Tourist?

This will not be my normal travel post. It is a reflection on traveling, tourism, environmentalism and the tradeoffs between the values of exploring the people and places of the world and what some see as exploitation. It was brought on by this article in the NYTimes about the tourist backlash in Hawaii to developers and visitors who are portrayed as not appreciating Hawaii's culture and full-time residents.

This blog would not exist if I did not enjoy travel. This blog does not contain accounts of Cindy and my earlier adventures that have taken us to every state, China, and some countries I have probably forgotten with Cindy visiting and spending extended period of time in several more. She and to a lesser extent me have life long friends because of her travels. A couple of these individuals whom she first met in Russia now live in Colorado and will be joining us here in Kawaii is a few days. Our experiences extend beyond what I think of when I think of tourists.

I think I have a different loyalty to land and local cultural than some must. I tend to focus on experiences and value experiences with people from anyplace that are based in mutual respect above a fixation on a given place. My promotion of travel may be a rationalization, but I don't think my valuing shared experiences is. My political philosophy embraces globalism and while I see bad actors in the world, I see bad actors and good people everywhere. The trend toward nationalism that seems now to have gripped this country bothers me and seems a form of self-centeredness. There is a line that always comes to my mind from Sting's comment on the cold war in the mid 1980s hoping that "the Russians love their children too". We have certainly found this to be the case.

My reaction to the label of "tourist" comes from personal experiences at our lake home in Wisconsin, our time in southern Africa, and our experiences in Hawaii. These specific locations shared one factor - all were poor and depended heavily on tourism for economic survival. We have a home in the poorest country in Wisconsin. Lake property is not cheap and neither are the taxes, but these taxes support the local schools and help maintain the roads. While in Africa, we spent time visiting Zimbabwe a country that is so poor and corrupt that they have no actual currency of their own with any actual value. The U.S. dollar or South African rand are required for purchases. Hawaii is different, but the economy runs on military dollars and tourism. Kauai is beautiful, but lacks the land necessary for thriving agriculture and doesn't really have manufacturing capable of export in exchange for the financial returns necessary to sustain the year-round population. The housing and activities of the tourisms are what keep the money flowing in what is a very expensive place to live.

I understand the financial investments we make for our travel experiences. We value these experiences more than a fancy house or the type of things other people would rather spend their resources on. I believe we are respectful stewards of the resources of the locations we visit, but also hope that traveling does not become so expensive that it is reasonable for only the wealthy. I believe that we all can benefit from contact with people who are different and live in different circumstances than ourselves.

Mahalo