One of the questions I am asked whenever I travel outside of the US, Canada or Western Europe is: "are you sure its safe to go there?" It was asked of me just before leaving for Turkey which, coincidentally, was just after the Oklahoma City bombing. It was recently asked of me before we headed to Puerto Vallarta for a pre-Christmas trip - the Mexican drug wars were the big news story. On the other hand, when the earthquake hits your home, or the tsunami strikes or the tornado sets down in your yard or the hurricane roars through, it might not be safe at home either.
Should you exercise caution while traveling? Of course. The US State Department website (http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/tw/tw_1764.html) posts travel alerts that may frighten you - its their job to point out potential problems. But its good to balance those alerts with other points of view. One site worth checking is: http://safety.worldnomads.com/. World Nomads specializes in travel insurance for folks taking longer than usual journeys in places throughout the world. Their site offers lots of advice on a variety of safety topics, as well as a question and answer forum.
Would I travel to a Mexico border town right now? No. How about Somalia? NO. And probably the same for Afghanistan and good portions of Iraq. But using common sense, some street smarts and armed not with a gun but with good current information, I feel that travel to almost anyplace else can be a safe and enlightening experience. Journey On!
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