Security theater – that is, the largely worthless waste of time that the federal government imposes on us in the security lines at our nation’s airports – has been a frequent topic on this blog. Arguably, no other current governmental action represents better just how out of control our government has become from the true desires of its citizens.
Given what appears initially to be some unsophisticated attempts at terrorist attacks on Thursday, we will likely in the coming days be regaled with the additional measures that the TSA will propose to impose on us as a result of this latest security threat.
Meanwhile, as this Jeffrey Goldberg/The Atlantic article notes, the federal government will continue to ignore the much more serious violations of civil liberties and basic human decency that already take place daily in our airports.
When will this madness end?
In this recent TEDxPSU talk, security expert Bruce Schneier provides an overview on how we should reconceptualize security so as to address the true security threats in an effective and reasonable manner. More constructive thought goes into this 18-minute lecture than what went into constructing the entire federal government elaborate security theater apparatus.
When I am plumeting toward earth after my plane has been blown out of the sky, it will be comforting to know that the fanatics that did it will have their civil liberties protected, will be treated decently and that the airport security madness has ended.Yeah-right!
This is not going to end because it is administrative in nature. Congress is not going to end it because it has given the executive branch (read that, the President) legal power to do whatever it wishes in the area of security. Now, Congress could pass a law making the backscatter illegal, but the Usual Suspects would be wailing and you could bet that an incident (contrived or otherwise) would occur right during the discussion that would “prove” the “need” for these items.
There are other things as well. First, the administration would complain that Congress was interfering in the administration’s attempt to “keep us safe from terrorists.” Second, “experts” like Michael Chertoff and Rudy Giuliani (both of whom have made millions of dollars via their “security” consulting, including consulting with the maker of the backscatter machines, Rapiscan) would make the rounds to tell people that unless these machines are deployed everywhere, “the terrorists will win.”
The few people who have spoken out about this unwarranted invasion of our very bodies are labeled as “kooks” in the news media, and why not, since it was the mainstream media that loudly banged the drum to create the Transportation Security Administration in the first place. So, anyone who really does step out and try to reverse this security leviathan is going to “get the treatment” from both the government and its publicity arm, the mainstream media.
This blog has been a lonely voice for accountability in government, and time and time again, we see that the career government employees, protected by civil service laws and their unions, are the ones who are least accountable. Every day, the TSA roughs up innocent flyers, subjects them to abuse and humiliation, and the only ones who ever find themselves in trouble — no matter how egregious the conduct by TSA agents — are the flyers, the people who have purchased the airline tickets and have paid the salaries of these goons.
Where there is no accountability, there is no control.