Air travel insecurities

In the 28 December 2007 issue of the New York Times, Patrick Smith published an extended indictment of the practices that masquerade as “security” in US air travel industry. Mr. Smith, who is an airline pilot and writes the regular “Ask the Pilot” column for Salon, explains clearly how security searches for weapons, liquids, airlines flight crews are, in a word, mistaken. As Mr. Smith and some of the commenters argue, our security policies have a terrorizing effect that manages to keep people docile but on edge.

In the end, I’m not sure which is more troubling, the inanity of the existing regulations, or the average American’s acceptance of them and willingness to be humiliated. These wasteful and tedious protocols have solidified into what appears to be indefinite policy, with little or no opposition. There ought to be a tide of protest rising up against this mania. Where is it? At its loudest, the voice of the traveling public is one of grumbled resignation. The op-ed pages are silent, the pundits have nothing meaningful to say.

Here’s a link to Mr. Smith’s entry in the Times blog about air travel and an index of Mr. Smith’s “Ask the Pilot” columns.