WASHINGTON _ On his PBS travel shows and in his 30 European guidebooks, travel guru Rick Steves comes across as a gentle, almost nerdy pilgrim in search of hearty local fare, cheap hotels and scenic vistas. But in person, Steves has a slightly fiery air about him. He’s angry about America’s image as a “rogue nation” and disillusioned about Washington’s foreign policy. Steves, a member of Trinity Lutheran Church in Lynnwood, Wash., came to Washington to help Bread for the World lobby for increased foreign development spending, and to talk about the ultimate tourist’s souvenir: a broader global perspective. (This interview has been edited for length) Q: What brings you to town this week? A: Since 9/12, the travel writer needs to function like the medieval court jester, and that’s to go out into the world, come back into the court and tell the king what’s going on. Q: What have you found that you want to talk about? A: That we’re 4 percent of the planet, and the 96 percent of the planet out there is moving on. We’ve become isolated in a very scary way. As a travel writer, I’m trying to get people comfortable about traveling, and ironically in an age of terror, people stop traveling and it just gets worse. Q: So what’s your message to Capitol Hill? A: In an age of national security, we need to be more engaged with the world, less focused on hard power and more focused on soft power. The concept of America is much respected and much loved, but American foreign policy baffles people. My whole passion is to keep Americans engaged with the rest of the world and not build more walls. There’s too much fear in our society. From a Christian compassionate point of view, or a pragmatic common sense kind of view, or even if you’re motivated only by greed, if you know what’s good for you, you don’t want to be rich in a desperately poor world. Q: Where does your notion of “faithful travel” fit into all of this? A: Whether you’re motivated by Christian compassion for poor and hungry people, or whether you’re just a decent person who cares about the poor, or whether you’re a greedy bastard who wants to be surrounded by deadbolts and razor wire, you can organize the world in a way that has a little bit of compassion for the losers in the capitalist scramble. I grew up thinking the world was a pyramid, with us on top and everyone else below. Then I realized there are people without the freedoms or opportunities that I have who wouldn’t trade passports with me; they like being who they are. If America recognized that, we could be a champion on this planet, instead of a rogue nation. Q: What’s the most spiritual place you’ve ever been to? A: That’s a great question. Assisi (Italy) has a beautiful interfaith magic to it. Iona (Scotland), you can just feel the struggles of the early Christians there. India, I just love India. I used to think I knew what singing was, and love was, and music was, until I went to India. It’s different for a billion people. It’s a weird thing; individually, people have a lot of suffering, but there’s a strange ability to share your joy in bulk. There’s a cumulative effect of joy of a billion people who all have a little joy that’s celebrated in tight quarters. Q: I popped into a bookstore and noticed that most of your travel books are about Europe, and you don’t have any about India, your favorite country. Why not? A: For me, Europe is the wading pool for world exploration, and if I can get Americans over there and help them have a great trip, it whets their appetite for going beyond that. Q: But if India is the most fascinating place that you’ve ever been, why not try to get people to go to India? A: I’m sort of like a band conductor, and in Europe, everyone has a predictable beat. Beefeater, OK. Mermaid, that’s cool. Gondola ride, everyone in the boat. In India, it doesn’t work that way, and I don’t have a lot of patience for people who can’t be open and immerse themselves in these wonders. In India, it’s a personal thing, an unpredictable thing, it’s a spiritual thing, and I just don’t think I’d be a good conductor for that. You need to go there and find it yourself. Q: Most people’s popular notion of tourism is that you buy the book, go to London, buy the porcelain cup as a souvenir _ what are they missing? A: If it doesn’t put people in touch with people, it really falls flat. My challenge is to get Americans to be thoughtful in their travels. I really believe that there are powerful forces in our society that would find it convenient if we’d just dumb it down. People are hungry to have their intellect respected. And that’s why I’m a soldier for public broadcasting. Q: You’re a Lutheran. Martin Luther was a bit of a rabble rouser. What would his message be to America in light of what you’ve seen? A: His message would be similar: Don’t be dumbed down. Take the reins, don’t let them tell you what to think. You’ve got an opportunity to better understand the world. Fear is a bad thing, understanding’s a good thing. Celebrate diversity; God made this planet diverse on purpose. I was just in Morocco, and it’s an affluent Muslim North African society, and what struck me was nobody thought about America. They weren’t anti-America, they weren’t pro-America, they were just living life well. And it made me very happy. And I just thought, let’s not screw it up.

A photo of Rick Steves is available via religionnews.com.

Editors: Note language in 14th graf.