A very cool excerpt from an article by Rick Stevens...
We travel to have enlightening experiences, to meet inspirational people, to be stimulated, to learn, and to grow. Travel has taught me the fun in having my cultural furniture rearranged and my ethnocentric self-assuredness walloped. It has humbled me, enriched my life, and tuned me in to a rapidly changing world.
I enjoy bettering myself by observing others. And I appreciate constructive criticism from caring friends. In that same spirit, I enjoy learning about my society by observing other societies and challenging myself (and my neighbors) to be broad-minded when it comes to international issues. Holding our country to a high standard and searching for ways to better live up to its lofty ideals is not “America-bashing.” It’s good citizenship. I’m unapologetically proud to be an American.
The United States has made me who I am. I spend plenty of time in other countries, but America is a great and innovative nation and other nations have some pretty good ideas, too. By learning from our travels and bringing these ideas home, we can make our nation even stronger.
As a nation of immigrants whose very origin is based on the power of diversity (“out of many, one”), this should come naturally to us... and be celebrated.
