From the publisher
I hadn’t traveled much. I’d lived in a few different places, seen a few states, and only stepped outside the United States once. I thought I had a good grasp of the world yet it was much more than I could have thought from reading so many books about places.
Then I met a woman who saw travel not as a luxury, but as a necessity. For her, stepping onto foreign soil wasn’t just about leisure—it was about learning. About stretching your soul. About seeing the world not through headlines or hearsay, but through your own eyes. Thanks to her, my passport began to fill up. And so did my perspective.
Traveling has transformed each of us—and more importantly, it has shaped our children in profound ways. They don’t fear difference; they welcome it. They don’t assume the American way is the only way. They know that beauty wears many faces, speaks many languages, and cooks with many spices.
There’s something magical that happens when you stand in a bustling street market in Jerusalem or sip coffee in a quiet café in Greece or simply exchange smiles with a stranger on a street in Italy. You begin to see just how rich, textured, and deeply human the world is. You realize your way of thinking isn’t the only way—or even always the best way. You start asking better questions. You listen more. You judge less.
And yet, despite all the proof that cultural exchange makes us better—kinder, smarter, more adaptable—there remains a fear in this country of what happens when cultures mix. It’s an old fear, as tired as it is unfounded. We saw it when the Irish immigrants came. We saw it when the Italian immigrants arrived. We see it now with new waves of immigrants who only want the same shot at freedom and prosperity that our ancestors received. While my wife’s family was most definitely arriving on American shores with English lace and probably ties to royalty, my ancestors most likely had wanted posters up in the country they fled.
The truth is, America has always been a country of blended identities. That’s our strength, not our weakness. When cultures meet, they don’t erase each other—they enrich each other. The fear that one way of life will replace another misses the bigger picture. What actually happens, when done with openness and respect, is something far more powerful: We grow. The rounding up of families and zip tying young children’s hands as they strive to come here legally yet are met at the courts by handcuffs is not a great America – it is literally the opposite.
In a moment when so much of our national conversation seems to retreat inward—build walls, close borders, protect “our” culture—it’s worth reminding ourselves what we lose when we turn our backs on the world. We lose creativity. We lose empathy. We lose opportunity.
Travel, whether physical or cultural, is not about escape. It’s about encounter. It teaches us to see what’s beautiful in places far from home—and in people who might seem different at first. If we can carry that lesson back with us, we’ll be better neighbors, better citizens, and better humans.
So let the cultures mix. Let the accents blend. Let the flavors fuse. Our country will not lose itself in the exchange. It will find itself again.
Editor’s note: Joseph McCain is the publisher of The Winston County, Journal and Choctaw Plaindealer & Webster Progress Times. He has worked in the newspaper industry for over 30 years and may be reached at 662-803-5236 or email newsroomwinstoncountyjournal.com
