OK, confession time. I love airports and flying. I love the little bags of peanuts, the turbulence and even going through security. However, there are few people in this world completely like me. Many people enjoy the actual flying but, unlike me, abhor waiting in line and going through security while in the airport.
Along those lines, many people think that current security measures are unnecessary and too intrusive. The implementation of Advanced Imaging Technology, which can quickly detect a range of threats, has been especially controversial. The truth is, however, that security measures are necessary for our safety.
Few people can forget the devastating attack on Sept. 11, 2001. Following that horrific event, security in the United States was amplified across the board, but few things were affected quite as significantly as flying. One of the most significant effects of 9/11 was the creation of the Transportation Security Administration.
The TSA is charged with overseeing the security of all transportation, but is mainly associated with airport security. Other notable changes in security include limitations on amounts of liquids allowed on planes, which came about in 2006, and advanced pat-downs. At the time, directly following 9/11, these heightened security measures helped U.S. citizens feel safe again while flying.
Fast-forward to the present day and people have grown dissatisfied with the current level of security measures in airports. People think it is too much of a hassle to take shoes off, and feel that certain screening machines are an invasion of privacy. The TSA has tried to combat this growing dissatisfaction with security by offering a program called Pre-Check in select airlines. Pre-Check allows certain flyers to pay an extra fee to complete security early.
While the TSA should do everything it can to make security as hassle-free as possible, it should not feel that it is has to lessen security measures in order to stop people from complaining. People will find something to complain about no matter what security measures are or are not implemented.
In the end, the security measures that are in place are there to protect us. They are there to help us feel safe as we travel. They are not meant as an inconvenience, and those who see it that way should reevaluate the importance they place on feeling safe. The TSA does everything it can to make flying hassle-free, but it should not feel that it has to sacrifice our safety in order to do so. I, for one, feel happy each time I have to take my shoes off at the airport because I know that I will be safer because of it.