Rick Steves poses in front of a bullfight ring in Sevilla, Spain. – Courtesy photo
Europeans love talk about “dumb Americans,” and Rick Steves, an American who spends plenty of time there, clearly agrees.
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Steves, author of “Europe through the Backdoor” and dozens of other travel books, addressed about 300 people at the New York Avenue Presbyterian Church on Tuesday night on the topic of increasing aid to foreign countries.
“Most politicians are supportive of increasing aid, but the American people incorrectly assume that we give 10 to 15 percent of our GDP to needy nations,” said Steves, who also hosts a travel show on PBS. “In reality it’s more like 1 percent. If [the electorate] knew that, then politicians could act on America’s giving nature.”
“I think the [biggest obstacle] to American politics is an uninformed electorate,” he added.
Phillipa Rondall, a vacationing British high school principal, concurred. “I completely agree that many Americans are isolated — what do you expect when only 7 percent of you have a passport?” she said.
Steves also advocates increasing vacation time allotted to the American worker. “It may not be good for everyone’s business, but it’s good for mine, and it’s good for our health,” he said.
Earlier in the day, Steves got a view of Capitol Hill through the front door, as he lobbied on behalf of Bread for The World at members’ office, including Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., his home-state senator, to whom he’s donated $500.
