The world is full of wonders to see, cultures to immerse in, and history to relive.
There is beauty and there is poverty. There are great wonders and great sorrows. One cannot possibly gauge the American experience without the backdrop of how the rest of the world lives.
Many years ago, I traveled to China alone on business. I visited the ancestral home of Confucius (Kong Fuzi to the Chinese). The philosopher lived 2,500 years ago. His ancestral home still stands in Qufu. There is a column in front of the house showing the 83 generations of his direct male descendants that have lived in that home. The last descendants left for Taiwan in the 1940s. How amazing. We live in a culture that is fortunate to track the last four or five generations, much less 83.
I remember driving down a narrow highway in the Yucatán. One lane each way. No shoulders on the road. Jungle on each side. We were traveling to see one of the ancient Mayan sites. Every few miles we would see a piece of corrugated steel hung between trees. These were the homes of the desperately poor. I’ve never been able to rid myself of the stark comparison to the lives we live in this country.
One year, I decided to go snorkeling off the side of a cruise ship-launched dinghy in the Galapagos Islands. The mission was to swim with sea turtles and sea lions. One of the truly great experiences of the natural world. I failed unfortunately to understand the difference between snorkeling in a calm bay and trying the same feat in the high seas with high waves. I also forgot that I’m a crappy swimmer. Within 30 seconds of jumping gloriously, in full wetsuit attire, into the active waves, I began to take on water. Saltwater should not be ingested. In under two minutes, I was hauled from the waves by a diligent cruise employee. I then spent 20 minutes vomiting from the salty brine. My shipmates, I think trained in the ways of the sea by Jacques Cousteau, simply stared at me with disgust as they returned triumphantly to the vessel.
Several years ago, my wife and I went to the Grand Canyon. The grandeur of nature and of our country was overwhelming. A boat trip on the Colorado River through the canyon and a walk on the viewing stand over the canyon should not be missed.
Then I found Africa. Amazing Africa. Nairobi in Kenya was a whirl of people and cultures. Botswana, born from the colonial exploitation of the West, was an example of a government that had done much right where their neighbors had created dysfunctional systems. Most amazing were the animals. Lions within 10 feet of our open-sided vehicle. An elephant that brought his trunk within six inches of my face to check me out. Hippos snorting in the night beside my elevated tent. Colorful birds, prey animals by the thousands. Most of all there was the sight of the Great Migration, one million wildebeest, crossing the Mara River en masse — a cacophony of sound and sight that was just stunning and amazing. I have been back several times and I suggest everyone sees these animals now before they are tragically gone.
I went on an Associated mission to Jerusalem, the city of our souls. Praying at the Western Wall is an experience that all Jews should partake of at least once. One must walk the Old City to really understand the confluence of world history and the tensions that surround this unique city. We later traveled to the Valley of Tears in the Golan Heights, Ramallah on the West Bank, and helicoptered over the borders of the country. The sociopolitical challenges of Israel become so much clearer.
Travel helps make the craziness of our world more understandable. Sit in a Paris café and watch the world go by. Enjoy local food. Learn about the cultures and their perspective on Americans. You will come back as a changed person for the better. You’ll have a better perspective on our own lives. Enjoy this summer and this travel edition of Jmore.
Be Safe,
Scott Rifkin, MD, Publisher
Commemorations of the Holocaust must transcend the past to include concerns about the present and future, writes Menachem Z. Rosensaft.
Someone needed to tell Donald Trump that his appearance at a UFC fight over the weekend was not a good look, writes Michael Olesker.
Journalists bear a responsibility to go beyond the headlines and social media posts to understand the past and present, writes New York University student Lucia Alonso.
The Trump administration's invoking of religion is reminiscent of the words and actions of one of history's most brutal Crusaders, writes Michael Olesker.