Sunday Newscape Magazine

On long international flights, after I have exhausted my regular reading material, I sometimes resort to reading my U.S. passport.

I have one of those “old” passports, the ones without the “sensitive electronics,” but also without much interesting reading material.

Thus, I have by now pretty much memorized the gallant laissez-passer admonishment by our State Department:

"The Secretary of State of the United States of Americahereby requests all whom it may concern to permit the citizen/national of the United States named herein to pass without delay or hindrance and in the case of need to give all lawful aid and protection."

The admonishment is in three languages: English, French and Spanish.

Obviously the wrong languages, as they are apparently not understood by officials in North Korea, Iran, and some other non-English, non-French and non-Spanish speaking countries.

Under “Important Information,” one can read the usual bureaucratic dos and don’ts.

For example, under “[International] Parental Child Abduction,” one reads:

"For…help if your child has been taken, you may contact the U.S. Department of State’s Office of Children’s Issues…"

Tell that to David Goldman, who has been trying to get his son back from Brazil for five years.

There is also the important warning - at least it was important to me when I was younger - about dual citizenship:

"A dual citizen may be subject to the laws of the other country that considers that person its citizen while in that country’s jurisdiction, including conscription for military service."

No wonder that as a young man, of conscription age, but already serving in the Armed Forces of my adopted country, I assiduously avoided travel to my native country.

There are also the all-important warnings about “bringing food, plant and animal products into the United States,” that pretty well rules out bringing back chocolates for your kids, a rose for your wife or some good pepperoni sausage for aunt Ana.

Finally, the almost funny “if you require assistance, contact the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate---we are there to help you, especially if you are a tourist,” and the eternal “don’t you dare to travel to Cuba.”

Now, my wife has one of those new, fancy passports.

The ones with the warning, as on certain delicate, perishable consumer products:

"This document contains sensitive electronics. For best performance do not bend, perforate or expose to extreme temperatures.” And, for heaven’s sake, don’t try to use it after the expiration date.

It also has most of the do’s and don’ts of the old passport, including the “don’t you dare to travel to Cuba” one - a ridiculous restriction on those from “the land of the free,” that has already been somewhat eased by president Obama.

But what is refreshingly different about the new passport, and adding to the reading time and reading pleasure of the international traveler, are a dozen or so very patriotic and inspiring quotes - sprinkled throughout the passport - starting on the inside of the front cover, in elegant handwriting:

"O say does that star spangled banner yet wave o’er the land of the free and the home of the brave..."

And, "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator…"

And, "We have a great dream. It started way back in 1776, and God grant that America will be true to her dream." Martin Luther King, Jr.

And, "The cause of freedom is not the cause of a race or a sect, a party or a class - it is the cause of humankind, the very birthright of humanity." Anna Julia Cooper

And several more.

Cuddle up with a good passport sometime, whether traveling or not.