Passaporto

Open it up!

*Stamp*

Passport Power!

Did you know that these heroes, named after the Italian Renaissance artists Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello, and Raphael, in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comic, also borrowed elements from Batman?

I’ve been meaning to retrieve this article and post it here for a while. Maybe I was waiting for the right moment, or for APRIL O'Neil to dig it out for you from somewhere in the alien archives (It is the month of April). But here it is, now, written down as though it were a form of currency; for some of the top-ranked passports currently available in the cosmos hold tremendous value. But, of course, 'tis is a document that is easily overlooked.

A genuine and valid passport — one which has yet to be flagged, or revoked, of course — is (I suspect you know) a gateway, or a bridge, to more countries, more opportunities, and more experiences! So, the TMNT would really be leaving their element here, and going far beyond just hiding in the sewers of New York City, or battling on rooftops. But in taking a flight across the Atlantic, they are entering new territory, indeed.

Territory that is more typical of Superman than that of the Ninja Turtles. And, in this case, Tintin would be the better fit as an investigative reporter than April. Nonetheless, for reasons that I'll explain shortly, individuals who carry multiple passports are becoming more and more of a common occurrence in this day and age. But such a gateway or bridge, from one world into another — often viewed as a blessing and offering a world of hope (think of the meaning behind the 'S' on Superman's chest in Kryptonian culture) — can still be a curse, believe it or not.

And, just as April O'Neil is a bridge between the human world and the mutant turtles, so am I, here in this moment in space and time, just one fellow alien typing over the airways to my human fans — whispering these words through this portal... taking great care not to leave behind any crop circles in my wake.

Like it or not, a list is compiled that ranks the strength of each passport, which is then updated and made available on websites such as https://www.henleyglobal.com/passport-index/ranking, as well as passportindex.org. For the truth is, many individuals don’t even have a single valid passport in their current possession, let alone multiple passports. Individuals with multiple citizenships may hold passports from more than one country because each government independently recognizes them as citizens under its own laws and conducts its own vetting process.

So, does this make the holder of multiple passports an instant authority? Not instantly, and not always. But, whilst abroad, I have once or twice been questioned with a very inquisitive air: ‘Who ARE you?’ And I can attest that having been perceived in such a way — as a bit of an anomaly — it goes without saying that it's worth mentioning it here, for you, the reader.

That being said, holding multiple passports is an additional layer of security all on its own. A country might be doing particularly well in several metrics, and so by ticking all the right boxes, this country's passport strength, power, rank, and value might soar. If another country starts to do poorly, or goes as far as oppressing its citizens by tyrannical rule and the ferocious use of armed force is waged upon its citizenry, one can always fly to their second, or third (or fourth?) home. A despot's insane and wicked acts of bloodshed will not be heard by deaf ears. War too can be waged from abroad.