Last night’s episode of No Reservations took Bourdain to Laos. It’s a tiny little country in Asia and it’s absolutely stunning. The views are gorgeous, the temples, and even the humble homes of it’s residents are picturesque. However, in all this beauty lies something sinister.
Laos was involved in the Vietnam war and thus was not only bombed constantly but still remains riddled with bombs hiding under the ground. Decades after the war people’s lives are still being torn apart, literally and figuratively, by these bombs that the US hasn’t bothered to clean out. Instead small teams of dedicated independent individuals come and meticulously work to remove and detonate each and every single bomb. This has taken years and they are not even close to ridding their country’s land of all of them.
What was so affecting about this episode, and part of what in my opinion makes Bourdain so different from all the rest of the travel show hosts is that he is never afraid to forget about the show and focus on the human story. There were moments in this episode that were so heart wrenching. It had nothing to do with food or travel but instead it had to do with another human being’s suffering. You felt your heart aching along with Bourdain.
And on this significant day I just want to say that this is why it’s so important to vote. This is the reason why people in other countries are sobbing when they put their ballot in the box for the first time. Because it actually means something. Because your ballot, plus my ballot, plus that guys ballot means the difference between something like what happened with Laos happening again or not.
Don’t take this for granted. Don’t think of voting rights as something trivial. Don’t take for granted that we live in one of the most well organized and governed countries in the world. Make the most of your power.
I saw a bumper sticker the other day that said “I don’t know where the next war is going to be but I’m already against it.”
Ditto.
