Rick Steves' Travel as a Political Act

The Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy has a great phrase about how Americans should interact with the rest of the world (I'm paraphrasing a bit): "We have to stop thinking of America solely as an exporter of great ideas and realize that we should be an importer of them as well" (He's a Republican??!!). If there were a thesis statement to this book that wasn't written by Rick Steves, you could not do much better than this, for this is what this book as all about: Learning to travel not just for recreational enjoyment, but intellectual enrichment as well. The book is broken down into sections that demonstrate how different sections of the world handle socioeconomic situations differently than we do in America. He most certainly is not blind to American advantages, despite what his conservative critics will say. He speaks about how he finds it "disheartening" to see extreme theocracy being embraced in curriculums at Iranian universities, institutions he (rightly) believes should be open to challenging the status quo. He also speaks of how it is far easier to make a better profit owning a small business like his in America, as opposed to the regulatory hurdles of EU nations. At the same time, he makes it clear that the rest of the world thinks about things globally and constantly interact with each other far more often and effectively than citizens of the U.S. do, and he's absolutely right. Some of it can be explained by American geographic isolation, but also because we are conditioned by many influences to fear or dismiss what we don't immediately know or understand. One of the greatest truisms he offers: "The very people who would most benefit from international travel - those who needlessly fear people and places they don't understand - decide to stay home." Sadly, he's right. The most pro-American, uber-patriotic people I know who constantly assert the US is the best country in the world have never been overseas, and they certainly don't plan to either. Yet they KNOW America is #1 because, well...they want to believe it. Those are the people who Rick Steves' message is intended to reach. The best part about this book is the fact that it is not a how-to guide. It is not a book that tells you specifically how to "travel as a political act" with step-by-step instructions. Rather, it is a collection of stories and dispatches from the author's experiences that is meant to encourage travelers to make their own memories and experiences and use what they learn when they get back, both the good lessons AND the bad. If you're a seasoned traveler who enjoys learning from other cultures, you'll probably find yourself nodding in agreement constantly. I know I did, for my best memories of traveling in South Africa consist of talking to locals in pubs and other places about the recently disposed (at the time) apartheid system. Hearing the perspectives of people of all races certainly helped me put in perspective how we as Americans deal with national p

A message implicit in the Rick Steves travel philosophy behind his ultra-useful Europe travel guides is at the center of this wonderful, unique book: your responsibilities as a citizen travel with you when you leave your country. Or" "Active, responsible citizenship: don't leave home (or return) without it." Traveling with your eyes open, and with an open mind and open heart, means that you will experience how people in other places do things differently--and difference is not bad. The more we learn about others, the more we learn about ourselves, often lessons that might be applied back home to improve our community, nation, planet. The focus throughout the book is on people--ordinary (though often extraordinary) people Steves met while traveling--and how they live their lives. Drawn from Steves' extensive travels over forty years, the easily-readable small volume is chock full of examples of how people in Europe (and Morocco, Turkey, El Salvador and Iran) do things differently, from mailboxes designed to deter junk mail to approaches to soft drug use. Steves' reflections on these differences helped me understand the rationale behind them. The powerful final chapter helped me see how I might share good ideas from my travels when I return home, and contribute to the betterment of all. To get the most out of this book requires some background knowledge of what's happening in the world (at the level of occasional TV news watching), but any reader will learn a great deal about how the world works from reading this. And you don't need to be a traveler to gain from it, but almost certainly you will be more inspired to travel--and to learn and contribute--after reading it.

Last night I picked up a copy of Travel as a Political Act and then stayed up until midnight reading. I was waiting for this book to come out, after I saw Rick's show about Iran on PBS some time ago. I loved the way he approached his trip and separated the people from the politics, reminding us that governments (even our own) do not always represent the true values and desires of the individuals living under their jurisdiction. And even when they do, and we still disagree with the government and the people, by getting to know individuals we can gain empathy and understanding. We can agree to disagree. We can be friends with people who hold differing views and opinions. We can embrace diversity. (We Americans sometimes seem to forget that the original motto of our nation was E pluribus unum, Latin for "Out of Many, One." The Many is at least as important as the One.) I'd forgotten to keep an eye out for this book, and was pleasantly surprised to discover it was now available. I love the idea of travel as a political act. I hate politics but I don't want to because political action and involvement is so important. For the past several years I've been searching for ways to be more political without getting pissed off or hating what I'm spending my time doing. This book has some wonderful ideas that I will be exploring further. As is my usual habit with certain types of nonfiction books, I read the introduction and the conclusion first. I was very happy to find some real, practical suggestions for how each of us can act politically through and because of our travels. I am often disappointed in books about political topics that have no real suggestions for action. This book did not disappoint me. I looking forward to reading the rest, and re-reading it, soon. Thanks Rick!

Steves believes travel should bring us together, and ever since his first overseas trip (age 14) he's spent a third of his life overseas; for the last 30 years he has taught people how to navigate the logistics of travel, mostly in Europe. While unapologetically proud to be an American he also enjoys learning by observing other societies, and sees travel as a way to make the U.s. even stronger. Fear of terrorism is an irrational barrier to travel, per Steves, and he cites the numerous recent years of total safety as proof. Travel has also taught him that we don't have a monopoly on bravery or grit. Anyone can learn that half the people on this planet are trying to live on $2/day, and a billion on less than $1 - but traveling to the developing world and coming face-to-face with these "statistics" makes the problem more real. The bulk of the book then summarizes his recent travels around the European area. The former Yugoslavia shows the psychological and physical damage left from a tragic war, the European Union is molding a free-trade zone while maintaining its cultural diversity, Denmark shows contemporary socialism and a society rated the most content in the world, Turkey and Morocco offer a moderate side of Islam within fast developing nations, Netherlands and Switzerland offer a different approach to drug policies, and Iran demonstrates how fear and fundamentalism can lead a nation to trade democracy for theocracy.

For those who want the American way of travel with a five star hotel and predictable food, this book will not appeal to you. For those like my family who love learning about other cultures and respecting different ways of living, its a wonderful book. Yes, the author has written the most personal book he has ever written where he shares his views on America and how and why some countries do not like the government. And having seen way to many 'ugly Americans' when traveling, I am glad he was so honest. And if the book helps just a handful of Americans who will travel, to stop and think before they speak when abroad, then this is a reason for 5 stars. Much of the book deals with how to travel well as an informed traveler. We love staying away from tourist areas and always seek out quiet visits to local book stores, small eateries off the beaten path where the locals eat, small hotels or bed and breakfast style places. And we love visiting old cemeteries to do headstone rubbings.