When Anthony Bourdain died, certain ideas surfaced over and over in the obituaries written about him.
- He was deeply respectful of the traditions of the people he visited.
- He saw everyone as individuals, not products of their governments.
- He believed that through sharing culture, food, and drink we might find common ground.
These are big, important concepts and each speaks to the same quality fans around the world recognized in the travel host: A global citizen’s deep compassion for the planet and its residents.
We desperately need that approach right now. So far this summer, we’ve seen the Trump administration treat the lives of refugees with callous recklessness, put full or partial bans on visitor visas from seven countries (five of which are majority Muslim), allow Hurricane Maria to grow into the single most deadly natural disaster in modern American history, hand a National Monument over to mining concerns, and start trade wars with our top three inbound travel partners.
Moreover (and perhaps more glaring), the tone and tenor of how the United States government has navigated these conversations have completely cratered any sense of international goodwill we were trading on post-President Obama. Opposing political factions can fight over the exact policies our government employs, but the empathy deficit of this administration is impossible to ignore. It’s hard to think of a time when so many government officials all seemed so gleefully cruel.
“I see us failing in massive ways, in terms of how other countries and cultures are interpreting the actions of our representatives,” Travel Channel’s Andrew Zimmern told me recently. “The isolationist, nationalist tendencies of our current administration are pulling us out of everything that we’ve engaged in since World War I, in terms of coalition building politically and diplomatically.”
As a result, the progressive American traveler is left at a crossroads: To tune out of politics while on vacation or to stay engaged. To leave the issues that our nation faces behind or to vote with each dollar spent. To use PTO to chill by the pool or as an opportunity to make protest tangible and personal.
Though this challenge may teeter on the precipice of “making my time off feel like work” rest assured that’s not the goal. Plain old fun is good too and you deserve relaxation. But if your mindset is to resist — if not Trumpism, then at least our current regime’s glaring absence of kind-heartedness (with regards to both humans and the planet) — there are things you can do this summer to gain a deeper understanding of the issues at stake while having a good time.
1. APPLY FOR A PASSPORT
There’s an apocryphal story that’s been passed around for years, that only 10% of Americans have their passports. It was true, too… back in the 80s. These days the number is more like 40% — which isn’t great, but it’s something. Just getting your passport and securing permission to see a world outside our borders is an important act and a great starting place for using travel as a means to push back against xenophobia.
You may not go anywhere for a year, maybe more, but there’s a mentality shift: You’ll be someone who has the potential to look at our country from both inside and out. Suddenly, should you so choose, you could visit a place our politicians have vilified. You could talk to the people there and hear their perspectives. Even that mere possibility holds tremendous power.
If you can’t afford processing fees, keep your eye on the Passport Project, by Zach Houghton — founder of the popular Instagram account @PassionPassport. The site often runs contests and activations to cover costs for would-be travelers.
2. SEE A NATIONAL PARK
Ecologically, one of the major markers of our current Commander-in-Chief is his desire to re-privatize land that President Obama made public. Though it’s difficult to calculate the economic impact of these protected spaces with precision, because so many non-tourist businesses thrive thanks to an influx of travelers (think cafes and grocers where campers buy food), it’s clear that US National Parks are a significant cog in our economy. The president’s willingness to ignore them — even as long-term, renewable economic assets — defies his “American businesses first” mantra.
Regardless of how you feel about National Monuments getting mined for minerals (which is exactly what has happened, as predicted), it’s important to see our National Parks firsthand and understand the communities they support. By visiting Bear’s Ears or Zion or Dry Tortugas, you will come to understand small-town America in a whole new way.
3. CONNECT WITH THE MUSLIM WORLD
Perhaps Anthony Bourdain’s greatest gift to the planet was his commitment to eradicating Islamaphobia by telling simple stories of people trying to exist in peace. In his hands, shifting how people thought about the Muslim world wasn’t politicized or partisan — it was simply an important act of breaking down stereotypes through storytelling.
Most Muslim nations are perfectly safe for an American (of any race) to visit. Drink tea in the West Bank and bear witness to what it’s like for the residents there. Go surf in Indonesia. If you can’t afford those far-flung flights, learn how to make gormeh sabzi in the Iranian kitchen of a friend’s aunt on a trip to Los Angeles. These travel choices will forever change how you look at a faith that has been demonized for far too long.
By spending time with people directly affected by the (Supreme Court upheld) travel ban, you’ll immediately see that, like most humans, the vast majority of Muslims just want to live peacefully and seek simple happiness.
4. CROSS THE BORDER TO MEXICO AND CANADA
Regardless of how you feel about our current administration’s trade wars (and wars of words) with Canada and Mexico, visiting both nations is a must. In Mexico’s Northern Baja, you can talk to locals about immigration over fish tacos and a nice lager. Ask for their opinions and perhaps your own thoughts on the matter will change in some small way. Moreover, ask people how they perceive the United States immigration policy. Trump’s rhetoric is so habitually toxic that it’s absolutely crucial for us to listen to how it affects people. If you head that way, you’ll also be sure to see scores of expats living south of the border to benefit from more lenient tax structures and lower costs. Seeing Americans living in Mexico will certainly add texture to a conversation often centered only around northward immigration.
As for Canada, talking about Trump is an inevitability. Canadians are eager to speak with Americans about how they perceive our president and their viewpoints shed light on his international relations failures. Brace yourself: They’re angry. Grab a whiskey and some poutine and give the normally friendly Canucks a platform to rant about how their southern neighbors are mangling the issue of international diplomacy. Or ask them about their own nation’s immigration policies and where they feel those practices have both succeeded and failed.
If nothing else, you’ll gain insight into how we’re perceived by our closest neighbors.
5. GO TO PUERTO RICO
Though Puerto Rico was ravaged by Hurricane Maria, it’s also one of the most idyllic beach destinations on the planet. A visitor to the island (rather than the Caymans, for instance) would support local businesses, aide the relief effort, and give you a chance to learn about a unique culture in the American tapestry. Plus you can do all the beach vacation-y things — like getting a cocktail with an umbrella in it — while infusing the region with cash.
If you’re an “America first” type, supporting this US territory feels like exactly the way you want to spend your tourism dollars. Better yet, use an organization like Connected Relief to see how you can help while you travel. A morning spent painting a weather-beaten wall, an afternoon on the sand, and a night of dancing can legitimately help Puerto Rico — making this pick a no-brainer. Go now, spend money freely, be part of the solution.
6. SEE NATIVE AMERICA
Ready to shake your understanding of immigration to its core? Eat fry bread from a roadside vendor while heading to Monument Valley. Or take a tour of cultural land in North Dakota. Whatever form your trip to Native America takes, a visit to these regions will provide a clear and constant reminder that the majority of people living in this country in 2018 immigrated (by choice or by force) from somewhere — with a deleterious effect on indigenous populations.
As the debate over our borders rages on, it’s important to remind yourself that the very concept of “our land” is a tricky one and that immigration has always been about reconciling who is arriving with who is already here. Seeing this first hand, while infusing tourism dollars into Native-owned businesses, is a chance to deepen your understanding of life in America and the absolute ravages of colonialism.
Look, no one is trying to take your summer away. But if you reject America’s current state of affairs and our clear lack of compassion in dealing with both our environment and fellow humans, there are choices you can make this summer to evolve your understanding of the world around you. You can make your spending count and, in doing so, reject policies being enacted by our president. You can support the marginalized at home and abroad in real, tangible ways.
Above all, you can grow as an empathetic person. You can become a more compassionate human. Because, as Bourdain would tell us, that’s exactly what travel is about in the first place. And it’s something this nation could use a lot more of.
