Safety in Modern Times

As the US girds for war, I get more and more mail asking about a US traveler's safety in Europe. But sometimes it's hard for me to understand the concerns because it's becoming increasingly common to use the word "safe" in a lot of creative ways, many going outside the boundaries of the word's intended meaning.

We talk of keeping kids "safe" from certain types of knowledge on the internet, some of it carnal. We assign arbitrary ages as a means of determining when it's "safe" to see a naked human or to drive a car or get married--so that overnight an activity can go from "unsafe" to "safe." Seldom is real maturity or education called into the equation. "Safe" in this case means isolation from common events and knowledge.

When you think about it, this is the opposite of how it should be. How do you avoid street crime so you can walk the streets safely? You develop "street smarts." You don't intentionally make your self ignorant of what's going on, you inoculate yourself against the mean streets by developing a body of knowledge that allows you to see the dangers clearly and react in a calculated manner to avoid them. Knowledge isn't dangerous. Ignorance is.

The concept of trying to isolate yourself or others from reality rather than facing it head-on using accumulated knowlege or debating alternative paths is a principle I associate with Americans more than any other cultural group. But that's just a hideous generalization that I dreamed up, you don't have to worry about it.

Still, US travelers to Europe seem to worry less about the fallout from all the depleted uranium about to be flung about onto the nearby sands of the Iraqi desert and more about being asked to justify their positions on war by debating with Europeans. Why is that? When is open and free debate bad or unsafe?

The other question is: why is it considered unsafe to travel to a continent divided over the prospects of war while it's considered safe to stay home in one whose politicians are dead set against any form of negotiated peace and disarmament? You'd think it would be the other way around. After all, wouldn't terrorists be likely to pick targets where there's the greatest possibility of killing people who oppose their way of life? Just asking.

I'm not trying to pick a political fight here, and it doesn't matter to me where you stand on this issue, but whatever side of the political spectrum you're on, you have to realize that intelligent people from different cultures may request that you be ready and able to debate your or your country's framework for peace. This is normal behavior among inquisitive humans trying to decide on important issues.

Naomi Serviss writes on being an American traveling in Paris:

The uneasiness about being on the brink of war made for nervous conversations every day I was there. Usually initiated by my Parisian friends, I must add. “Is your President going to bomb Iraq? Do you really think there will be a war?” asked everyone I spoke with. Heated discussions would generally ensue en route to a café. Come to think of it, every conversation or stroll always ended up either in, or heading towards, one of those ubiquitous little eateries the French love to hang out in. They invented the hanging-out-in-cafes-drinking-thick-black-coffee-way-of-life, and while I appreciated and enjoyed it, I frankly don’t get it.

(from Being American In Paris)

Perhaps it's just me, but I fail to see the horror in debating politics in a cafe. Nevertheless, I shall issue this warning: The traveler might do well to be aware that war is a hot topic around the world. And well it should be--killing folks and bombing their infrastructure, even for its "shock and awe" value, should never be taken lightly. If you plan on traveling to Europe, you may want to be prepared for the distinct possibility that folks will ask (and maybe even demand) that you explain your position, whatever it is.

But does all this make Europe unsafe? Only, it seems to me, if you fear open debate. But isn't the freedom to debate any issue what the US is supposed to be all about? So sit down with those who want your input, have a beer or two, and talk. How difficult can it be?

And those terrorists? They've been around a long time in Europe, you just felt "safer" before because you didn't realize they were lurking there. But above all consider this--a life lived in fear is a life half lived.

Things you should keep in mind that make Europe different:

• Europe is "older" - Ok, it's culturally older than political America. Lots of things have happened in that span of time. Many wars have been fought on European soil and a great deal of effort has gone into avoiding another one. Fascism has been tried and its failures and horrors exposed. People are encouraged to debate politics in open forums and don't "feel bad" about having a fist-pounding session of intense political debate and then shaking hands as friends afterwards. Social revolutions have taken place over distribution of wealth so that social policy tends toward equality and enhancing the social contract.
• Europe has had to deal with terrorist acts for many years - People have been forced to deal and live with these events. They've been exposed numerous times to the fragility of life on earth. The US, by contrast, has experienced few incidences of terrorist actions and thus lives in greater horror of them.
• Europe is densely populated - Policies have evolved to help people live together in harmony. There isn't enough land to give people guns and have them defend their piece of the pie. Europe isn't Texas.
• The political spectrum in Europe is wider and more fully populated. The rest of the world isn't as committed to standing at the far edges of the political spectrum and flinging personal attacks at the other side as Americans are. Answers do not need to come only from the radical right or left. Europeans resent the arrogance of the US's binary position "You're either with us or you're with the terrorists" because it is calculated to leave thinking people and alternative solutions out of the equation.
• Religion and Politics are kept farther apart in Europe -- Popes have had a hand in running things in the past and it didn't go all that well. Perhaps Europeans realize that the kingdom of God is a perfect totalitarian state run by a benevolent dictator and that mere mortals are highly unlikely to be intelligent enough to replicate the perfection of that system on earth. That they choose not to try to do so is as much a sign of respect toward God as it is a sign of good common sense, it seems to me.
• European Governments are unstable--people have to keep returning to the polls to elect a new one. Yes, it's largely true for the countries who've suffered through fascist governments. You see, these countries have set up systems which are intentionally designed to have relatively weak leadership so that a single person, like say Adolf Hitler, can only go so far in such a system. And that's good, isn't it? The US was formed on these same balance-of-power principles but seems to be deviating from them as people become convinced that the threat of terrorism trumps freedom and requires a strong leader to counter. It's dangerous ground, it seems to me.

That's enough. I've ticked you off sufficiently so I'm outta here. Why not write me and tell me what European subject you'd like me to rant about next week?