Round 1: Terrorists

Every comeback begins with an asskicking.

A lot of discussions and articles I've observed recently hypothesize that "the terrorists will have won" if we continue down the path we're on. Body scanners, wire tapping, torture, invasive pat-downs of ordinary American citizens who have done nothing wrong except buy a plane ticket... These measures are often characterized as non-conducive to whatever concept of victory we're aiming for down the road in the ambiguous "war on terror". I've used the phrase myself: if we keep this up, "the terrorists will have won." Future (perfect) tense.

Yesterday when flying from San Jose to Denver to visit my family for the holidays, I was faced with the soberingly inevitable decision of, if placed in a line for an AIT scanner, whether I'll subject myself to the maybe-safe X-ray image of my naked body or whether I'll opt for a pat-down likely to include a "groin check" that would be considered sexual assault by most any law enforcement agency. I was fortunate enough to end up in a metal detector line but in discussing the new TSA procedures with my friends and coworkers, I came to the grim conclusion that I think a lot of us have been reluctant to accept: In "round 1" of the war on terror, the terrorists have won. We are living in fear.

To go ahead and stave off the multitude of objections I'm sure are headed my way:

• No, I don't hate America. I love America!
• No, I don't want the terrorists to win.

I'm not happy about this conclusion, I think it's a major bummer. But these two convictions of mine are exactly what led me to conclude that the terrorists have won "round 1", and I think it is based on them that we will learn how we can hope to win "round 2" and the whole fight. Let's examine these convictions in detail...

• I don't hate America. I love America!
  
  America frickin' rocks. We have In 'n Out, iPhones, and most importantly, a Bill of Rights. Even better than a sandwich that uses fried chicken as bread, the Bill of Rights gives us certain rockin' inalienable rights such as the Fourth Amendment:
  
  The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
  
  This is frickin' awesome! Someone can't put their hand down my pants unless they have reasonable cause. America, $*&# YEAH!




• I don't want the terrorists to win.
  
  This one is a little trickier. What does it mean for the terrorists to win? Does it mean they kill the absolute largest number of people possible? If that's the case, then they're not even close to winning compared to how lung cancer from cigarettes and drunk driving "win" every day. There's something different about victory for terrorists and it's right in the name: "terror". For terrorists to win, we have to be afraid of them. Otherwise they're just ists, and ists can be anything - mixologists, typists, anthropologists, wrists... The lists (that's one too) go on and on.

So let's review: America is cool for freedom, rights, and the KFC Double Down. Terrorists only win inasmuch as we're afraid of them. And without due process of law, the TSA is now conducting unwarranted search and seizures in airports across the nation, violating our rights on the sole basis of fear. How can we conclude anything except that the terrorists have won round 1?

That's just round 1; the fight isn't over yet. We won't be able to win until we acknowledge that we're losing, and now it's time to accept that fact and change the course of things. As a country we need to get amped up, pull a classic "eye of the tiger" and refuse to live in fear anymore. We need to remind ourselves of our rights, of what this country was built on, and have a mature evaluation of what we really value most. We need to hold our representatives in government accountable for their actions, and to communicate to them that trying to make us afraid is not enough to blind us to the deprivation of our rights.

These are my big picture pleadings, but what can we do on a practical level, right now? Here are my recommendations; I haven't done all of these myself yet but fully intend to in the coming weeks and months:

1. Write to your representatives in government and object to the new policies. Demand oversight and accountability for the TSA. This page provides contact information for your particular member of the House of Representatives.
2. Know your (remaining) rights / privileges at TSA checkpoints. I'm completely fine with a metal detector and ordinary patdown, but if I'm asked to go through an AIT, I will respond as follows:
   • Opt out of the AIT. It's not clear that this is safe for men or women, and it certainly seems overly invasive. Under TSA regulations the AIT is "optional".
   • When you are subjected to the invasive pat-down...
     • Opt for a private place. I've gone back and forth on this one but I think we are probably more comfortable asserting our rights when we aren't being treated like a criminal in public; this brings an element of shame and fear that I believe hampers the practice of protecting ourselves.
     • Bring a witness. I normally travel alone, so I'll request a police officer to witness the pat-down. I trust that your average Joe / Jane police officer is, by and large, a nice guy or gal who has sworn to uphold the law and would be good at judging what does or doesn't constitute an illegal search or sexual assault (though these lines have absolutely bent with the latest TSA regulations). Check out this article about how police officers are fighting back against TSA abuse. These two organizations are not the same!
     • Request to video tape your screening, particularly if your witness is your travel partner. The TSA has been completely unclear about this, as arrests have been made for individuals video taping the TSA, but the TSA's own policy says that you can video tape procedures if it doesn't interfere with their execution. I don't know whether or not a police officer would be able/willing to do this if (s)he is serving as your witness.
3. Be vocal! Talk about it with your friends, family, coworkers, and random folks on the street. Put it on the tweeters, on the interfacebookz, and on the emailz... It's not a crime to discuss this issue, and you're not a terrorist if you disagree with the new TSA policies. Make your voice heard.

In my opinion, this is an incredibly pivotal time in our country's history. I am not normally very politically involved but this issue has thrown up a major red flag for me, and I think it's probably the most critical turning point I have seen in our country's evolution in my lifetime. I believe the worst possible thing we can do at this point in our nation's history is to ignore the uneasy feeling in our stomaches, to say to ourselves, "it'll pass" or "maybe that isn't really a right we need to protect." Think critically about what we are giving up versus the minor protections we may or may not gain. Think about who really benefits from using the AIT machines and "enhanced" pat-downs for those who opt out; are we really safer because of these procedures, or is it a corporation who stands to gain and government agencies who want us to live in fear? I don't know about you, but I truly love when the good guy comes back from behind to reclaim the title; I hope our country can do the same.

"They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety." - Benjamin Franklin

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This is still a work in progress and I intend to come back and refine it. Please post your comments either for or against my arguments here, I'd love to hear your constructive feedback!

There is also now a poll up regarding the new measures, please weigh in here!