I Can See Turkey From My Balcony - But is it Too Easy?

Today a couple of us tallied up how many flights we will have taken by the end of our J-term trip. Our final count was 8; 2 to get to Athens, 2 to get to Corfu and back (to Athens), 2 to get to Rhodes and back, and 2 to get back home.

Since arriving in Rhodes this afternoon, I have been thinking quite a bit about the capabilities of flight and how proximate everything in the world now seems. Here is what I have come up with:

The Good - Air travel has allowed for an endlessly linked globe, where nothing is out of reach. For a relatively inexpensive fee, people can buy their way into different geographies, customs, and cultures, essentially going anywhere they please (as long as they have the money). I can entertain the idea that this is beneficial because it has the capacity to broaden people’s world-views and present them with a sense of perspective. Flight has also allowed families and friends a form of communication that no other option (Skype, Facebook, email, phone, you name it) can offer; in a matter of hours, I can be standing in the same room as my aunt and uncle who were previously thousands of miles away. In this case, the option of flight is remarkably convenient and justifiable.

The Bad - However, I think that modern day air travel has a tendency to simplify cultures and the scale down the size of the world. The ease of use and the immediacy of flying to/from a destination fits perfectly into conventional American expectations; we have the desire for everything to be as quick and painless as possible. The truth is that flight has made travel substantially more mindless, and consequently, people are able to take for granted the places they go and the experiences they have. As I reflect on my travel from Athens to Rhodes, it almost doesn’t even seem fair that I can hop over to the most Eastern Greek island in less time than it would take for me to watch a feature-length movie about the Greek islands. It just makes the world seem so small, especially when you can “see Turkey from your balcony”.

All in all, I’m still not quite sure where I stand on this issue, however I do sometimes think that things should be a little tougher than this.