TSA

“Except for revolution, nothing changes a country more than war,” said Time Magazine’s Charles Krauthammer in his article How War Can Change America. Our lives, our laws, and our liberties are all put on the line. Government influence and power change. Trade and commerce change. Laws change, usually for safety. National Security picks up and the people of our country feel the direct effects. Currently, we see these changes in our country as the War in Iraq continues.

On September 11th, 2001, our country changed forever. On September 11th, 2001, a chain of events started, which changed the way we live today. On September 11th, 2001, and every day since, to this date, our country has been full of new endings and beginnings. Unfortunately, many of these endings have been on our liberties and many of these beginnings have become controversial topics. According to the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) website, over the last 11 years, the TSA was created and “improved” in order to protect passengers from terrorist attacks. Bombs and weapons have been found among boarders, so extra precautions have been made to ensure the safety of the other passengers. The cautions from 9/11 increased national security, including new TSA technology that is considered an invasive violation of the 4th amendment.

People are in fear of hijackers, bombs, shootings, etc. on planes and in airports. They want safety. They want security. Understandably, they want peace of mind traveling to visit their loved ones for holidays and while on business trips. Many of these fears have become realities and there have been harmful dangerous people trying to board planes with disguised bombs and other weapons of destruction. To ease the minds of the innocent while disarming the rest has become a huge issue in public debate in more recent days, since security measures have gone up.

Bag checks and metal detectors are not the only forms of TSA security our country’s airlines have anymore. Detailed searches, including physical pat-downs and new image technology are allowing for more detailed searches. These have now all been regulated as day-to-day flight procedure. TSA assistants will check you, snap an x-ray technology picture of you or pat you down to check for possible weapons or explosives. Most people are willing to go through with the sometimes embarrassing procedures to get on their flights quickly.

The fourth amendment states our right “to be secure in the their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated,…” Citizens are complaining that this right is being violated by the increased searches in flight security. “Innocent until proven guilty,” International Jewish News (2010) reminds the public to consider. This principle is held by our country’s court system in cases of justice. With this in mind, claims are made that TSA’s body scans that peer into our personal lives, against our right, unless there is probable cause. Controversial articles, heated debates, and flight delays caused by angry citizens who deny the necessary body scan and pat down procedures have triggered upheavals concerning the future of our rights.

“All told, I submitted to the security agent’s 10-fingered salutation 10 times in one day-” said New York Times’ Arial Kaminer, a reporter who was a subject in the 2010 Thanksgiving travel policy that required all boarding passengers to have scans and/or pat downs. Reports of sexual assault during pat-downs are not uncommon, as well as leaks of the x-ray vision pictures from the body scans. YouTube videos, blogs, and other forms of personal international communication are overflowing with complaints of harassment. A software engineer from San Diego named John Tyner made news when he refused the TSA scan on video. CNN reported that Tyner was surprised at the interest taken in his refusal and that he hoped it would focus attention on government privacy invasion. In search for a response to some of the angry citizen complaints, MSNBC reporter Ray Henry talked to Transportation Security Administration chief John Pistole about the situation. "We all wish we lived in a world where security procedures at airports weren't necessary," he said, "but that just isn't the case." 200,000 views of the cell phone video that caught Tyner’s arguments with security screeners over the scan and pat-down racked up by the following Monday, and more videos have followed. Tyner could face a civil lawsuit, as well as others who deny the checks. (Henry, R. MSNBC)

With war comes change. With change comes controversy. Due to the airline security changes caused from 9/11 and the following events, our 4th amendment has been redefined. People like Tyner are raising voices and questions. Airports continue to revise and attempt to better flight security, even at society’s expense.



_____________Sites_________________

Transportation Security Administration, Advanced Imaging Technology (AIT),Retrieved: Jan. 19, 2011, from TSA.gov website: http://www.tsa.gov/approach/tech/ait/index.shtm

Henry, R. (2010). TSA Chief: Body-Scan Boycott Could Cause Delays. Retrieved: Jan. 19, 2011. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40334879/ns/travel-news/

Krauthammer, C. (1991). How The War Can Change America. Retrieved: Jan. 19, 2011. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,972218,00.html

CNN Wire Staff. (2010). TSA: Despite Objections, All Passengers Must Be Screened. Retrieved: Jan. 19, 2011. http://articles.cnn.com/2010-11- 15/travel/california.airport.security_1_alternative-screening-tsa-physical-pat- down?_s=PM:TRAVEL

IJN Editorial Staff. (2010). Innocent Until Proven Guilty - TSA Take Note. Retrieved: Jan. 19, 2011. http://ijn.com/editorial/2038-innocent-until-proven-guilty-tsa-take- note

Stahl, L. (Reporter). (December 21, 2008). Screening the TSA. [YouTube Television Broadcast] CBS, 60 min. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2HyAV- SEsg&feature=fvst