1. Founding Father Thomas Jefferson said once that, "Travel makes a person wiser but less happy." He meant that travel around the world truly expands one's knowledge of Earth and the human condition, but by dispelling ignorance, one no longer feels as innocent and free of worry for the world and one's fellow man. Rick Steves's travels in the sorry country of El Salvador demonstrate this clearly. Being both rich and intent on getting the fullest picture of the country, he travels between the worlds of El Salvador's few rich and its many poor (page 124). What he sees is a place dominated by extreme economic justice perpetrated by greed propelled in large part by his own beloved America (page 115). In my life, there have been many instances of me trading my happiness for wisdom, but I'd feel a little uncomfortable sharing some, so I'll share something a little more innocent. When I was about 9, my cat Minuit died. Now, I had actually lost some family members before this, but I was too young to actually be affected emotionally. But I loved Minuit, and when she died, it was the first real time I had to grapple with death. I was distraught, at least as distraught as a sheltered 8 year old can be, and was just saddened. In that little way, I had traded the happiness of the ignorance of death with the wisdom of its knowledge (on an emotionally intimate level).
4. An El Salvadoran Liberation Theologian is quoted in the book as saying "Part of our vow of obedience to the Church is disobedience to the Church." This is a pretty vague statement and can be taken in a variety of ways, some less orthodox than others. A charitable analysis would say that while one must be absolutely obedient to the Church in her divine element, many aspects of its human leadership are imperfect, sometimes terribly so. In the book, this attitude is possibly seen in Steves distinction between the "Church's official hierarchy" supporting the right wing of El Salvador and individual priests and nuns supporting the left wing. I say possibly because the real life relationship between the Church and Liberation Theology, an extremely heterogeneous philosophical tendency, is a bit more complex than Steves makes it out to be. So, it's quite possible that the quote may be little more than a rationalization of heterodoxy. Additionally, the quote shows how civil disobedience, a large part of Latin American Liberation Theology, connects with spirituality, as devotion to the higher authority of God impels many to disobey the imperfect authority of a state.
I also had to grapple with the death of a loved pet when I was 9. Consequently, the cat was also named Minuit, and I was also too young to understand death before her, so when she did die I went through a similarly depressive state of grief. I believe travel can help you understand that other people are going through similar things. Have you ever traveled outside of the country? What are some places that you could relate to? Why would you say Norway is your favorite country?
ReplyDelete-Alex Menezes