Flying For All
November 2018 Editorial
www.ink2quill.com

Traveling really is a modern phenomenon. What I mean is the option of traveling anywhere in the world by nearly anyone in the developed world is a modern phenomenon. People from developing economies struggle economically in their daily lives so they have yet to enjoy this privilege, but they will of course. I spoke to a friend in Southeast Asia a few months ago who dreamed of seeing snow. She had traveled around Asia but had never seen snow. I told her that one of the best places to see snow for the first time was in Finland because of how clean a country it was. I would eat the snow there. So last I heard she was planning a trip to Finland.

In middle age Europe most people never traveled because most were serfs, which is another word for slave. The average person in middle age Europe never left the 30 km radius of where they were born. So they were born, married and worked  in the same village or town their whole lives. Also most people in middle age couldn´t read or write  and so got their news by word of mouth either from neighbors, the churches they attended or the marketplace. Did you know that the average person in middle age Europe had the sum total of life experiences and knowledge of one newspaper, like the New York Times. I suspect Asia was the same way but I really don´t know for sure.

When the Industrial Revolution swept the Western World many great inventions became popular and changed the course of history forever. The steam engine, later combustion engines, energy harnessing technologies like the light bulb and battery were all revolutionary and it is the application of these inventions that brought the ability for the few to travel. Because traveling long distances was a privilege only the few had. In the 1960s the average flight across the Atlantic Ocean was several months salary for the average person. Flying was a luxury for the rich and powerful. Sure in the mid 20th century you had busses and trains but flight was still a thing of luxury. People dreamed of visiting places like Venice, Paris and Marrakesh.

Fast forward to today, 2018 the 21st century, when anyone and everyone can fly. So relatives who live far away can be visited. Famous tourist destinations and exotic places can be visited. This sounds like a wonderful privilege and it is in most cases. I remember the days of flying before 9-11. Airports were a place free of paranoia and flying was so fun. But the face of the average traveler has changed. It seems that gone are the days of people traveling well dressed and on their best behaviour.

What about the people who cannot behave themselves on flights, especially long flights? I spent almost an entire evening the other day watching videos of people from many different countries misbehaving on flights. These people were shouting, fighting and basically treating others like crap. Now I know that planes nowadays are cramped and this makes long flights hard but these people were just nuts. One woman wanted to open the emergency door because she felt her rights were not respected. She was wrong. Another guy started a physical fight with a man he did not even know. Some of these people have to be physically removed from the flight when that is possible but what about when the  plane is in the air? That is a dangerous situation. Don´t you think?

I wish flying was fun the way it used to be. Let´s make flying fun again like it used to be.

John 

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