Travel expert Rick Steves promotes diversity and supports NORML
By Alex Distefano
Rick Steves might just have the most exhausting schedule in North America. Or Europe. Or South America. Or Asia and the Middle East for that matter. Aside from being a traveler as both a hobby and a profession, Steves spends approximately half of each year abroad working on television shows, hosting his own radio show, writing numerous books and travel guides and exploring the globe, one country at a time. Steves, 56, lives in Washington and owns his own travel agency/production company. He’s written over 40 travel guidebooks, hosted over 100 travel shows for public television (i.e. Rick Steves’ Europe) and has a syndicated column dedicated to travel. Steves recently took time out of his hectic schedule to chat with CULTURE about his perspective on how traveling around the globe can reduce cultural misunderstandings and resentment—and even terrorism. He also spoke about his role in NORML.
With everything you do, from traveling, TV, radio, writing and more, what gives you the drive?
Well, mostly I enjoy my work, and love what I do. This is my hobby, and I live to teach people how to travel. It’s important, as Americans, not to become frightened of traveling out of the country. It’s just such a shame that many live in a constant state of fear . . . The most important souvenir is a broader perspective of the world.
With current events, are you worried at all when you travel? Are there any countries you would not travel to?
I don’t live my life in a set mode of fear. There are lots of countries I wouldn’t travel to at this time. I would not go to, obviously, Libya, Afghanistan or anything like that where it’s just too dangerous. But I am not afraid to go places. I have been to Iran, Nicaragua and El Salvador, throughout Europe, Asia and South America and beyond. The key is to just use common sense while traveling. Usually where I go there are no major problems. I go to places we’re all told we’re not supposed to go to learn, and it’s a benefit for all future world travelers. To celebrate the diversity we all have is a good thing. To stop traveling, we’d actually increase terrorism. Traveling has made me realize that we’re all in this together.
Tell us about your involvement with NORML.
Well, I want to preface this by telling you, I am not pro pot. But I [have been] a NORML board member for 10 years now, and I try to inject some European perspective into the whole equation because in my travels I have witnessed and experienced certain countries and how they handle their drug policies.
I don’t stand for giving pot, alcohol or any drug for that matter to children, and if you drive under the influence and cause an accident, they should throw the book at you.
The reason I support NORML’s goals is because I feel that the responsible adult use of cannabis is a civil liberty. There are a lot of parallels to the prohibition of marijuana today, and the prohibition of alcohol in the ‘20s.
The decriminalization of this plant would virtually take out all crime associated with the drug at the organized level . . . I promote a policy prompted by pragmatic reduction, rather than [one based] on incarceration. This is much like many countries in Europe, in particular Portugal, where drugs have been legal for 10 years, and they have reported a drastic decrease in drug abuse and related crimes. Also, if marijuana were legal, law enforcement might have time to focus more on narcotics like heroin.
The only reason that marijuana is, for some, a “gateway drug” is because of its illegality. This would change if the drug were made legal for responsible adults.
www.ricksteves.com.
Globetrotting
For Rick Steves, traveling the globe can actually reduce terrorism, a point he makes in his latest book, Travel as a Political Act. From his book: “Travelers have a priceless opportunity to see our country through the eyes of other people. I still have the American Dream. But I also respect and celebrate other dreams.”
