Holy Bajoly, this is so relevant. John Gilmore has sued the government over their new rules created under the guise of security from terrorism that don't really provide any security but do end up making America a very un-American place to live. (Go read the Free to Travel FAQ for more). He refuses to fly within the United States because he rejects the notion that we have to provide identification to the system. At first I felt this stance was a bit extreme, perhaps too extreme to even be granted a hearing by Joe Public, but this guy has his head on straight.
He recently tried to fly to England for a vacation (he doesn't object to international passports, presumably because they are part of a non-American system of rules. ) He was wearing a "Suspected Terrorist" button on his lapel, but once airborne, a stewardess noticed it and notified the captian. When he refused to take it off (as well he should have, as it is a political statement pointing out that we are all considered terrorists), the captain turned the plane around, took him back to the US, and kicked him off the plane.
He then had a very interesting conversation with a British Airways employee about flying on their airline and his reasons for wearing the button. I won't go into everything here, but I really encourage you (actually I'd demand it, but you won't listen to me) to go read it. It isn't a long story, but it is really really important.
In his experience, we can see how society has changed in the worst ways following 9/11 and the USGov't's response to it. As painful as it is to realize these changes and know that they didn't have to happen, it is therein we find the silver lining and motivation to keep at this, namely, these changes can be undone. We must engage people though. One of the reasons media consolidation is so dangerous is that people don't talk abotu stuff anymore, at least not this kind of thing. We watch the pundits talk about it instead, never realizing that they aren't just having proxy conversations and discussions for us, but are imparting THEIR opinions on us while making us feel like we were partners in the argument. We need to, as a nation and population, talk about these things with each other. Maybe we need homework assignments...
Posted by Nutrimentia at August 1, 2003 10:24 AM | TrackBack