The Latest Rage: Invasion of the Body Scanners!
Wilton D. Alston
JBS: Thursday, July 3, 2008
Unsatisfied with patting down barefoot grandmothers, the TSA is now ready to deploy an even more fun toy — body scanners that allow for a full inspection of the airline security victim’s body through his clothing.
Since the 9/11 attacks, the shape of security has been evolving in ways that some advocates of liberty have found troubling. More importantly, this evolution has not always, or even over the majority of the long haul, resulted in real improvements to the safety of, well, anyone.
Given the corrupt nature of many agents of the State, one might somewhat understand the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks to extend the power of a not-so-precious few. Such is to be expected from people who are motivated by a quest for power and little else. Despite Lao Tsu’s admonition that “Only fools seek power; and the greatest fools seek it through force,” we know that the elixir of coercive state power is a powerful and addictive intoxicant for many. It would be a mistake to call all of today’s rights infringers fools. Many of them are skilled. (Some of them might even have good intentions.) Either way, they are very adroit at getting their way and can present all manner of valid-sounding justifications for whatever steps they wish to take.
t is no real surprise then, when lower-echelon bureaucrats begin to drink deeply of the same Kool-Aid. One such mini-Napoleon, James Schear, TSA security director at Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport exclaims, “It’s the wave of the future.” [...]
When the push for more and more aggressive search techniques first came into vogue at U.S. airports, my friends and I used to joke that eventually the powers-that-be would have everyone naked at the checkpoints. After a very thorough search, all passengers would be issued a toga and, or course, complete safety would ensue! It seems now that our jokes are starting to come true. [...]
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