The more you travel, the more you begin to notice the paradoxes, ironies, and injustices that characterize the world. While some are comical, others are disturbing. If more widely known, they would surely inspire change.
After 8 years of backpacking and over 60 countries, below are just a few of the paradoxes I’ve noticed.
1) Too many Indians spend hundreds of dollars to bleach themselves white. White Californian girls spend hundreds to burn themselves dark.
2) In most of the hottest countries in the world, Sudan, El Salvador, Malaysia, to name a few, it’s a cultural taboo to wear shorts.
2) Christian and Buddhist based terrorism is just as prevalent and violent throughout history as Islamic.
3) The poorest people often give the most.
4) Billions of people would kill for a passport, visas, and the chance to travel the world. Americans would rather travel through their television sets.
5) Famous Harvard based International Relations scholar Samuel Huntington believes the world is doomed to a Clash Of Civilizations. In reality, he’s the only one doing the clashing.
6) While many Arab taxi drivers get a bad rap for their smelly cabs, most Arabs maintain a high level of personal hygiene and wash themselves multiple times a day before prayer.
Ethiopian women traveling to Saudi Arabia to work as servants
7) Although Scandinavians are on average taller than the rest of us, they use some of the smallest blankets.
8) Switzerland has one of the lowest rates of gun related deaths but one of the highest rates of gun ownership.
9) Some of the countries with the strictest immigration policies, the US, Australia, and dare I say modern Israel, were born out of immigration.
9) The west tries to develop countries before asking them whether they even want diabetes, heart disease, long working hours, short vacations and iCraps.
10) We all think we’re so different from one another when the only real differences are the differences we create.
If you can think of anymore paradoxes, ironies, or inequalities from around the world, post them in the comments below!