I recently received an e-mail from someone which included a link to a US Government website where you can find travel warnings. The page included where and where not to go in Mexico. In summary: don’t go to Mexico, you will get kidnapped and die.
I would like to share a revised version of my response e-mail.
Dear loved one,
I appreciate your concern and I know you worry and care about me. I’m writing you to let you know, I’m offended by your ignorance.
You know what’s more dangerous then traveling in Mexico? Not living at all. Living in constant fear of death. Having regrets. Fear causes depression, anxiety and premature death.
Some other dangerous things? Not seeing the world with your own eyes, trusting a manipulated Google search to tell you where is safe. We are programmed to use google instead of our own gut instincts. We see the world through computer screens and television. That itself is dangerous and deserves a warning label. We are taught to be afraid of 3rd world countries, gangs, drugs, murder, “scary things,” but the number one cause of death in the United States is cardiovascular disease, caused by stress and poor diet. The American food corporations are feeding us poison and we trust the United States to keep us safe when their businesses are the ones killing us.
I refuse to trust a travel warning website administered by the United States. I could easily send you warnings about the things you eat or the way you live your life, but I don’t. Although I don’t agree with some of your choices, I respect your lifestyle. Please don’t send me travel warnings or project your fear on me.
I love you and I hope my open honesty can further our relationship.
With Love,
Courtney
Screw Travel Warnings
I think a lot of times my first reaction is to be silent, “you can’t change people” is what I’ve been told. Just shut-up and listen. Especially parents, grandparents, elders– they are “set in their ways.” I feel it is an expectation to not argue or share your point of view. In my family I have been warned to hide my tattoos, pretend you’re not having sex, don’t talk about your opposing religious views, etc. I have heard whispers about how I am irresponsible for traveling and not using my college education. I’m the crazy one for budget traveling/backpacking outside of the United States. People spend thousands of dollars to leave the US for one week to lay on a beach surrounded by other Americans. That is our normal.
Cheers to the day when I am the majority. When American youth are encouraged to get a passport, get the hell out of the US, and check out all the beautiful (and tragic) things in the world.
Thank you to the friend who sent me that e-mail. It sparked my fire and reminded me exactly why I am traveling.
“We prefer to hide in our personal jungles and caves. We may think that we have quieted our fear, but we are actually making ourselves numb with fear. We surround ourselves with our own familiar thoughts, so that nothing sharp or painful can touch us. We are so afraid of our own fear that we deaden our hearts.” – Chogyam Trungpa
Planning a trip to Mexico? Check out, How To Learn Spanish for Free, Hitchhike Mexico, and Free Ways to Travel The World!
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