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Christian Living

bootsontheground 11/23/10

Death by a Thousand Cuts

Standing in the security line at the airport the other day, I watched as my wife was "randomly selected" for the so-called "naked body scanner" by a male TSA agent. I had been given a pass and was only subjected to the metal detector.

We had talked about this beforehand. If either of us were selected for the "enhanced" security procedures, we would opt for the patdown. This is mostly because of a video that I saw on the Internet several days before our departure, where a man takes one of the images from these scanners and, using only a few mouse clicks, turns it into a shockingly clear photo of a woman's naked body.

The TSA assures us this won't happen with them, but I'd rather be safe than sorry. Indeed, after my wife received a pat down that would be considered sexual assault in any other context, I stood watching the security checkpoint for about ten minutes before continuing to our gate. In that time, probably a half-dozen attractive females were "randomly selected" for the naked body scanner, while only one man (of dozens) was asked to go through the machine. Hmmmm...

Anyway, this experience made me realize one thing: the terrorists are winning. Their stated goal is to destroy our country, and the thing that has always defined the United States is the fact that we are a beacon of liberty for the world.

Today, the United States is one of the most unfriendly, unwelcoming countries in the world.

"To bring down America we do not need to strike big," a recent Al Qaeda web post said. "In such an environment of security phobia that is sweeping America, it is more feasible to stage smaller attacks that involve less players and less time to launch."

Al Qaeda gets it: our unwillingness to accept any risk, no matter how miniscule, has fundamentally altered American culture. We are trading freedom for the perception of security. But Al Qaeda knows they can easily and cheaply cause us to continue to chip away at our liberties in an attempt to make ourselves safe - until one day we have neither liberty nor safety.

It reminds me of an old three-stooges gaffe. Larry pokes curly in the eye. Curly's hands cover his face. Larry pokes curly in the gut. Curly's hands move to protect his midsection while Larry smacks him in the back of the head...and so on.

If we continually fight yesterday's battles, we'll never be prepared for those that come. I would bet that even if the U.S. took security back to the level of the 1990s, there would never be another hijacking - after 9/11, and Todd Beamer's courageous "Let's roll," airline passengers will never again sit back and let that happen.

Should we check for explosives? Sure. Trained K-9 units and "puffers" are dramatically less expensive and less invasive than today's "naked body scanners." They are the ONLY things that could possibly detect a "body cavity bomb," which I predict will be the next escalation of the terrorist's campaign to destroy our freedoms.

Once that happens, Al Qaeda's leaders will probably laugh themselves silly when the TSA declares mandatory proctological exams before flying.

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