TRAVEL - THEN WRITE TO EDUCATE THOSE WHO NEVER TRAVEL

"The world is a book, and those who do not travel, read only a page."

-St. Augustine, quoted in the St. Louis Post - Dispatch

The above quote caught my eye because I often meet people who can’t wait to express their opinions on everything under the sun, but it's obvious that they have absolutely no knowledge about people beyond their family and neighborhood, or any understanding of anything outside their own limited social network and background. In other words, they don’t know diddly, and it shows. They don’t travel and are not at all curious about people or places outside their own realm. We all know someone like that!

But there are also those who are unable to expand their horizons with travel. How are these people to learn about the world if they can’t possibly see the country or the world? That’s where writers come in. We become their eyes, ears and noses. We have the capacity to bring the sights, sounds and smells of the world to their doorsteps. It’s our duty, and luckily, it’s fun.

Unfortunately, there are people who are not only uninterested in traveling; they also don’t care to read. There’s nothing we can do for those unless we can think of some gimmick that will attract their attention—otherwise, they will remain hopelessly ignorant of the world around them except for what they hear from their opinionated peers who are often as uninformed as they.

I often bemoan the fact that many Americans hold strong opinions about any number of subjects, but often lack the objectivity or knowledge to even form an educated opinion. My own lack of objectivity became apparent after I started traveling. I was totally ignorant about people, places, or lifestyles that differed from my own.

Certainly, I had my own strong opinions (on questions like why some can’t seem to rise above their circumstances), but I lacked factual knowledge about what existed beyond my own neighborhood. I knew my family and acquaintances’ ways of thinking and doing things, but knew nothing about abject poverty, discrimination, hatred, why people held extremist political beliefs, and what type of upbringing had led them there. I was ignorant, and only face-to-face contact with the real world could cure me. Even extensive reading couldn’t prepare me to understand what drove other people to think and do as they do, even though it was the next best thing to travel. I can't say I understand them all, even now. But I had to travel so I could explore the complexities that created the differences in views. Until I began to travel, my worldview was extremely limited, as it is for most individuals.

Once I hit the road, I faced reality for the first time. I had been starved for real experiences among people who had nothing in common with me or my background. Suddenly I was face-to-face with people who “hate Californians,” “despise blacks and Mexicans,” “can’t stand politicians,” “dislike farmers who use all the water,” and think, “people whose children get on drugs must be really bad parents,” among many other strong opinions that I couldn’t understand until I talked to them and could see things from their perspectives—which were mostly from restrictive, prejudiced backgrounds. These were typically people who didn’t watch television, especially the news since they were likely to hear something that didn’t agree with their beliefs; they didn’t read newspapers or books, go to movies, etc. Many wouldn’t travel beyond their own preset boundaries, even if offered the opportunity.

Sometimes their closed society existed because of religious beliefs, or simply because their own parents never went anywhere or read anything, or watched TV. If that was good enough for their parents, it was good enough for them, no matter that the world has shrunk since then and what impacts society elsewhere will soon be at their own doorsteps.

I was always curious about the world. It’s the way I was brought up and the way I was educated. There’s a great big world out there and we all need to know what’s going on since it all impacts every one of us in some way. Since I have now traveled throughout the United States and Canada, and met and talked with people from every type of background, geographic influence, and religious and political belief, I’ve received an entirely different type of education from what I learned in school. I’m better informed and have more tolerance for others’ opinions, even though I might still not agree with them.

Now, I firmly believe that anyone who doesn’t travel at all ignores an opportunity to understand society. I question how anyone can hold firm views on any topic without meeting and talking to people with opposing opinions. No one can understand poverty in the United States, or why some can’t seem to rise above their pitiful circumstances, or why some people can’t get a basic education, or how people from different backgrounds and cultures can think so differently, unless they have traveled the United States and talked to people from all over. And if they can’t travel, they have a responsibility to read about a variety of subjects so they can become more understanding and tolerant.

Travel is something that everyone who has the opportunity, should do. And not just cruise through a region with the windows rolled up and the radio turned on high. It should involve stepping out and talking with the Native Americans you see selling jewelry by the side of the road. It should include stopping and talking to the migrant worker that you see in the market or walking alongside the road. And it should be about trying to understand why that person thinks like he or she does, rather than passing judgment. Ignorance about other people breeds intolerance. It’s too easy to think, “Oh, they’re just a poor, dumb nobody.” No! They might be poor, but they’re probably every bit as intelligent as any of us reading this in ways we may not understand until we meet and talk to them. Their only problem may be that they never had the opportunity to learn the things we have been taught. Believe me, everyone has something to teach each and every one of us, no matter how privileged our own lives or how limited theirs.

Like the quote says, the world is a book, and those of us who can travel, but don’t, instead choosing to stay in our own little world and pass judgment rather than make an effort to understand others, have only read one page. One page does not make a book!

The next best thing to travel is reading. And we writers have the privilege of opening up minds when we travel, including our own, and to put what we’ve found and learned in words that paint pictures for those who can’t or don’t travel. Our words may not be read by those who need to read them most, but they will reach some who long to experience our journeys, and who will learn something valuable from them.