Letter to the editor

Cultured Americans often can’t, don’t need
to travel

Lara Loewenstein has probably taken many family trips and
digital pictures of her world endeavors.

But I found her treatment of Americans who don’t think
other cultures are “worth our time or effort”
(“Americans should travel more,” Viewpoint, Jan. 11) to
be immature and lacking understanding of the American institution
of class.

While, fortunately for some groups of people, having the money
to travel is a privilege worth acting on, for many Americans,
travel is a privilege that cannot be afforded.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 35.9 million Americans live
in poverty.

But while Loewenstein may think that “Americans, while
having the money, don’t feel the need to leave their own
country,” many Americans don’t have the money or the
need.

Loewenstein’s intro says roughly 75 percent of the people
in the United Kingdom have a passport.

Of course ““ I would have a passport too if Paris was only
200 miles away. But the distance from Los Angeles to Paris is 5,661
miles.

And the people of the United Kingdom can get there by car.

Throughout her article, Loewenstein passes incredible judgment
on Americans who aren’t traveling abroad.

She seems to know and understand exactly what Americans are
feeling.

I agree that “experiencing other cultures first-hand is a
form of education that can’t be achieved through books and
studying,” but did it ever cross her mind that there are
cultures and groups of people who live right in this country and
who many Americans have not yet experienced?

Don’t pass your judgments on Americans whose circumstances
you may not know.

Raena Valenzuela Fourth-year, women’s
studies