In case it escaped you, much of the motivation of governments to put on a big show December 3lst as the old year gave way to the new was the desire to increase tourism. Thus we saw the French, the British and the Egyptians, among many others, stage elaborate events. If you watched the Pasadena Rose Parade, you will have noticed that many of the floats were from foreign nations and other sites all of whom there for the purpose of getting you and the family to come visit. Tourism and the necessity to insure the safety tourists require will do much to spur the fight against those terrorists who have targeted nations like Egypt for the purpose of affecting their tourism dollars. Neither the Palestinians, nor the Israelis want more acts of terrorism and, in fact, Jerusalem was a very quiet place, indeed, as the New Year dawned.
Tourists represent a significant flow of dollars to merchants and nations.
And that s a good thing. The irony of this is the way the flow of tourists into and around nations will serve to augment a search for ways to achieve tranquility within the borders of those nations. It will also serve to stimulate, as does the Internet, the exchange of information and ideas that will change the hearts and minds of people. For the record, Warning Signs is Copyright protected by Alan Caruba, 2000. Permission to quote in whole or in part is granted and you may share Warning Signs with friends without requesting permission.