Opinion - A slippery slope

A slippery slope

That’s My Opinion

By Bob Robinson

Nov. 19, 2010

“Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.”

Often attributed to Benjamin Franklin, Wikipedia says it is more likely a quote from British lawyer and politician Richard Jackson (1721-1787).

Regardless, that phrase means as much today as it did then. How much do we give up in order to keep our nation and loved ones safe?

I drew the line at being treated like cattle in airport terminals several years ago.

According to Savvy Traveler (publicradio.org), it all started in 1970 when Palestinians threatened to destroy four planes, two of them American.

Pres. Richard Nixon put “sky marshals” on selected flights.

A year later a man who called himself Dan Cooper demanded $200,000 or he’d blow up the plane with explosives in his bag. The airline paid up and the man lowered the stairs at the back of the plane and parachuted out. They really had $200K on board the flight? Interesting.

However, planes can no longer lower rear stairs during flight.

Passenger and baggage searches, and metal detectors were introduced in 1973.

The FAA was taken to court to determine if the machines were a violation of the Fourth Amendment protection against illegal searches and seizures. The courts said they were okay as long as no discrimination was involved and the searches are limited to weapons and explosives.

It took more than 15 years for the next major “advance” in security. It followed an onboard Pan Am flight 103 bomb that killed 270 people. Portable computers and radios were checked more carefully. Also, only bags accompanied by a passenger could board a plane.

The Sept. 11, 2001 attacks prompted the birth of the Transportation Security Agency (TSA) and a whole new set of restrictions kicked in, ranging from box cutters to liquids, aerosols and gels. Cockpit doors were strengthened and bullet-proofed, pilots were allowed to carry guns, passengers had to show valid I.D.’s and screening was tightened. Some passengers were patted down and hand-held metal detectors were used.

Our infamous Christmas Day Bomber changed the face of security once again. In the beginning flights originating from 14 nations, mostly Muslim, were targeted. However, the most recent bombshell has gone far beyond that.

On Monday, Homeland Security Chief Janet Napolitano wrote an editorial defending TSA’s newly implemented use of “advanced body scanners” and “thorough pat-downs.”

The screams of rage can be heard from Bangor, Maine to San Diego, Calif.

Redstate’s Lori Ziganto was particularly colorful:

“…which include a mandated trip through a full body scanner that shows you in all your naked glory, or lack thereof. It’s all cool, though, because if you don’t wish to have your naked body ogled, you can always get felt up instead via the new “enhanced pat-down” option. It’s all about choice, baby! Whichever you prefer: leering or groping.”

There are dozens of news reports and u-tube videos documenting travelers who have suffered the outrages of this latest obscenity.

In one video, the passenger told the agent that if anyone else did this, they’d be guilty of sexual assault. Government workers are not exempt.

News reports have shown vague images of the new scans that are viewed… that’s more than I want to see. And pat-downs that used to be with the back of the hand are now being done with the front of the hand.

You can let your imagination take it from there.

The one that got me, though, was the video of a screaming three-year-old girl trying desperately to escape the groping of a TSA agent.

A three-year-old girl for God’s sake!

When are we going to acknowledge we are at war with crazed religious fanatics? We have a specific profile that we are not allowed to use. We know the locations of many of the sewers these monsters dwell in. And we make asinine decisions to try terrorists in civilian courts.

We had the resources to win in Vietnam. For political reasons, we chose not to. That was when the perception of weakness told others that we were vulnerable.

And they were right.

We have the resources to win against this latest abomination against humanity, yet for a variety of political reasons we choose instead to throw every safeguard offered by our Constitution and Bill of Rights out the window and degrade our own citizens… in the interest of safety, security and political correctness.

I time-lined our feeble efforts for a reason. The monsters make the rules. When we adapt, they change the rules, forcing us to adapt again.

So what happens when TSA decides this still doesn’t work and the only alternative left is body-cavity strip-searches?

When will we say, “enough is enough” and get serious about those who want to kill us?

We started on a slippery slope 40 years ago. We’ve lost one “essential liberty” after another in the pursuit of “temporary safety.”

Franklin or Jackson or both must be rolling over in their graves.

That’s my opinion. What’s yours?

Bob Robinson is the retired editor of The Daily Advocate, Greenville, Ohio. If you wish to receive a daily notification of his comments, opinions and reports, send your email address to: opinionsbybob@gmail.com. Feel free to express your views.