We want to be safe – in the skies. Yet “we” get angry when the powers that be put in place technology and safety practices that do just that. Even in the United States of America, in a country based on freedom first, we can’t have it both ways. To be safe, we have to give up some freedom and allow the government to do it’s job to keep us safe.
In many countries, the security checks at airports are much more stringent than in the United States. We’ve come to expect shoddy security and have enjoyed being able to breeze through security and get on our flights quickly. At the same time, that very lax security is what, in no small way, lead to the 9/11 disaster. We were shocked, dismayed and appalled. We called the TSA and Government to the carpet and insisted the “do something” to make our airports and planes and transportation much more safe.
Now that those systems are in place, why in the world are people now getting upset? Honestly…unless, of course, they have something to hide.
I don’t feel the new scanners are a risk to privacy or health. I don’t feel our kids need to be fearful of them or of the principles they were created from. They are there to keep us safe. They are there to prevent another 9/11. There is nothing about those scanners that is the least big embarrassing – the images look like glorified xrays and are peered at so quickly that nothing about us can be learned except if we need to be detained.
If we all take a collective deep breathe, we’ll see this is in the greater good.
What’s fantastic about these new scanners is they are equal opportunity scanners. They don’t discriminate for color, race or religion. Everyone goes through under the same rules which is a much more comfortable set of ethical rules than the recent way of profiling.
People who don’t like the scanner can have a pat down but to have a complete one is a bit intrusive – more so than that scanner.
This is the price we pay for safety and safety in the skies. In a rule based, safety oriented society, this is just the way we have to play this out.
Luckily, most of us agree. According to a recent CBS poll, 80% of Americans polled are in favor of the new security scanners. So, with time, hopefully more of the 20% unsure will start to come around.
Keep in mind that the TSA folks don’t give a hoot about our body parts…they are hunting for weapons and that’s what they are looking for on those screens. I did a Google search in Google Images for “new airline security” and the images of those security scans are not anything to be alarmed about but the clarity of weapons found is impressive. If you want to check it out for yourself, click here.
Our kids take their queues from us. If we roll with these security changes, they will, too.
This is what we’ve wanted, folks. Let’s not bite the hand that’s trying to keep us safe!!
BTW, if you want to read more on this issue, here’s a great article I found online with a nice well-balanced view.
