On Christmas morning I took Rosalee and Sara to the airport so they could fly to Ontario and visit Sara’s family for the week. Rosie was a little nervous about the 5 hour flight but was looking forward to seeing her grandparents and cousin Ollie.
An hour later I got a call from Sara to tell me that security had confiscated Rosie’s comfort squishy ball she’d packed in her carry-on. It had liquid in it. They informed her that the ball would be held for 24 hours and I could pick it up in that time and only I could pick it up.
The next morning I drove to the airport in -6 degree weather with snow on the roads, paid for parking and went in to retrieve the ball. I was at least an hour inside the 24 hour period.
I was informed by a bored security manager that the ball had been tossed the day before, within hours of being confiscated. “She should have known the rules.” Further, he had no idea why anyone would tell her we had 24 hours but he would have a chat with the crew he assured me. Then he turned and strutted off. I was left with my jaw dropped, which you wouldn’t have seen because I was wearing my mask as dictated by law. Too bad. So sad.
Ben Franklin said “If you give up liberty for security, you deserve neither and will lose both.”
It’s been more than 20 years since 9/11 and we still can’t bring our shampoo through carry-on. We have to take our shoes off and even subject ourselves to being viewed naked by strangers whose bona fides we know nothing about.
I remember folks on the Right saying that if you impose these restrictions, ostensibly for the short term, you will never see the end of them. At the time, I thought that was ridiculous, but the old adage has proven true – give people money, fame or power and they will not lightly give it back. Those in charge of transportation security have never before been given so much and they will never give it back. The amount of energy to regain those rights is likely beyond anyone’s reserve or will right now.
Sadly, 20 years later we’re seeing the same with this pandemic. Let me be clear: the pandemic is real – vaccinations help – masks help – social distancing helps – washing hands helps but I have said from the beginning, if you give some people the power to affect the world because of this virus, those people, no matter who much you like and admire them, are not going to give that power back. They are not going to give up the heady rush of having children ask for their autograph while they grab a coffee or the media hanging on their every word – their every edict. We may well be beyond salvation here. The shut downs, the lock downs, the travel restrictions and the rules by which we are allowed to socialize, I fear, are with us to stay and with that comes untold suffering and hardship for vast swathes of society. Do not for a minute believe that this serves the greater good. It does not. We are not better off because of those restrictions. We are worse. We’re farther apart. We’re less trusting and more easily manipulated by a media that is more than happy to maintain that manipulation in order to keep you watching and reading.
If the jab is as safe as “they” say it is. If it’s as effective as “they” say it is then stop with the restrictions, which, we are told, affects the un-vaccinated in the vast majority of cases. Let folks decide if they want it or not and let us suffer the consequences of our freedom to make that decision.
It’s not just a comfort ball. It’s a demonstration from those in power that they can do what they will and you will swallow it whole.
Welcome to 2022.
