Emily Paige Blanco, Contributor
Ideology: Conservative | Writing from: Wheaton College
Flying from Newark to O’Hare Airport today, I expected delays due to increased security. I didn’t know if I would have to go through a full body scan—which did not happen—nor did I know beforehand that I would need to take off my sweater and go through security in my undershirt. I, unlike most of my travel companions, however, did not mind these extra security measures taken by the TSA, but rather embraced them. I purposely factored in extra time to my arrival at the airport, and had I gotten through quicker than I had anticipated, I would not have complained about my wasted time – I’d enjoy a cup of coffee while waiting at my gate. I would rather be mildly inconvenienced than have my plane overtaken by a terrorist.
Many Americans fail to recognize that flying is not a right, but rather a privilege and choice. Yes, it oftentimes is the most convenient form of transportation, but it is by no means an inherent human right to fly in an airplane. Secondly, it must be realized that in the act of purchasing an airplane ticket, one is becoming a customer of the airline, and thus agreeing to their terms and conditions. These terms and conditions clearly state that there will be security screening procedures.
Currently airport security measures may seem cumbersome, but this is because the TSA is trying to create new procedures to effectively secure airports in the United States. First of all, the TSA is not completely sure presently how to proceed with more intensive security screenings, so passengers cannot be told 
beforehand what to expect. Second of all, it is more strategic for the US not to release all of the security measures that will be put in place at airports so that potential terrorists will not fully know how to evade and thwart the new security precautions. It is evident that action taken by the Department of Homeland Security and related executive offices is largely reactionary, but that does not discredit its importance. Clearly terrorist extremists have an interest in using aircrafts to destroy life and property in the United States, so our government should make it as difficult as possible for them to execute such actions.
Perhaps a solution that airlines could adopt to alleviate some of the lines at security would be to remove the charge on checked bags. This cost, in addition to airfare, gives incentive to passengers to carry on their luggage rather than check it. The average traveler, rather than just bringing on a personal item, now also packs a suitcase for the overhead compartment, and the increase in carried on luggage increases the time it takes to go through security. The airports cannot do anything to alleviate the amount of security screenings their customers must go through, but it can speed the process by eliminating the price to check bags. If nothing else, it would give travelers one less thing to complain about, which is uncommon these days.
Emily: I’m interested in this statement: “The airports cannot do anything to alleviate the amount of security screenings their customers must go through,…”
If by this you mean that they must comply with the dicta of the TSA and the Homeland Security apparatus and all that, yes, I understand. But whether they and the others concerned are following the best approach to keep us safe is coming under increased scrutiny, and rightly so, due to the near miss on Christmas of the “Fruit of kaboom” bomber.
Would it be too much to ask that there be two lines at the airports, one for grandmies and teenage girls, and veterans of America’s foreign wars, and some other big groups of people I could name which would pare down the list of people who would be MOST LIKELY NOT TO BE OF HARM TO AN AIRCRAFT, and then put the rest through the existing, or new procedures?
If that is asking too much, or is for any reason not acceptable, can I ask a simple question? Is any other purpose being served in having these procedures followed by EVERYBODY than treating an already docile public like sheep, through the chutes and ladders of an ineffective security system, to cover bureaucrats’ sw–t —es, and keep me docile so I can be declared a serf at some later time.
We should be angry about this! Frisk the likely ones; let me and the safe ones pass freely.
O&D is right on. We’d save a lot of trouble (and possibly a lot of lives) if we would profile.
O&D, I disagree with you about profiling. Relying on profiling would cause innocent people to be unnecessarily screened and potentially harmful people to slip through. Though a young American child or an Army veteran might seem to you to be incapable of terrorism – who’s to say that the child doesn’t radical parents and is being paid by al-Qaeda to wear a bomb strapped under their clothing, or the Army vet is experiencing a (perhaps PTSD-caused) psychotic break (like Hasan)? Terrorists would find a way to take advantage of your proposed security measures and we would end up less safe.
I said earlier that I am for racial profiling, but I agree with Michele that we cannot rely on it. O&D, the solution you suggest can easily be beat. We saw how the 9/11 hijackers drank alcohol and frequented strip clubs to fit in; terrorists can adapt. As Michele suggests, using children or Muslim veterans is not unimaginable. I also know Muslims who have pale skin and red hair who would slip through the system that you imagine.
Yes there are impediments; it wouldn’t be perfect. But we are so far from perfect now; we seem to be kicking ourselves from behind. Closing Gitmo–what are they thinking? Trying KSM in New York: we’re self-flagellating!
Hasan and the panty bomber DID fit the obvious profile to use. Why don’t we use it?
“Many Americans fail to recognize that flying is not a right, but rather a privilege and choice.”
Wrong. Travel is a right. Travel by plane is not a right, but in the year 2010, I cannot meaningfully exercise my right to travel without the ability to board and fly on airplanes.
We MUST find a way to have safer flights without the TSA. The TSA has absolutely destroyed airline travel in this country and has made us NO SAFER.