Hey - put on the brakes SaraLou. This is not my cause! As I stated, I have not decided to stop travelling. In fact, I am on this website to investigate possibilities for the three trips I am in the process of planning for this year. But I was surprised that in this post, everyone was speaking about not letting fear spoil their good time, but no one considered whether they should actually be having a good time. Living in NYC, I remember my own mixed feelings about this after Sept. 11, and it is something I have been thinking about again as I contemplate the mounting possibility of more American casualties. I am surprised that others aren't considering it. That's all.

And P.S. - Thanks Coco.

Yes, Beachbum, that is my point too. You said it so well. If you want to sacrifice, why not do something to actually make a difference? One way I can add, because my sister used to volumteer for them, is the Navy Relief Fund. It helps the family of servicemen and women who are away on missions when there is a family emergency. As I understand it, they offer monetary assistance as well as assistance in contacting the serviceperson in an emergency. I believe Navy Relief is available to other branches of service too but I could be mistaken on that.

Tommy, I was in the army and in Vietnam.
From what I know people at home didn't hang their heads and mourn for those of us who were there facing it every day.

What I remember mostly about the news at home were people "protesting" the war, not about how america was doing without travel, this, that, etc. I always have wondered how it would be to "protest" a war when you are safe and sound at home and no one really trying to kill you.

I guess the point is, I would support our troops no matter what, as they will go and do what's ordered of them.I will hope for the best for them, share their concerns and fears. But I will live my live as normally as possible while they are there.

I agree with Saralou, traveling puts money back into the economy and war will hit the economy hard. Also, we are fighting for a safe free nation so, that we can continue to travel at our will. Feeling guilty and not traveling seems to only defeat the purpose.

Agree with Trisha and others also. If we started feeling guilty about traveling we should feel guilty about homelessness and so many of the nation's problems we can't control. It is important for those who can afford it to spend right now, I certainly do not want the airlines to go bankrupt. Hopefully if people continue to travel it will help others in the industry get their jobs back.

A lot of Americans employed in the travel industry depend on a robust travel sector for their continued employment, i.e., to be a tax-paying contributor to the economy and not dependent on welfare or other assistance. Many individuals lost their livelihoods after 9/11 and I hope more (including myself) aren't doomed to the same fate.

I'll weigh in --

In my opinion, not traveling does not constitute a "sacrifice" for the troops stationed overseas.

I don't agree with this war, but I feel for the soldiers and their families regardless. However, not traveling won't do a thing to improve their situation.

GW has done enough to hurt the economy and a war will just make it worse -- the best thing I can do for the U.S. is get out there and spend some $$$ on travel.

Many excellent points in an intelligent discussion. Thanks.

What I can't believe is all the Euro-trash and liberals who criticize Bush have said nothing about how Fodors is now indexing by each individual poster. In all the talk about registration no one thought about this. Are you all brain dead? Aren't you outraged by this?

If the board wasn't dying before -- which it was, with shockingly low response rates -- it's dead for sure now.

RIP -- the Fodor's board. Where rational people USED to meet.

What are you talking about - indexing ??

I finally found a reply which I really enjoy. I have to give Topper a great big hand and congratulate him for his reply. I think the remark that the Japanese might bomb Pearl Harbor again is hilarious. Topper must have a great sense of humor. This is a reply which is benign and doesn't hurt anyone, yet makes a great point.

Well, Magnus, let me be the first to burst your bubble. I have just cancelled my scheduled trip to London next summer. I have done this on the advice of my (conservative) aunt who reminded me that "We are not very well liked around the world right now." This, of course, is all a part of the 'wonderful' diplomatic skills that our Resident embraces. My travel will all be within the continental U.S. until we get a civil tongue in the white house. Catagorize that.

Happy Trails,
Paul

One change in my plans: I'll spend only one night in Munich when I arrive at the end of March. The next day, I'll catch a train to Prague since the Czechs are supporting us on Iraq.

Cassie, what I remember mostly about the news at home was GIs on stretchers & body bags. Casualty numbers. A lot of the protesters just wanted to get you guys home.

I think the most interesting thing about this discussion for me is that it points out how far removed most of us are from this pending war, and highlights the fact that this war requires virtually no sacrifice from anyone except those who are being asked to go and fight it. While I would not advocate cancelling travel plans, I still find the rather cavalier attitude that some have expressed toward pleasure travel while our young men and women are putting their lives at risk, ostensibly to protect us, rather sad.

You are right Magnus. We should be outraged that Fodors has made it possible to look up all the other threads of a poster when we find one who seems to be an expert on a certain field. And even more outrageous they have made it possible for us to easily look up all our own threads to see if they have been answered. We should be up in arms over such outrageous behavior. Why it's right up there with the outrageous practice of some books adding an index so one can find information more clearly -- and even a newspaper which dares to let you know what page certain things can be found on. How dare they make this site easier to use effectively!!! WHAT???

OH, wait a minute. I get it. You're bothered because now someone can click on your name and see that you never offer any advice here or ask travel questions but only come to discuss politics. And now that you've been discovered for doing that, you're outraged by it.

I really think it's important to remember that while travel is recreation for the traveler, it is bread-and -butter for those who make the travel possible. The original post is about Hawai'i and that is certainly one area where the travel industry makes up a large part of the economy. If you think it is insensitive to travel, are you also going to not watch a movie, read a magazine, buy things that are not necessities? Personally I will travel as I can afford to and unless I feel it is not safe.

Magnus, You could always search for a specific poster's posts. All you had to do was type their name in the search field. So long as they had a somewhat unique name, and not xxx, it was quite easy to do. This is really nothing new.

Paul, I'm so glad more people DO NOT think like you. I am in the travel industry which was severely hurt by September 11th. You need to remember there are hundreds of thousands of us. By the way, American citizens have always been disliked around the world.