Obama will save the American traveler

January 16, 5:24 PMExotic Travel ExaminerAndy Schell

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Last year, while in Austria on a weekend journey out of Prague (I will never tire of riding the rails in Europe), I wrote what I thought was a fairly straightforward and otherwise unassuming entry in my blog entitled "Rural Austria and American Foreign Policy." The title implied much more 'American Foreign Policy' than what actually appeared there. The piece generated a few vehemently patriotic comments, despite my readership of approximately 3 people, give or take. 

The remark that made the most impact on me was this one: "I find it rather unbecoming for a citizen to criticize the USA from a foreign country." As a citizen of the USA and a traveler of the world, I argue that criticism from abroad is in fact more insightful than criticism from within the borders of the USA, as the distant perspective lets one see the big picture, hear all the sides, listen to the commentary from outside the country. And I think  criticism is a harsh word even - I was merely trying to convey some observations I'd made from my perspective on the opposite side of the globe. 

That weekend, I traveled to Melk, Austria, a tiny hamlet on the River Danube, notable for the enormous Abbey that stands guard over the town from the precipice of a high stone cliff. The main town square, which is a mere few hundred yards long, does not allow cars. Not that many people have them anyway. I arrived by train, the only way to travel in Europe (in my opinion). I had nowhere to stay the night upon my arrival, and in very broken German, managed to find a room above a quaint cafe, with a view to the 900-year old Abbey, high on the hill. I was slightly uneasy, traveling by myself in a town where nobody spoke English, slightly self-conscious about obviously being the only American as far as I could see. What were these locals saying about me in their incomprehensible German?

With Obama's inauguration poised to make history here in America, I argue that the best place to view this watershed moment is from outside our borders. While the rest of the country descends on DC, I'll be soliciting the reaction from across the globe, questioning my friends in England, South Africa, Finland and Sweden. The world has been keenly eyeing us during this election season, and it never ceased to amaze me how much interest our politics got from abroad. Where Bush stole the benefit of the doubt for the American Traveler abroad, Obama will, in one fell swoop on Tuesday, give it back to us and then some. No longer will my American friends backpacking through Asia or Australia claim they are Canadians. Obama, just by stepping into office next week, will make it a privilege to once again declare our pride as Americans. Maybe, just maybe, instead of being mocked for the man called Dubya in the White House, we'll start to hear praise for living in a country that embraces the idea of change and can so dramatically restore our image in the rest of the world. 

Travel on Tuesday, but don't travel to DC. Travel to Europe, where all eyes will be on us. Travel to Africa, where Obama's family will be watching with pride. Travel to the Middle East, where maybe some hope for a peaceful future will ignite instead of a car bomb. Just travel, because for at least one day, the whole world is again on America's side, the side of Hope. And you'll be proud again, to be American.