Pat-down or potential death?

You had to imagine it was coming. After weeks of complaints the Transportation Security
Administration (TSA) has been receiving, one incident that occurred over the weekend
involving a man who had survived cancer suggests the new guidelines for screening
air passengers have gone too far.

The scene in question involved a Michigan man flying out of the Detroit airport,
but because of a urostomy bag attached to his bladder, when the passenger was aggressively
patted down, urine spilled onto his clothes.
 
Some would rear back in horror and shock at such insensitivity toward this individual.
Yes, what happened is regrettable. But isn’t this new, more aggressive form of searches
aboard U.S. planes warranted and necessary? Are the terrorists not testing every
entry point into the U.S.? If prior weeks have been any indication, the aircraft
is still the weapon of choice among most of the terrorist world. I hate being patted
down, but it sure beats the alternative …
 
I’ve seen these TSA agents. Some look like they need a shot of caffeine before they
could do anything, much less search for weapons or suspicious packages (all the
more reason for private screeners, where accountability can fire one of those loafing
at a moment’s notice). But now is not the time to ease up on security protocols.
The world is simply too dangerous to fly and hope for the best. Just look at Israel
and the major security measures they take for each flight. America could learn a
thing or two from them.
 
I hate the intrusive, insensitive manner in which these agents grope me at airports,
but I keep telling myself two things: 1) They’re not trying to get a cheap thrill
here, they’re trying to move me and thousands others like me through a line in the
fastest time possible; and 2) unless and until there is a better way of monitoring
for and preventing security breaches, then I’m willing to do my part and suffer
a moment of discomfort.
 
Freedom isn’t free, my friends. And this is one example of the price we all must
pay for moving about our great nation.

Armstrong Williams is on Sirius/XM Power 169, 7-8 p.m. and 4-5 a.m., Monday through Friday. Become a fan on Facebook at www.facebook.com/arightside, and follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/arightside.