Americans Don't Travel

The State Department estimates that 73% of Americans do not have a passport. Am I alone in thinking this a major problem in our nation? That Americans don't travel no doubt helps lead to the jingoistic nationalism, the insular thinking, and the fear of other nations that permeate our culture.

I wonder what voting statistics are like for the 27% who do hold passports. No doubt many of these people are in business and vote Republican. But I would be shocked to find that even a large minority of those 27% are Republican. I would think that by a large margin, Americans who experience other cultures, see the world, and talk to people not from this nation vote for the Democrats and have quite liberal and tolerant values.