Cruise Reviews, Ship Reviews by The Avid Cruiser

There is a scene in the 1980 movie “The Gods Must Be Crazy” when a Coca Cola bottle falls from the sky onto Africa’s Kalahari Desert. The bottle, which was tossed out of an airplane, is found by a tribe that has no knowledge of the world beyond. Once exposed to the strange artifact, however, the tribe begins to deteriorate, as they experience never before known emotions: jealousy, anger, envy, hatred and even violence.

Today, the American landscape is being littered in a similar fashion, as the media’s barrage of bad news exposes us to a world that only a year ago was alien to us. That world, while not the perfect utopia, was sufficiently pleasurable and secure. In a story now told countless times and in countless ways, that world began to unravel with the burst of the housing bubble.

While it’s true that the media did not create the crisis (some, understandably, would argue that they contributed), the media machine is so pervasive that it hinders progress being made toward the recovery. A variety of media outlets constantly assaults our senses and arouses emotions that are inconsistent with the American spirit: You know, that can-do, optimistic attitude that we can and will find a solution for any problem. With media ubiquitous, we live in a nation of the uber-informed. To wit, a Google search for the phrase “financial crisis” returns 56,500,000 results. Everyone, it seems, has something to say about the gloom and doom.

Of course, putting the news in our face 24/7 is the charge of media marketing departments, whose commercial sponsors contribute billions of dollars in annual revenue to keep the media machine pumping. Thus, uninvited, the media’s messages come falling into our world, like the Coke bottle on the African desert. Daily, we’re inundated. No wonder we’re worn out.

It is interesting to contemplate for both us and the fictional African tribe, how life might proceed were we not constantly exposed to the “littered” landscape. Is ignorance, as the saying goes, indeed bliss?

No one would deny that we need to remain responsible and vigilant given the current state of affairs, but do we need to know every morsel of news? Can’t we just turn it off and relax a bit?

There are many who have their eyes and ears glued to CNBC, but not everyone is living a “blow by blow” of the crisis. A few months ago during a visit to Canada’s stunningly beautiful Saguenay Fjord, a hotel clerk in La Bai, Quebec, said of the lifestyle in her small town, “We know how to breathe.” Maybe it’s time for us to take a breath.

Princess Cruises tells us that we should “Escape Completely.” That too is a refreshingly sound sentiment.

“One’s destination is not a place,” wrote the novelist Henry Miller, “but a new way of seeing things.” Indeed travel forces us to shift perspective, not only of the way we view the world but also of the way we view ourselves. There’s more than a grain of truth in what folk singer Jimmy Buffett is trying to convey when he croons that “changes in latitudes” bring about “changes in attitudes.”

Because I make my living advocating travel, it would be self-serving to list the reasons why you should travel now, but desperate times call for desperate measures, so consider these final words a reminder.

By traveling, you contribute to getting the economy going again. I am not suggesting that you forego the mortgage payment to go on a luxury cruise, but if you can afford to travel, do so. Not only will you get a bargain but also you will be helping to create jobs — or allowing someone keep theirs. So instead of feeling guilty for traveling, feel guilty for not traveling.

Maybe you’re thinking your money is better invested elsewhere. There are, of course, opportunities in this new economy. But how do you compare a stock portfolio to standing on your balcony marveling at the Norwegian fjords, Alaskan glaciers or ancient Greek ruins?

These places are not only magical, but they are restorative and far, far away from the chatter and noise that obstructs not only the economy’s recovery but our own recovery from a world that has moved too fast for far too long.

Escape (completely) and find something you thought you may have lost long ago — the pure and essential you.

Considered River Cruising? Visit our sister site, River Cruiser Advisor, or click on the banners below for special offers.