The NY Times recently compiled the Top 53 Places to Go in 2008. I remember walking by the STA Travel office several times a week in college, where a large, obnoxious banner read “The world is your playground.” This “Top 53” and the sentiment expressed are both annoying and somewhat irresponsible. Globalization has made it incredibly easy and inexpensive for people of my generation and (economic, national) background to travel– and they do. Far too often it seems as if they do so with a closed mind, an open pocketbook, and little respect or understanding of the place they are going to. In the popular Times article, the descriptions of the destinations seem more focused on golf courses and luxury hotels than the effect of explosive tourism on these countries.
While the majority of American travelers I’ve met abroad have been polite, interesting, and intelligent, it is incredibly frustrating to come across those with money, time, a high BAC, and little else.
Countless foreign policy blunders of the past and present already create a perception of the US as a big, fat, clumsy bully on the world stage- we don’t need American citizens reinforcing that view by wiping their snot all over the monkey bars.
Although you probably couldn’t tell, in the States one has to take a test to receive a driver’s license. If* there were a test for obtaining a passport, what would you like to see on it? What required reading/listening/tasting/dancing would you want to see tested?
* I’m not suggesting this is a good idea– I support travel for all (even ignorant assholes), and ultimately think passports should be relatively easy to obtain.