TSA recently detained a U.S. Senator who refused to be patted down. The idiocy of treating every passenger as an enemy of the state continues to escalate to the point of not only absurdity, but a debasement of human dignity.
And just who is the TSA defending? Obviously not the people of the United States, since we’re all suspects. No, they’re agents of the state; a state that no longer represents the people, but strives for the advancement of a ruling class that treats its subjects as threats to their stranglehold on power.
Perhaps this sounds a bit over the top, but the fact is that we continue to vote for the same old cronies, doing the same old thing to us, never willing to vote them out out of fear that the new guys might actually have the brains and tenacity to quit giving us handouts. In this, the American people are culpable for the leaders they have. The restoration of freedom will come at a cost. While that cost is no less dear than the one paid by our founding fathers, how many of us are willing to lay it on the line?
We need to realize the implications of such draconian tactics as Rand Paul faced as well. As we’re each treated as a suspect, we begin to think of each other as suspects. It erodes the unity of our society. We become fearful of each other, leading us to be suspicious agents of the elite ourselves, as we watch one another for signs of nefarious activity.
Read Rand Paul’s account with discernment, considering the times in which we live. Consider the dignity of man. Ask yourself if the sacrifices we make in the current system are for our freedom, or in submission to the rule of tyranny.
Kind Regards,
Another Joe
Rand Paul – While sitting in the cubicle, I thought to myself, have the terrorists won? Have we sacrificed our liberty and our dignity for security? Finally, the airport head of TSA arrived after I had missed my flight. He let me go back through the scanner and this time the scanner did not go off. The only comment from TSA was that some of the alarms are simply random.
So passengers who do everything right, remove their belts, remove their wallets, remove their shoes, their glasses and all of the contents in their pockets are then subjected to random patdowns and tricked into believing that the scanners actually detected something.
I have been through some of this with TSA Director John S. Pistole before. Last spring, a 6-year-old girl from Bowling Green was subjected to an invasive search despite her parent’s objections. Mr. Pistole claimed that small children were indeed a risk because a girl in Kandahar, Afghanistan, had exploded a bomb in a market in Afghanistan. But Mr. Pistole, this girl wasn’t from Kandahar and she wasn’t in Afghanistan. Isn’t there a significant difference?
In writing, he replied that TSA concluded because a child in a market in Afghanistan exploded a bomb, all American children needed to be evaluated as potential threats. My response: If you treat everyone equally as a potential threat, then you direct much attention to those who are never going to attack us and spend less time with those whose risk profiles indicate a need for tougher screening.
Random screenings not based on risk assessments misdirect the screening process and add to the indignity of travel. Those passengers who suffer through the process of partially disrobing should be rewarded with less invasive examination.
Ever since the news of my struggle with TSA, the phones in my office have been ringing off the hook with calls from citizens who sympathize with my frustration, as they, too, feel their liberties are being compromised every time they travel. My office is being inundated with their stories of assault and harassment by TSA agents. This agency’s disregard for our civil liberties is something we are expected to understand and accept. But we are tired of being insulted and we are tired of having our dignity compromised. TSA was created in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, but was it necessary? Has it overstepped its bounds? Is it respecting the rights of citizens?
It is time for us to question the effectiveness of TSA. America can prosper, preserve personal liberty and repel national security threats without intruding into the personal lives of its citizens.
Every time we travel, we are expected to surrender our Fourth Amendment rights, yet willingly giving up our rights does not make us any safer. It is infuriating that this agency feels entitled to revoke our civil liberties while doing little to keep us safe.
Is the TSA looking at flight manifests? Are we researching those boarding the planes? Are we targeting or looking at those who might attack us? Apparently not, if we are wasting our time patting down 6-year-old girls.
Continue reading via PAUL: TSA’s intrusions undermine security – Washington Times.
