Politicians Should Travel More - Perspective from Traveling

Don’t you think it is horrible how the US Government is so polarized? Every day you hear about how the Democrats and Republicans can not seem to come together to work on a budget, decide a law or even just get anything done without bickering and fighting amongst each other. Basically the politicians just don’t want to listen to the people. Instead they follow their own ideals or the ideals of their party. There tends to be no middle ground. There seems to be a very black and white kind of thinking behind things when it comes to the US Government.You know what the funny thing is? It is not just the government that thinks this way, but instead all of us think that way. You, your neighbor and even myself. To most people it seems there is THIS WAY or THAT WAY and no middle way. Another way of saying this is “If you are not with me than you are against me”. You know that saint and you know what I am talking of.

After traveling there is a realization that there are so many ways to any idea, problem or situation. There is no right or wrong; no black or white; instead a whole world of many colors with different ones that can be mixed to created a whole new outlook. Traveling can help anyone gain perspective, including yourself. With that gain of perspective by many it cause this world to stop this world from looking so colorless.

Leyte’s Beautiful Palm/s

What is Perspective?

Let me ask, what is the definition of perspective? I am not talking about the the ability to draw and make it look realistic. I am asking about this definition:

a particular attitude toward or way of regarding something; a point of view true understanding of the relative importance of things; a sense of proportion

The words here the really understand here is “true understanding of the RELATIVE importance of things” We can not tell what is relative without knowing all possible views right? If all your life you have lived in a small farming community town then farming is all you know. If are lived your life in North Korea the whole time then you probably think Ill Kim is a god. Perespectiveonly comes when you are experience more things in life. If you are a farmer who also also lived in silicon valley, then you might be exposed to how technology can better help farming.Now imagine if you travelled more and learned more customs from all over the world. How different people think and how you fit into the whole grand scheme of things.

Begger Child

A Little Story

Let me tell you story. This is a story to help understand perspective. This occurred during my visit to Philippines. I visited a friend who invited me out to Leyte to a small village that not many know of called MacArthur. My friend lived on the beach. I know that sounds exotic now, let me tell you that when you hear about the living conditions it will not seem so exotic. You see my friend was poor and lived in a hut that was basically made of sticks and metal sheets. there was no running water, no plumbing, the bathroom was an whole in the group just outside of the house. The stove was made up of sticks that ignited the flames. and there was no electricity. By an American’s standard, it was subpar to live here. The place was a happy place for my friend and her family, it was home to them and it made them happy (and currently is not there after the typhoon.)

My friend also took me to visit her cousin when we were in Manila. She live on Wagas, an area of Manila where a lot of the population lived shacks similar to my friend’s in Leyte, the only exception was that they had electricity. Most of the people in this area slept on the streets rather than a comfortable bed, and if they did sleep in a bed it was in their small shack, where they shared the bed with all of their family members. Again this is a situation where most Americans would not want to find themselves in. To these people it was home to them and it made them feel happy.

Waiting for the Bus

The Return Home

On my arrival back home to USA, I was made aware of the 99% movement and the Occupy Wall Street movement. These were people who were mad at the 1% of Americans were wealthy and wanted more from them. It made no sense to me at all. I had just visited people who lived in shacks and these people were complaining about the wealth of others, with out having perspective of how wealthy they seem to other people in the world. Most of these protestors had access to running water, electricity and most of the time a place to sleep. It is hard to cry that you are of the poor when you are walking around with hi-tech smartphones and tablets while protesting. If only I could have taken these people to where I had just come back from. What would they have thought after experiencing the kind of experience of Wagas or Leyte?

Conclusion

So now I ask the question of you. Do you feel you have all the facts of making the best decisions? Do you feel your government does? Maybe our officials need to gain a bit more perspective. Perhaps they should travel more. Maybe we all should travel more. What do you think? Leave a comment below, send me a tweet on twitter using #pathlesstravels, or post on my facebook. Heck even send us a message. Let me know, we want to share your outrageous stories with others. Happy travels

Erick Redcloud

A partially blind Graphic Designer, Freelance Travel Photographer, Artist, Buddhist and Vegetarian who loves to travel. Erick loves traveling by being with the locals and going off the beaten path. He is the founder and owner of Pathlesstravels and loves inspiring others to follow their dreams, whether it is to travel or something completely different. He started Pathlesstravels to hone is photography skills and to meet amazing people, and to help a friend break into journalism. Check out his photography at his link.