the upper floors of the trade tower just before he died at the hand of the 9/11 terorist. I’m not affraid just mad. That is way I watch Fox the only station that takes the terorist seriouly. Best wishes, Ralph
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