The illusion of global interconnection makes travel ever more necessary

“People say that because of Google Earth and the ‘net, travel is less of a priority. I would say the opposite is the case. The very fact of easy interconnection, and the illusion such contact creates of understanding, makes travel ever more necessary. The world is not what it seems. The peevish person in his T-shirt and blue jeans and sneakers is not necessarily a UCLA student. He might be a separatist in Zamboanga or a Libyan rebel or an Ivorian in a mob in Abidjan or the hotheaded son of an African dictator. Or indeed he might be a man or woman heading to a Bruins game in L.A.”
–Paul Theroux, “Dispatch From a Shrinking Planet,” Newsweek, May 15, 2011

Posted by | Comments (2)  | December 17, 2012
Category: Travel Quote of the Day


2 Responses to “The illusion of global interconnection makes travel ever more necessary”

  1. Erin Says:

    How eloquently put. Google earth, Facebook, and tv might show us the world, but it can never allow us to experience it. No matter how many documentaries you may watch of Barcelona, you will never understand the people until you sit at their dining table and share a glass of sangria while smelling the air both sweet and rancid and watching people stroll down the ramblas. Just as having a child is the only way to understand parenthood, travel is the only way to understand human nature around the globe.

  2. DEK Says:

    The ease of travel and the illusion of being connected plant the road with temptations and distractions and make it more difficult to travel well.