I don't think we're in Kansas anymore

I had a heated debate recently with someone who has literally canceled a "dream" trip to Britain because of the issues of the past week and because of some statistics on Islamic radicals and how the British government handles them (none of which I can confirm or deny). I'm sure the whole idea of Al Qaeda thing was a rude awakening and the very fact there are Muslims in England is a shock - especially since the purpose of this person's trip was to visit spots in England where several movies based on Jane Austen's books were filmed. Sort of reminds me of how I first went to London as a teenager expecting Mary Poppins and instead ran into a overly pierced heroin junkie with a rotted black ear that was starting to detach itself from his head.. I suppose Brits are just as disappointed when they get to the US and they meet someone who doesn't have a gun and isn't amazingly stupid but that's not really the point..

Anyway, I ran across this article today in USA Today online travel news that's emailed to me daily. Though I use it primarily just to get the greatest hits on travel news, this article makes all the same points I could ever possible make about people who have perceptions about how safe a country is and whether or not it's a good idea to go there. Of course I could summarize the entire article by simply stating: If you want to keep yourself safe, stay at home. Go absolutely no where.

I've probably (definitely) been to the U.K. more than any other country. Many, many of those trips involved a bomb going off somewhere and often times, somewhere rather close to where I happened to be physically located. It wasn't Al Qaeda at all, it was the I.R.A. - yet this did not deter Americans from going to Britain.. in fact, it encouraged some Americans to fund such activities but that's a whole seperate issue that I frankly know nothing more than soundbytes so I shouldn't have even brought it up.

The point is, why is it so bloody awful that Al Qaeda bombs (and fails to bomb I might add) Heathrow Airport and everyone cancels their trip. The IRA manages to successfully and repeatedly terror bomb and there are 80 year olds signing up for bus tours? Is it that much better to be bombed by a white Christian than it is to be bombed by an Arab Muslim? Personally I see little reason to enjoy either.

One of the most interesting bits of travel advice I've always wanted to follow but never have is, you should always go to a country right after any upheaval. A few years ago people said "Go to Bosnia, Vietnam.." etc because when a country is emerging, it's is most authentic and economical. That's what happened with Prague though by all accounts that is now getting to be just as unneccessarily congested and overpriced as Firenze.

This is just a pointless rant but I think that article really hits on some good points - even if you have no intention of traveling. It's a good starting point to evaluate how you see the world and how it relates ultimately to your well being and safety.