Badlands
The Badlands National Park, located on the south western edge of the great plains in South Dakota. I took these shots a day after a blizzard hit the area and the temperature was hovering around -20 degrees C. This National Park preserves 242,756 acres of sharply eroded buttes, pinnacles, and spires blended with the largest protected mixed grass prairie in the United States.
If this area of South Dakota could speak it could surely spin an elaborate yarn. For 11,000 years it was used as hunting grounds for the Native Americans, it was the site for Ghost Dances which were intended to re-unite the dead with the living, it was around this area that the great clashes between Plains Indians and US military took place, and its last owner was the United States Airforce who used it as a bomb and gunnery range. It was also the back drop for the 1990 classic Dances With Wolves.
And just in case you were wondering, it's the site of the re-introduction of the Black-Footed Ferret.
As I travel around America I am continually surprised by its rugged beauty and this leads me nicely onto the topic of this weeks blog.
You may or may not be aware that only 38% of Americans own a passport. To put this into context, 2 out of every 3 Americans can't even fly to Canada.
You may have read the above statistic and thought how backward it is that a civilised country has so few passports in circulation.
You may have a smug grin on your face right now, you're probably quietly chuckling under your breath, and thinking how those silly introverted Americans are so simple.
Maybe your right.....Or maybe your wrong?
Now I know I'm stating the obvious but America is HUGE! America is a federal constitutional republic consisting of 50 states and a federal district. The 50 states have a vast diversity that in some cases exceeds that of European countries.
The topographical features of North America include: mountain ranges, plateaus, plains, deserts, vast lakes and several oceans. Tax on fuel makes car ownership relatively cheap and they have a well maintained road network. So you could say they have everything they need in their own backyard, and the means to see it.
However, the US is surrounded by nearly 2000 miles of water, and this can make international air travel inaccessible for many. Americans get less annual holidays than we do in Europe, with around 2 weeks being average. Exchange rates for the dollar aren't great and the yanks usually come off worse.
In some cases, I think you could argue that the domestic media skews the perceptions of some Americans to other countries and cultures. I saw a piece on CNN a few months ago that made me cringe. The piece made great fan fair of a primary school where mothers had removed there children from an infant Yoga class, because they claimed it was "enforced hinduism".
In Europe we have a competitive budget airline industry and more annual holidays. The distances between a multitude of countries are comparatively short, so we think nothing of flying around the continent for a short break.
The British have travel woven into their DNA. We had an Empire to explore and we often travelled overseas to seek our fortune.
However, in the UK we have a dickensian road and rail network. It's often quicker to fly to another country to escape the stresses of UK living than it is to drive to another county. Our "summers" are pretty much one day events, and the effects of global warming have left us in perpetual autumn.
The strength of stirling works against us in our own country too. How often have you heard people say, it was cheaper to fly to the Costa Del Sol for a month than it was to spend the weekend in Minehead watching the redcoats perform cabaret at Butlins.
Is it possible that if we were happier with our own country we'd be less likely to leave at the drop of a hat?
Does the fact the majority of Americans don't travel internationally make them culturally inept?
Does a lack of travel mean Americans have a lesser understanding of other religions and creeds?
Does a lack of travel mean Americans are less sceptical of politicians and their motives?
Are we as Europeans any wiser for all our jet-setting?
In a word.... No.
The people I've gotten to know in the 3 months I've spent here so far have blown all my preconceptions out of the water. The "real Americans" I've met have the same hopes and fears as everybody else, and they have the same issues with government regarding both foreign and domestic policy. A lack of foreign travel hasn't made them any less liberal than any Europeans I've met, nor has it made them any less globally aware.
It seems Americans are extremely well catered for in their own country, this means they're less likely to seek pastures new. After all, this is the land of the free and the home of the brave...
