The new documentary film by the irrepressible Michael Moore, "Where to Invade Next", now playing at movie houses all over the nation, was obviously meant to convey a political message, and is therefore not a simple travelogue. But it makes a perhaps-unintended point that travel is a device that can expand our political consciousnss.
Let me explain:
When most of us travel to Europe, we go there to encounter that continent's cultural treasures: museums, art galleries, theaters, historic monuments, the homes of great scientists, writers, musicians and artists, even cuisine. We immerse ourselves in those cultural attractions.
But some of us now believe--as I do--that a trip to Europe can also be valuable in showing us how other people have attempted to solve their social and economic problems: We learn of their political policies and programs, their legislation and rules, the organization of their governments. We do this not necessarily because we think their solutions are better than ours, but for the purpose of comparing those programs to ours and learning from their achievements or mistakes. In my new book, "Arthur Frommer's Europe", I make a big point out of the use of travel to learn from the institutions that prevail in various European nations.
Michael Moore, in his latest documentary film, does the same, but in a far more partisan sense than I earlier did in my new book. In several countries, he interviews the executives of large factories and firms who believe that more generous policies of vacations and time off are actually beneficial to their companies: long vacation periods, long lunch times, shorter work hours, creating better and more skillful production. He tells of both female and male employees who receive long leaves of absence to take care of newborn children.
He takes us to several European nations where college is free of charge and students graduate without heavy debt obligations. He takes us to Finland, where charging for tuition is illegal, thus requiring that all children, including rich children, attend public schools. In that same nation, students do not receive homework, and are not made to take standardized tests, thus resulting--they claim--in better educated children. He emphasizes the single-payer European health programs that entitle all citizens to receive free medical attention, and have thus resulted in a citizenry with far higher longevity than us..
He goes to Norway and studies its penal systems which stress correction rather than punishment, and discharge inmates who have a far lesser history of committing further crimes. He travels to Germany where employees and workers occupy seats on the boards of major corporations, resulting--they claim--in better-motivated employees and workers, and less labor strife.
How does the American tourist gain access to these practices and institutions, for the purpose of making up their own minds, pro or con, about whether these programs and policies should be installed within the United States? There are several European nations where the headquarters of political parties, both liberal and conservative, are open to outside visits, as I believe is the case with the British labor and conservative party headquarters in London.
A great many European countries also maintain "institutes", supplying information to visiting outsiders about political and other practices of their nation. At the Swedish Institute in downtown Stockholm, English-language brochures are distributed free to tourists, explaining the unique social and economic policies of that rich country.
But much more important, tourists have the opportunity to engage their European hosts in conversation--to inquire of them about their agreement or disagreement with innovative
policies of their nation. The willingness of Europeans to talk--to express themselves at length--is a characteristic that any curious tourist will soon discover if they take the time to pose questions to the Europeans they meet...
Meanwhile, to watch a documentary film that is, for better or worse, a travelogue for Europe-bound Americans, you need only go to see Michael Moore's "Where to Invade Next".