Do you have a passport?

About a third of U.S. citizens have passports. Clearly, I am one of those people (I have two) but I don't see the big deal that the number is so low.

I had an argument with another former Peace Corps volunteer who felt that anyone who didn't have a passport was culturally inept or something. I don't see that. The U.S. is vast and there's plenty to discover here.

Europeans in particular seemed to be shocked at the low percentage, but unless an American lives close to a border, driving through three countries to grab a meal isn't an option.

Just wondered how the SportsJournalists.com sampling compares to the U.S. rate in general.

 

Do you work for the NSA?

 

A passport is one of those things that you don't bother getting until if/when you actually need one.

I have one, that I've used, because I like to go on cruises on vacations, and because I sometimes need it for mission trips.

 

I would rather vote "Yes, I have a passport card." It's good enough for me.

 

I was 35 when I got my first passport. I managed to fill it completely full of stamps over the 10 years before I renewed it this year. Off to a slow start on Book No. 2, but I'm working on it.

 

This ...

 

I know too many people that never leave the state they live in, much less the country.

I've had a passport since I was 5.

 

In a good percentage of this country you are 1,000 miles from the nearest international border.

What's the necessity?

 

Americans don't save money, don't value foreign travel, don't get a lot of vacation time, often live far from family, and often use their vacation time to spend holidays with far off family.

 

I just don't want to fly over water. I've been to Canada, but it was before you needed a passport. Other than that, yeah, my vacation time is spent going to see my getting-up-in-years parents.

 

I have one, but I generally don't use it much because most of my foreign travel is for Army business ...

 

Plus, in Europe, a flight from country to country is really cheap. It's not $1,000 like it would be to fly from the US to an airport over there.

A few years ago, I had my purse stolen. I was a university student in a different state from where I was from and my wallet with my driver's license was stolen with the purse. I wrote my state to get a replacement ID and it took almost 2 months to get an actual ID. Until then, I carried my passport around with me so I could have proof of who I was on an official document. It's nice to have backup proof of exactly who I am.