To TSA, or not to TSA. That is the question...

September 11, 2001 was a day that will forever be seared into my head.  I was awoken by a close friend telling me we were under attack and to turn the news on.  I put on CNN just in time to watch the second plane hit the World Trade Center.  I remained glued to the T.V. for the next four days.  I had no work to go to, as I had just started my vacation that fateful Tuesday, and was planning to fly to New Hampshire for a wedding.  Our lives were forever changed after that day.  The world of aviation was altered entirely.

There was, without a doubt, a severe lack of security needs at our nations airports.  No proper screening was in place, we could come and go to a terminal at our leisure, we could even take a blade on board an aircraft if it were no longer than 3 inches long.  This is how the terrorists were able to get by, hijack our aircraft, and do their bidding.  After 9/11, there was no doubt that we needed more stringent security at our nations airports.  Thus, the Department of Homeland Security was born, and the Transportation Security Administration was created.  The TSA is responsible for the passenger safety of all modes of public mass transportation in the United States.  They are tasked at averting the daunting reality that terrorists will do what they can to create havoc upon the American people.  I have no qualms about their intentions being noble, but when it comes down to it, their methods are less than subtle.

As time has gone on, the powers that be at the TSA have continued to up the ante in their quest to create a more secure way of travelling.  Little by little,  they continue to find ways to make it more difficult for terrorists to use our methods of mass transportation against us, but at what cost to the average law abiding citizen?  Last year, the TSA introduced a new full body scanner that is designed to detect the slightest of substances on a persons body (mind you, this is any substance, it doesn't matter).  So, if you take out everything except a receipt that you forgot in your pants pocket, it will see that.  The TSA agent is then notified that there is a foreign object, and a pat down ensues.  The body scanner uses 'radiation' to scan ones body.   RADIATION.  Now, we receive radiation every day from the sun, electronics, and whatever else gives off the slightest radiation, but it's radiation nonetheless.  The TSA states the amount of radiation given off by the scanner is no more than we would receive on a standard flight to our destination.  What they don't tell you is radiation doesn't dissipate from your body.  It accumulates over time.  Now, for the infrequent flyer, someone that flies maybe once every year or two, it's not so much of an issue.  The frequent flyers, however, that would be a long term problem.  I fly back and forth to Florida 4 to 5 times a year.  That's a lot of radiation over an extended period of time.  I'll get back to this in a moment.

If you opt out of the body scanner (which you can), you have to go through a thorough and invasive pat-down.  I have told myself many times if I ever go that route, one of two things are going to happen:  I will either request a woman to do it, or act in a manner that will make the male TSA agent VERY uncomfortable. Yes, I know it's not their fault they are told to do this, but at the same time, I believe I have the right to have a little fun at the governments expense.  Back on topic now.  The pat-down is a very invasive, and very intense pat down.  They literally run their hands along a persons entire body, head to toe, between legs, touching genitalia, you name it, they touch it.  It's a very uncomfortable situation.  At the pure essence of it, it is a search and seizure.

Now, back to the radiation thing.  My last flight down to Florida, I saw the guy in the line next to me opt out of the body scanner and get pat down.  After I got through security (I was lucky enough to hit the metal detector line), I walked up to him and asked him why he did that.  He said he was a doctor.  It doesn't matter if it's a small amount of radiation, it's still radiation, and he wants none of it.  The body doesn't get rid of it.  If a doctor won't go through it, why should I?

All of this brings me to my point of the legality and health safety of the situation.  We have already established that even though it's a very small amount of radiation, it's still radiation.  Would you want a pregnant woman going through that thing?  I know I wouldn't want my pregnant wife going through it.  What about the pat-down, is it legal?  It's arguable at best.  The 5th and 14th Amendments of our constitution state that no person that be unlawfully seized and searched without due process.  That means probable cause and a search warrant.  In this article, you will see that Texas has passed a bill that states "A person who is a public servant [acting under color of his office or employment] commits an offense if the person: (2) while acting under color of the person's office or employment without probable cause to believe the other person committed an offense: (A) performs a search for the purpose of granting access to a publicly accessible building or form of transportation." Sadly, this shouldn't have even needed to be passed.  It's already in our constitution, but as we have seen over and over, our government has pushed the constitution aside to do their bidding.  Last I checked, this law is still under review in the Appellet court system, and not implemented yet, as I'm unable to find a news article that says otherwise.

Benjamin Franklin once said "They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety."  How many terrorists have the TSA actually caught? None. The TSA's motives are noble, don't get me wrong. It's their implementation that is piss poor at best. The last attempted terrorist attack using an airplane as means was Christmas, when the famed underwear bomber came in from OVER SEAS (yes, did not even pass through our TSA system). That wasn't a fault of the TSA, that was a fault of several pieces of intelligence falling through the cracks and letting that lunatic on a plane from a foreign country. Our security measures were doing their job. They are a deterrent. No security framework will ever be perfect. But it is enough to be a deterrent. No amount of security will ever stop anyone from doing something if they want it done bad enough. We do not need to give up our freedoms and constitutional rights. Once we give these up, the terrorists have won. They see things like the TSA's increasingly tightening security mandates as a victory, because it causes undue duress to the common, law-abiding citizen.

We should not have to give up our liberties at the expense of a little safety.  The lessons of 9/11 have taught us that we can stand up to terrorism, and that the common citizen has more power than any fanatic ever will.