
(Sir? Can we see you go through the scanner?)
But that's the least of our problems.
In a New York Mag article on the subject, author John Heilemann makes a good point:
"But if we’re lucky—and it’s a very big if, I’ll grant you—the entire episode may serve an even greater purpose: to start an adult conversation about the policies we adopt to reduce the risk of terrorist incidents in this country, and the foolishness of believing that any of them will lead to perfect safety."
Most of our countrymen (and probably many of us) continue to live operating under the false assumption that things haven't changed...that we can go on living as we did when we were kids and the threat of terrorism was distant, at worst.
The world has changed and we will never have that assurance of security again (arguably, we didn't even then...but that's neither here nor there at this point.) so it's best we accept that and stop allowing our civil liberties to be trodden upon (and I'm thinking wire taps, being held without just cause, etc. when I say that, as opposed to this body scan/pat-down situation, particularly.) under the guise of increasing security. We've also got to stop being seduced by wannabe leaders who fill our ears with false promises and hopes of security they can't possibly guarantee - even if their methods didn't compromise our freedoms and liberties we - as a nation - have fought so hard to preserve and uphold.
Either you get that standing up for your values inheres sacrifice at times (even death...hopefully in the extreme.) or you don't, and - if you don't - you shouldn't have any problem bending over backward to get scanned or patted down to help bolster your false sense of security.
For the record, I really have no problem with the scans/pat-downs. If they ARE increasing security - even the slightest bit! - I approve wholeheartedly. That said, I have no particular issues either with being exposed via a body scan or being felt up (I'm a gay man, after all?), so my perspective is one of "no harm, no foul" whereas someone else may have a much more adverse reaction to the prospect of either. Also, I am highly doubtful that these procedures are truly increasing our security to any great extent, so...there's that as well.