Why Travel Is The World's Greatest Unifier
From an environmental, social, and historical perspective
Hey reader,
Travel is an important part of location independence. Not just from the “work from anywhere” perspective but because it allows us to open our minds to different cultures and ways of doing things.
Today’s essay discusses this from the angle of travel journalism, a profession I’m all too familiar with. Thanks for reading, and I’ll see you on the other side!
Resources from this week’s essay
Brooke Silva-Braga’s film, “A Map for Saturday”
Mountain Remote back essays for further reading:
Welcome to the 24 new subscribers since last week’s essay! Glad to see you here, and hope you’re making it happen this week.
Now, let’s get out there.
Why Travel Is The World's Greatest Unifier
For newer subscribers who've missed my prior introductions in this newsletter, I've held a contract for the past 5 1/2 years as an editor at the travel publication Matador Network. In that time I’ve produced just about every conceivable facet of travel journalism, from in-depth on-site reporting to click-bait listicles (I should remind myself of this more often, as I’m frequently guilty of labeling “influencing” and “travel blogging” as zero-value professions, especially in conversation with other editors and writers).
It’s a good gig. The downside, as it were, is that I’ve become quite jaded about the topic of travel writing. My blood pressure rises when my wife tells people that I’m a “travel writer.” I’m quick to correct this misnomer by adding the word, “journalist.”
The reason for my unease around the topic is this: The world doesn’t need any more articles about where to find the best spaghetti in Italy. It doesn’t need any more social media videos of people running toward a ledge and jumping into a pool, lake, or sea.
There is little to no lasting value in these types of content. My favorite spaghetti is likely not your favorite.
But on a deeper level travel journalism — call it “travel writing” if you must — is immensely valuable because it highlights the common humanity of cultures all around the world.
There’s a history behind every excellent plate of spaghetti that rarely surfaces in listicle-style content. Instead of guiding readers to the “best spaghetti,” good travel writing helps readers understand why a particular plate of spaghetti is important. Perhaps the sauce recipe has been passed down for three generations and requires garlic only grown in a very specific region. Or maybe the dish was served to two opposing heads of state as they sat down to sign a multi-lateral agreement, where the attendees bonded over their common affection for red sauce and ironically concluded that their nations should break bread together rather than break families apart (it’s called the Spaghetti Bowl Effect for a reason, anyhow).
Moving beyond the food metaphor, the stories I’ve been a part of that I’m most proud of, whether as a writer or editor, move forward a cultural or societal value that when understood has the power to unite people in their humanity.
There are at least three major angles this can be approached from. Rather than preach for several paragraphs under each listing, I’ll provide a descriptor followed by a few examples that demonstrate the point. I realize this is far too many articles to read at one time, I hope you’ll bookmark this and revisit :-)
No group of people should be judged solely by their government
The movie “A Map for Saturday” is filmmaker Brooke Silva-Braga’s documentary of a year spent solo-traveling around the world, released in 2007. There’s a scene in the movie where Silva-Braga approaches a traveler with a Canadian flag on their backpack, begins talking to them, and learns that the person is actually American — but embroidered a Canadian flag to trick people into thinking they weren’t American to avoid being associated with President Bush.
I call this specific example to light not to defend Bush (I walked four miles to vote against that war criminal in 2004, the first time I was old enough to vote in a presidential election) but because I find it incredibly ironic. Many, indeed most, Americans — myself included — have been guilty of feeling a certain way about a specific group of people based solely on things we’ve read or seen in the news media. Often, those headlines are negative, and almost as often, the cause of that negativity is a misdeed by their leadership or government.
Travel journalism has a unique role to play in dispelling these judgments. A good travel article connects the reader to a place through its people, its culture, and its geography.
Thirty years after the Revolution, Romania is still rebuilding
A culinary trip to Israel’s Galilee region highlights the country’s past and innovative future
Travel is a force for good in the world
Pro snowboarder and environmental activist Jeremy Jones told me this in an interview back in 2018:
It’s easy to point at the footprint of travel and say it’s bad for the environment. But I think we’re in this mess right now in the US because we have people that haven’t left their hometown. I am a student of the world, it’s shaped me as a human being. You start understanding that we are all connected.
Politicians don’t like losing their jobs. It’s sad that climate change is a political issue but it is. Us polluting hurts people around the world, and vice versa. It’s very tough to gain that perspective from your hometown, and we need that one-world perspective more than ever. It’s all hands on deck right now. Responsible travel is important. Go see the world!
The quest to save Oaxaca’s centuries-old mountain trails one hike at a time
Breckenridge asks travelers to join in sustainability initiative through volunteer trail work
And, here’s a link to that Jeremy Jones interview.
Travel is the greatest unifier of people from different backgrounds
No whole group of people is inherently evil. Quite the contrary — people are generally good. The travel host Michael Palin has, in my opinion, done a fantastic job of demonstrating this through his shows over the years, most notably in his travels through North Korea and Iraq.
Walk through 5,000 years of human history in Jerusalem’s fully-accessible Old City
Sebastian Modak talks 2022 travel trends and seeing the world
That’s all for this now. See you next week!