So throw off the bowlines. Set sail from safe harbor. Catch the tradewinds in your sail. Explore. Dream. Discover. ~Twain
The U.S. State Department today extended its travel warning to Mexico, saying “security concerns are particularly acute in the northern border region” in large measure due to the activities of trans-national criminal organizations vying for control of drug trafficking routes.
I long ago de-energized my efforts of persuading Mex-phobic types on the safety of my new neighborhood.
All in my immediate family and many of my friends have visited and enjoyed the great weather, ocean scene, culture and food in Ensenada.
My octogenarian mother recently visited. Her most frightful experience? She was put off by the interrogation by U.S. Customs and Border clerks when I drove her back across to the U.S. for her return flight to Orlando.
Orlando is one city to avoid. Lucky for my mother, she lives an hour north of that cesspool.
U.S. citizen xenophobia is nourished daily via the nightly news. Affirmation is plentiful via network news, but, information is droughtful.
60% of Canadians hold a valid passport and 75% of those in the UK have valid passports. Compare that with 30% of us cowboys. An insular and arrogant U.S. culture keeps most from adventuring out into that dangerous world.
Looks like some people still live, visit and become murder victims in Detroit, Baltimore, Newark, Saint Louis and New Orleans. Cheers.
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[...] But, as this caricature of USA hubris displays, how can you claim NUMERO UNO, when you haven’t even visited your competition? USA citizens have little international experience compared with the rest of the developed world, per my April 2011 post. [...]