Recently, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has come under heavy fire. Is this malice for the right or wrong reasons?
The TSA is a government body tasked with securing transportation (go figure!). The TSA's Mission, Vision, and Core Values are as follows:
"The Transportation Security Administration protects the Nation's transportation systems to ensure freedom of movement for people and commerce."
The commotion with the TSA has to do with its pre-flight screening of passengers. People are having a problem grasping what the TSA are really doing - what they are 'stopping'. We lose freedom - the right to reasonable privacy - to gain what? Peace of mind? Pilots are not screened. As of today, flight attendants are not screened. Hell, do you think the baggers who put luggage on the plane are screened on a daily basis? No ... no they are not. And as you should know, the 9/11 hijackers had acceptable screening background information.
But get this, the screeners don't even have to be screened!
So why would we have to violate an 89-year-old grandmother with a gloved pat-down? A child may receive a 'modified' pat-down? So you don't really complete a proper pat-down by your own standards. Why do it at all?
But get this, the screeners don't even have to be screened!
So why would we have to violate an 89-year-old grandmother with a gloved pat-down? A child may receive a 'modified' pat-down? So you don't really complete a proper pat-down by your own standards. Why do it at all?
Israel has both the most secure airports in the world as well as the most enemies in the world. How do they pull it off? Let's look to Michael J. Totten's opinion of The New York Post for how he thinks things should be handled.
"After 9/11, everything sharp -- even tweezers -- was banned. Ever since Richard Reid tried and failed to light his loafers on fire, security agents have forced us to take off our shoes. ... Terrorists have yet to use the same weapon twice, and the TSA isn't even looking for whatever they'll try to use next. i can think of all sorts of things a person could use to wreak havoc on a plan that aren't banned. Security officials should pay less attention to objects, and more attention to people."
At this point, I'm surprised we are still allowed to wear underwear on a flight given the failed "underwear bomber" from last Christmas Day.
Regardless of how you think the TSA is handling security, ask yourself this question. Can you imagine being a moderate public official being forced to make public statements about your policy and where you stand on the issue. People are outraged. On one hand, it's a constitutional violation. On the other hand, it's 'necessary' to be secure.
How is the mass media handling the situation. The material is definitely still at full steam ahead. There is plenty to go 'round. But - are they providing a balanced, objective view on the subject? Are they using anecdotal material, such as the video above, to contextualize the issue? Are they focusing on the President's reactions or lower-level politicians. Have you heard a single news anchor mention The Constitution of even another country's security practices?
Sources:
I am not sure how much we should expect from these people when we pay them less than $15 an hour. We expect a lot in this country without an equal willingness to pay for it, and you get what you pay for.
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