Notes of Concern…
…Jack Blair
Senses of False Security
So you have decided to take a trip that will involve boarding a plane at one of America’s airports.
You will be treated to a multi-step procedure that will include having your photo ID scrutinized at the check-in counter, again as you enter the line for security, at the security point and again later when you are asked to board your airplane.
You will be asked to take off your shoes before going through security.
You will be asked to remove everything from your pockets before going through security.
You will be asked to place your laptop computer in a separate bin before sending it through x-ray.
Then you will be asked to stand, arms raised high, while a machine projects a somewhat graphic picture of you without clothes to either a man or woman who operates the machine.
Finally, you may well be asked to submit to a “pat down” that will seem quite an invasion of your privacy.
When you are finally cleared you are supposed to have a feeling of security, a sense that your flight will be safe and uneventful.
These procedures have cost the government millions of dollars and have raised the price of your airline ticket quite a bit. They have also added a great deal of time to your pre-flight wait at any airport.
These procedures provide a semblance of security. But actually, I am not convinced any of us are significantly safer. Recent new headlines and stories have told of youngsters hiding in the wheel wells of aircraft. We have read about people getting through security procedures with handguns. We read about people managing to clear security with sharp scissors in their carry on luggage.
The list of security breaches is endless.
While passengers line up in seemingly endless queues a person wanting to climb a fence on the far side of the airport and run to a plane and climb into a wheel well seems to have very little difficulty.
While passengers take off their shoes it appears some can get through security with a handgun in their purse.
While the airport takes away the bottle of water you brought with you because it just might be explosive they miss the lady with the sharp scissors in her briefcase.
There is a bottom line.
Travel is not as safe as we are led to believe.
We continue to take flights because it is also dangerous to cross the road, to ride with drivers talking on cell phones, to purchase a bottle of pain reliever at the local drugstore that has been tampered with.
The list is endless.
Life can be a roll of the dice.
But we are still called upon to live it!
And so we venture forth each day, knowing the risks but trusting in the odds.
Bon voyage!
