8.12.2006
Foiling Terrorist Plots Isn’t Good Enough
Thank goodness the government is keeping us safe from shampoo, bottled water, hand cream, and the deadliest of all chemical weapons: cheap floral perfume (I know I’ll sleep better at night). Political transparency is a relative term: the idea of smuggling chemicals onto a plane to blow it up is nothing new, it’s been a topic of discussion for more than 10 years. It calls into question the timing of this latest plot to deprive us of our favorite carry-on items. If there is anything I deplore worse than the smell of cheap floral perfume, it’s the stink of cheap politicking that hits your nose before you even get a chance to see it coming, that’s what worries me.
Yes, I admit, it’s good to stop terrorists before they actually blow themselves (and other innocents) up, no arguments there, but I just don’t trust our government to protect us from others, let alone themselves. They’ve lied to us, literally “cried wolf,” one too many times for my taste. Don’t fit me out for an aluminum foil hat just yet. I’m not ready to join the “conspiracy cults,” but I must admit that, between the rhetoric and all the “cowboy diplomacy,” I am having serious difficulties distinguishing between the terrorists outside our nation from the terrorists who are running it. Our current leadership have repeatedly lied, bullied, and blundered about, destabilizing the Middle East, damaging our reputation in the world arena, and our economy is worth less than the paper its printed on, yet are we really any better off than we were on September 10th, 2001? Is it good enough just to tighten specific security measures in order to ward off each new means of attack?
Of course the 24-hour cable news “noise-makers” have dropped every other story like a hot rock from Iraq, to milk this “Terror Plot,” for everything it is worth. They’ll beat the horse, strangle it, and drag the carcass around the square before they’re done, (and that’s before the politicians get their hands on it). The airwaves are alive with the sounds of media speculation. People wonder why there isn’t more “good news” in the world, and there are two reasons for this: first, bad news sells more advertising, second, good things only happen when people together to solve their common problems, despite their differences.
I predict the usual routine: the “threat level” will be elevated, financial markets will drop, gas prices will raise, and the Bush Administration will use this event to “prove” Democrats are “soft on terror” all over again. Nobody will question the extra security; they’ll give up their hair gel just like their nail files and lighters. All these additional security checks are “…necessary for your protection.” Swarms of SWAT teams brandishing automatic weapons, and police dogs sniffing about in airports are suddenly fashionable again. I fear soon that we won’t be able to tell the difference between the police protecting and serving us, from the police-state telling us what to do, how to think, and what to say. Endgame: the terrorists get what they wanted all along: we’re afraid, less free, and more militant than ever before.
I’m sure I’m not the first one to come up with this one, but I’ve got the perfect foolproof solution to all these airplane security problems. It’s so simple: fly naked. Think about it. Not only is it extremely difficult to conceal anything, but what Islamic fundamentalist could possibly endure a plane full of naked people without totally cracking at the seams? They’d never get on another plane again. Heck, if popular modesty prevails, nobody would fly, thus eliminating all that stress, worry, need for the extra security, long lines at airports, or hijackings, for that matter.
All kidding aside, this is a serious matter. What we really need to do is stop doing things to piss off the rest of the world and work together to make it truly safe for everyone. We cannot do this while we continue to spend most of our efforts in a vain attempt to predict and prevent future attacks. It is impossible to solve any problem by addressing only its effects without also rooting out its causes; with all our "...fingers stuck in the dyke..." our hands are tied, and the water will still get by us. If we truly want to promote peace, security, and freedom, we must work together with the rest of the world to identify and eliminate the very reasons why some people feel compelled to become genocidal fanatics in the first place. No other solution will suffice.
©J.S.Brown 2004-2006
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Yes, I admit, it’s good to stop terrorists before they actually blow themselves (and other innocents) up, no arguments there, but I just don’t trust our government to protect us from others, let alone themselves. They’ve lied to us, literally “cried wolf,” one too many times for my taste. Don’t fit me out for an aluminum foil hat just yet. I’m not ready to join the “conspiracy cults,” but I must admit that, between the rhetoric and all the “cowboy diplomacy,” I am having serious difficulties distinguishing between the terrorists outside our nation from the terrorists who are running it. Our current leadership have repeatedly lied, bullied, and blundered about, destabilizing the Middle East, damaging our reputation in the world arena, and our economy is worth less than the paper its printed on, yet are we really any better off than we were on September 10th, 2001? Is it good enough just to tighten specific security measures in order to ward off each new means of attack?
Of course the 24-hour cable news “noise-makers” have dropped every other story like a hot rock from Iraq, to milk this “Terror Plot,” for everything it is worth. They’ll beat the horse, strangle it, and drag the carcass around the square before they’re done, (and that’s before the politicians get their hands on it). The airwaves are alive with the sounds of media speculation. People wonder why there isn’t more “good news” in the world, and there are two reasons for this: first, bad news sells more advertising, second, good things only happen when people together to solve their common problems, despite their differences.
I predict the usual routine: the “threat level” will be elevated, financial markets will drop, gas prices will raise, and the Bush Administration will use this event to “prove” Democrats are “soft on terror” all over again. Nobody will question the extra security; they’ll give up their hair gel just like their nail files and lighters. All these additional security checks are “…necessary for your protection.” Swarms of SWAT teams brandishing automatic weapons, and police dogs sniffing about in airports are suddenly fashionable again. I fear soon that we won’t be able to tell the difference between the police protecting and serving us, from the police-state telling us what to do, how to think, and what to say. Endgame: the terrorists get what they wanted all along: we’re afraid, less free, and more militant than ever before.
I’m sure I’m not the first one to come up with this one, but I’ve got the perfect foolproof solution to all these airplane security problems. It’s so simple: fly naked. Think about it. Not only is it extremely difficult to conceal anything, but what Islamic fundamentalist could possibly endure a plane full of naked people without totally cracking at the seams? They’d never get on another plane again. Heck, if popular modesty prevails, nobody would fly, thus eliminating all that stress, worry, need for the extra security, long lines at airports, or hijackings, for that matter.
All kidding aside, this is a serious matter. What we really need to do is stop doing things to piss off the rest of the world and work together to make it truly safe for everyone. We cannot do this while we continue to spend most of our efforts in a vain attempt to predict and prevent future attacks. It is impossible to solve any problem by addressing only its effects without also rooting out its causes; with all our "...fingers stuck in the dyke..." our hands are tied, and the water will still get by us. If we truly want to promote peace, security, and freedom, we must work together with the rest of the world to identify and eliminate the very reasons why some people feel compelled to become genocidal fanatics in the first place. No other solution will suffice.
TANSTAAFL!
©J.S.Brown 2004-2006
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