One Love

As I was writing my post about my tale of the night in Barcelona, there was one reoccuring theme from the night which frustrated me and has continued to frustrate me. However, I decided to sit back for a few days and muster it over before I wrote my opinions and beliefs for everyone to see. The topic is – arrogant, rude, ignorant, etc. etc. people (with an emphasis on tourists).

In short – the theme was tourists acting as if they had a “free pass” and that they were able to do anything without consequences. Now, I am going to pick on American tourists a bit here…because I myself, am an American tourist. Personally, I travel to learn about other cultures and the people of those cultures, as well as to reflect a positive image of Americans which is rarely shown in the news broadcasts of other countries. So, it really frustrates me when American tourists are living up to the negative stereotypes and expectations which people all over the world already have. Keep in mind that you are visiting someone else’s home, so treat it with more respect than your own, because you would like the same in return. Now I don’t want to make myself out to be a saint, because in no way am I even close to perfect, but I try to always keep an open mind and follow The Golden Rule to the best of my ability.

Playing For Change – One Love

A few months ago, I had the pleasure of sitting next to a very wise, high-ranking, retired military man on the plane ride from Puerto Rico to Detroit and was able to listen to his views on the world, war, religion, etc. and input my own views and thoughts which were surprisingly similar. He had traveled all over the world in the military and been a part of several wars. These days, you can find him, his wife, and their yellow Labrador known as the “Peace Pup” in the middle of riots and demonstrations in the Lansing area as well as all over the world (such as Darfur, Tibet and the Middle East) helping to keep peace between the people on either side of the argument. He is a major advocate on immersing yourself into other cultures and experiencing the “grass on the other side”. There were a few suggestions he made to me which I will never forget; he said that when you travel you are not only representing yourself, but you are representing your friends & family, your generation, and your country. That being said, make sure to leave a positive image on the people you meet and they will probably do the same. Another thing he mentioned is that there are a few words you should learn before you go to any country which speaks a different language…those words being: one, please, thank you, and beer… and if you are able to put them into a sentence such as “one beer please… thank you” than more power to you!!

Think about this – How many people do you know that complain about people either living in or visiting the United States whom don’t speak “the language” fluently? On the flip side, those are usually the people who travel on vacations overseas and complain that not everybody speaks English. You are probably wondering why I put quotations around ‘the language’, the reason behind that is because no matter how much people want to declare a national language or believe that the Unites States has a national language …we don’t… I know this is a controversial topic for many people (including myself which am usually found on the other side of the table as compared to many of my friends and family), but this country was founded and built by immigrants from all parts of the world and there is no name for a language which encompasses all of those languages. Yes, I agree that English is the most common language used in the United States for business, but, it is also the most common language for business in the world… so does that mean that every country should change their national language to English?!?! or that their should be declared a “global language” of English?!?!

Another thing to think about, whether traveling or not is… what makes you better than anyone else in this world?? Could it be because you are wealthy or that your parents are wealthy, or maybe that you are beautiful/handsome, or maybe because you have been blessed with intelligence, or that you have more friends than someone else?!?! If you feel like you fit into any of these categories which makes you better than any of our fellow human-beings than unfortunately you couldn’t be any further from the truth. There is no difference between the value of one persons life as compared to another’s and even if there was, would it really be your place to judge that?!?! However, maybe I missed some characteristic or attribute which makes one person “worth” more than the other. So, if you can think of one, I’d be interested in knowing…

I know this is a long post, but, I am very passionate about this subject. In summary, if you are planning on traveling or are currently traveling, please remember that you are still representing yourself and your country (probably more so than before) so use your manners, respect yourself as well as others, and love your neighbor, because those are and will always be the “global language”.