The belief that humanity is encompassed within a single community is called cosmopolitanism. A philosophy with ancient roots, its lineage begins with Diogenes: when asked where he came from, he answered, “I am a citizen of the world.”

Cosmopolitan has come to mean “worldly” or “sophisticated” (a word itself derived from the love of wisdom), but in the original sense meant a universal love for all people that rejects borders.

Since his declaration, cosmopolitanism has become a banner for the globally conscious – a dedication to preserving dialogue and variety among all ways of life. It has found many adherents throughout the ages, notably in the work of Immanuel Kant, who long ago predicted a union of nations to end war (the forerunner of today’s United Nations).

What? Far too many assumptions, and those are erroneous at best. Cosmopolitan has nothing to do with rejection of borders. If anything, being cosmopolitan requires the full recognition of borders; cosmopolitan is defined as having worldwide international sophistication. Now how can one have international anything without nations? And nations are determined by borders.

I can be philosophical, and I can be a traveler. I can even be a philosophical traveler (and I think I am). But this travelphilosophism (a newly invented word, thank you) is a ridiculous assumption. It breaks down the very essence of travel, which is to visit a different place filled with different people, events, traditions, etc.

After going off on numerous platonic tangents, the post wildly continues.

There are endless opportunities for the discovery of new and mutual cultures on the roads that bind us together – for every stone in the walls of fear and apathy, there’s a traveler to break it down.

Cosmopolitanism is a fluid, tenuous idea, threatened often by patriotic fervor and the blindness of dogma.

But it is also a bold and optimistic statement – one that declares citizenship to a state which defies supremacy, transcending any one nation to close the spaces between us.

The traveler nation is the global echo of Diogenes, the actual moment of cosmopolitanism. It is the thrill of finding oneself among fellow seekers all, on the fringes that compose the City of Humanity.

Do you see what I mean when I detect underlying assumptions? If we are all the same and all the same is us, why travel? There is a deficient view of the basic definition of “nation” here. People in groups are often defined by their borders, specifically, their geographic borders. It is within these borders that culture, tradition, dress, food, and etc develop.

And people within nations do not war because they “misunderstand” each other. They don’t even war because they “hate” each other (hate usually comes later). They war because of conflict or greed. World travelers will never change that, because world travelers will never change the heart of mankind (which is bent on conflict and greed).

I dislike posts like this because it makes the simple and enjoyable adventure of travel into a “political” action with “political” repercussions.

I’m still forming my thoughts on this. Stay tuned for the continuing saga…

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Expecting Too Much, AKA Travelphilosophism

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