The World is NOT our Themepark!

The idea that we can jet over to some country and vacation like normal tourists is over. When David Rockefeller went missing and presumed eaten and head shrunk we should have known better, but we were sold a bill of goods. We were told over and over that TWA would give us a pillow and a blanket then we'd alight on some foreign runway, disembark and get a taxi to a luxury hotel. See the sights and the sites, get a souvenir, a few drinks, take some photos or purchase picture postcards with the cute local currency... HA!

When terrorists struck at Luxor in 1997 or when Nancy Holloway got ganked in Aruba - a message is sent and hopefully received. When news that a child perv possibly linked to the death of a pageant contestant, with an odd stage marm of a mother, was caught in Thailand, are we simply shocked or underwhelmed by the awful truth about ourselves? As long as tourists are mugged and raped here in America, we should not be surprised when it happens anywhere else? The world is not our themepark. Kicking an underpaid college dropout in a Goofy outfit might be funny in Orlando, but halfway across the globe, it could be the last act of a selfish and stupid American tourist.

UPDATE: The "Hostel" movies prove out this idea that we should stop treating foreign lands like our playground.