There's this idea floating around about making America great, but the mark seems to be missed because it isn't going to be found in a legislative office or a country with an impenetrable border. It has more to do with the fiber of the people. Anthony Bourdain was in a lot of ways, a manifestation of a lot of the things that truly make this country and the people in it great. He represents the decency and honesty that people seem to lose so easily in the modern climate.
He worked as a chef, not a cook, a chef. He favored simplicity, appreciated quality, but never seemed aloof which is often the case with people who spend their lives judging both. Instead, he recognized what he didn't know, and with a curious, open mind, went out into the world to perfect his craft. His detail-oriented, insightful way of looking at problems allowed him to be a constantly improving chef, as well as to constantly improve himself, learning to appreciate life by living it, rather than through traditional, boxed in means. This embodies the way he operated in all spheres of his life. He wasn't destined to succeed, but he used his passion to see the world and used it as a foundation to build relationships. His strength was that he was accessible. Whether speaking to a chef from the other side of the world, or to a completely uninformed viewer of his CNN travel show, his ideas, witticisms, and critiques of food weren't lengthy, just short, shrewd, and most importantly, thoughtful reflections.
He is the substantiation of many of the things that can be truly positive about the American Spirit; curious but skeptical, empathetic but brash, a ruffian who never ceased to be polite and warm, and refused to stop learning. The adventurous spirit that seeks to travel the world, not to rapine it for his benefit, but to learn from those that it comes across. He recognized that the most important thing we trade across cultures is ideas and that the relationships we forge don't have to be on the basis of profit. He tapped into the less malicious side of what Americans coming to another country could be. He represents all the positive potential being an American affords a person, being to a certain extent it offers a passport to the world that people in other countries just don't have. He exemplified the concept of traveling not to drink your face off in alien places, whether in different hemispheres or down the road, to find how your passion supersedes cultural, and the joys of immersing yourself in this discovery.
Tragically, for reasons we might not ever really grasp, because of feelings we just won't feel, he killed himself recently. Whatever the reason, those moments were so small in the grand scheme of his life that, however poetic, aren't to be considered in the context of this article. I don't know why he did it, nor do I understand, but I don't judge him for it. He conquered his addictions, he conquered his sloth, but some demons just can't be tamed. He was a deeply troubled man, with many flaws, in spite of this, he was able to leave a positive mark. The world lost a great man, one who was so much more than could've ever been realized. 6 tons of potential fit into a 32oz jar. He is someone we could all try to be a little more like.
