Why Traveling is Necessary

In today's time, we think, hear, see, feel, and act in a global context. This is due to the inevitable impact that technological advances have had on mass communication. What a Western Union telegram would take a week to send news within the U.S. can now be relayed on the internet and across borders within seconds. It is an exciting time to live through such a transformation, but along with it comes an inherent sense of global responsibility.

What I mean by global responsibility is that we now have access to knowledge that was previously unknown to us. Especially after World War I, and further World War II, there was a technological spur that has enabled our world to become more and more interconnected. Globalization has transformed and shaped our world in a manner where Thomas Friedman could proudly say "The World is Flat." Therefore, because lines and boundaries have flattened between societies in respect to communication, we are able to see what is happening all around us, and gather knowledge in a global sense. We know that Genocide is occurring in Darfur, that there are terrorist cells in Afghanistan, hostages who are being held in Colombia. So what do we do with that knowledge? As a whole, we have a global responsibility to take this knowledge and use peaceful means to better our world.

However, it isn't that easy to convince people of this global responsibility as of yet. Many still have a nationalistic approach of self and own country, but in this age, we should be acting as collectively as citizens of the world in order to assist each other. This doesn't mean that one should give up it's identity of country, but instead that they should acknowledge the evident presence of others and their struggles, and do their best to give succor if at all possible.

This leads me to the necessity of travel. I am going to go out on a limb and say those who have embarked on travels to other parts of the world, especially poorer countries, would agree with me on this stance. And why? Because they have seen it for themselves. And for those who haven't, psychologists have even said it is hard sometimes for individuals to fathom or feel personally effected by events in other countries enough to take action. This is due to the difficulty that humans have in empathizing unless they have physically seen it occur or have been a part of it.

So next time you wish to travel somewhere, go to another country. See their cultural beauty, as well as their defaults, and appreciate it. Learn from it and it will open your eyes. Maybe then people will realize that there are others who are worse off and it will teach them to be more accepting and grateful of one's own self, and others who live across the world.