Well here we are about a month after the Twin
Tower attacks. While we have made significant progress in the
handling of the investigation and have managed to head off any
further events, it is tragic to sit and watch the finger pointing
start to happen as the days go by. One cannot help by think that
if we were able to freeze the assets of the terrorists after the
September 11th tragedy, why couldn’t we have done
before it occurred? Now we have groups running around throwing
their hands in the air and shouting that we are about to lose some
of our personal liberties as a result of all of this. Tell that to
the folks that died on September 11th. I’ll bet they
would gladly have voted for higher levels of security at the
airports or immigration. We simply have to acknowledge the fact
that we are living in a different time and that we cannot afford
to conduct business as usual. Our freedom is the envy of many
countries in the world. Other citizens of the world would go to
any lengths to see us demoralized and fearful. This simply is not
the nature of our people. We are a strong and courageous bunch of
misfits who for some reason or another managed to wind up on this
part of the world. Thank God for that. I think we should all think
about the envy factor and realize we may not be liked by all
peoples in every part of the world for one reason or another. We
must take steps to be watchful and vigilant at all levels to
prevent evil forces from coming against us. If this means that we
must curtail some of our previously allowed freedoms, then so be
it. If we can no longer take but one bag onto an airplane, then we
must learn to pack better and carry less with us. I know I tend to
over pack, so it isn’t a problem. I just have to think ahead a
little more. We may have to get to the airports earlier, so what?
You don’t find me complaining. There are armed soldiers at the
airports…good for us. An interesting side note that I find hard to
go along with is this little bit of information. In the news the
other day, several people in the know were discussing the fact
that we now have the technology to do several things that
certainly would have mitigated the tragic events of 9/11. First
off, we have the ability to prevent planes from flying into
certain sectors or parts of the country. The same sort of system
that helps prevent the planes from slamming into mountains can
also keep planes from flying into restricted airspaces, think
Washington or downtown New York. We also can stop the plane from
being flown manually and have it taken over by an autopilot
system. It could then be diverted to a close airport and landed.
Any attempt to manually crash the plane would be totally useless
since the controls would be disengaged. One of the experts was
quoted as saying “The cockpit could be turned off just like you
could a computer.” Visual data could also be transmitted from the
cockpit that could show authorities on the ground what is
happening at all times. This information couldn’t have prevented a
hijacking or the takeover of the flight, but it certainly could
have allowed those personnel in charge to see what was taking
place and be prepared to handle the situation once the plane was
on the ground. You might be wondering the same thing that I did
which was …if all of these things exist, why weren’t they
implemented and working for us to prevent disasters like we have
seen? Simple, several factors came into play that managed to
derail these novel and useful concepts. Cost. The airlines don’t
want to spend the money to upgrade security items unless they just
have to do so. I imagine they’ll be rethinking that decision. The
other cog in the wheel is that some of the airline pilots don’t
want their privacy violated by cameras or automatic pilots. So, as
a result nothing has been done. Personally I think the privacy of
some folks, whether it’s the passengers or the pilots can be
sacrificed for the greater good of all. Feel free to look in my
luggage. Ask me questions about my hometown. Look at my
identification. I don’t have anything to hide. If others aren’t as
open, then I don’t feel real cozy about racing through the skies
at 35,000 feet going 500 miles an hour. But that’s just me.
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