Henry Rollins: America, Meet the Rest of the World

What’s the Big Idea? 

The myth of the fat, humpbacked American tourist still prevails around the world. We are often looked at as weekend warriors – cozy in our dens, making quick, scampering trips to unfamiliar places and returning with snapshots for our family album. In reality, only 35% of Americans had a valid passport in 2011. Trips abroad are few and far between, especially now that households are tightening their grips on budgets. Understanding the world around us, from small things such as language barriers, to large concepts such as poverty and age-old feuds, requires that we make more of an effort to walk down different streets. In this interview with Big Think, Henry Rollins talks about how important it is to travel, and how his time on the ground around the world has allowed him to connect more deeply with the issues he cares about and break stereotypes while doing it.