Elected officials seem to be exempt from what we, commoners, have to endure. They have their own health plan. They will not subjugate themselves or their family members to what they force down our throats.
They will not be patted down at airports for they go via security points unchecked.
We have to endure long waits at the airports and unpleasant TSA officials who do not think the extent of their training is to follow procedures.
They are not allowed to profile like common sense is out. They will stop a person who triggered an alarm because of a metal embedded due to surgery inside the person.
Exactly these people need to undergo a humiliating search, “for the safety and security of our country.”
Some people feel uncomfortable with their own doctor, whom they have known from childhood especially when it comes to undressing or undergoing certain checks like prostate for men and gynecology for women.
But now it is all about to change. We are supposed to feel comfortable allowing typically untrained and mediocre “professionals” touch us in our most private areas.
Did any one think these pat-downs would be offensive to Muslims, when men and women are together?
In Israel, screeners look at the facial expressions of a person, the automatic response to simple, seemingly innocent and unrelated, questions, sweat or other nervous signs or odd behavior.
Normally, very young children, the elderly and high-ranking officials are not scrutinized as closely as would an Arab male between the ages of 15-30.
Irrespective of who is being screened, it is done with the utmost professionalism and purpose in Israel. It is not done to humiliate or entrap, nor is it a favorite pastime and a source of stories to be told later. Rather, it is a very serious mission to protect those entering a certain location. They have to protect the people in a shopping mall, an event with the Prime Minister, a hotel, a restaurant, an airport or a plane. Its purpose is to keep terrorists out. This is the last line of defense.
If one were to listen to the TSA or the Secretary of Homeland Security, invasive pat-downs will continue. Terrorists normally do not go back to “tried and tested methods.” Instead, they devise and think of new, simpler-than-before ways to inflict terror. This was the case on September 11th.
Notice, the common denominator is simplicity. Things that are readily available or instruments one did not think about before like a pencil, a utensil, a bottle of water. Copycatting is not for terrorists rather they are for the lunatics.
We superimpose protective systems that do little if anything and predominantly make our lives more complicated. In the meantime, almost without exception, the terrorists who pray for Allah and are part of what the US President calls a “Peaceful Religion” are working on the next attack. The attack is bigger and more devastating than any before.
So they win. Because to thwart terrorist attacks, we need to read the signs, recognize the threat and react accordingly. We need to be in Mosques and listen to chatter. We need to infiltrate their very compartmentalized structures and try to destroy them. We need to have a swift, immediate and severe punishment for those caught and those who harbor and assist them.
It is time to subject our elected officials and the Administration to the very same treatment we receive. Electing them was not an exemption-from-reality card. Maybe then those at the helm will understand how futile their efforts are. In the meantime, the terrorists are laughing until it hurts.
Once the vast majority of Muslims realize they are in danger too, things may change. When our enemy becomes their enemy, a new order will emerge. Muslims will not be offended by profiling or standing like the rest of us in long lines. They will understand the extra scrutiny and encourage it. They will cooperate and volunteer to identify suspects from within rather than hinder the efforts of those trying to protect us.
Most importantly, excusing Muslims for all the wrong reasons will become null and void.
Until then, get ready to take your clothes off, be touched in all places private and be told it is all for your own security and that of the traveling public.
