Nearly everyone grows up insular. The problem is that vast numbers of people never leave the cloistered world of their childhood. This is as true for those who grow up in Manhattan as it is for those who grow up in Fargo. And as for college, there are few places as insular and cloistered as the university.It is, perhaps, illustrative of my own inherent insularity that when I consider thoughtful, measured commentary, I do not often think of conservative publications like the National Review. In all fairness, judging by some of the crass drivel to which they give a legitimate platform (not to mention the way in which they dispatched the very reasonable David Frum), I would argue that this sentiment is not always very far from the truth. Which makes Prager's reflective piece all the more wonderful.
Insularity is bad because at the very least it prevents questioning oneself and thinking through important ideas and convictions. And at worst, it facilitates the groupthink that enables most great evils. Although one can hold onto insular and bad ideas even after interacting with others, it is much harder to do so, especially when one interacts on the others’ terms, as must be done when traveling to other cultures (and especially when traveling alone).
It is therefore one of the most maturing things a person can do. It is also one of the most humbling.... One of life’s great moral challenges is to see the stranger as fully real. While travel does not guarantee that one will see all others that way...it is very hard to do so without travel.
Traveling engenders the curious, open-minded spirit that should form the basis of our journey through life. I try to make an effort to adhere to these principles as best I can. Here's hoping that I find a way to visit 100 countries on the way.
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