Choosing destinations thoughtfully

In light of current affairs it seems appropriate to give travelers advice on safety and the welcome we may expect worldwide, as you did in “Is This the Year to Cross the Pond?” (April 20). But articles should not be tainted with the feeling that you are promoting travel just because you are the Travel section.

We have traveled extensively to exotic and popular places about four to five months a year. We have cut down on that ambitious schedule even though we love traveling. We recently canceled trips to Egypt and Bali.

Apart from safety issues and even though we refuse to be terrorized, we have decided not to put money into Muslim states where it could filter down to terrorists (Indonesia, for example) or support those who work against our safety, such as France and Germany. As a Francophile, I am saddened that France had to be added to the list. Until President Jacques Chirac can say “merci beaucoup” for our efforts in keeping the world safe, we think it would be unpatriotic to line France’s pockets when its nonsupport has turned more of the Arab world against us. We cannot let those who died keeping us safe and the innocents from the Sept. 11 attacks die in vain.

You can still visit the U.S., England, Australia, Italy, the Caribbean and more.

Angie Thornbury

Los Angeles