United Liberty
78% of Americans Okay With Full Body Scanners
Mon, 01/11/2010 - 4:38pm | posted by David Carlson
The war on terror has inevitably led to loss of liberty. Starting with the Patriot Act that was passed soon after 9/11 (but most certainly was written well before the attacks) which not a single legislator read before being passed, to where we are now with full body scanners likely being implemented both abroad and in the United States.
According to a recent USA Today/Gallup poll, an astounding 78% approve of full body scanners.
CNN recently reported that TSA documents, obtained by a privacy group, state that the machines will have image storing and sending capabilities:
The TSA specified in 2008 documents that the machines must have image storage and sending abilities, the Washington-based Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) said.
In the documents, obtained by the privacy group and provided to CNN, the TSA specifies that the body scanners it purchases must have the ability to store and send images when in “test mode.”
It is amazing how quickly we forget the famous quote by Benjamin Franklin: “Those who would sacrifice essential liberties for a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.” After hearing that, check out this quote below from Representaive Bennie Thompson (via Politico):
“If you want safety, you’re going to have to compromise convenience,” Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) said on TV One’s “Washington Watch.” “You’re never going to be able to travel the way you did in the past. Times are different.”
From Franklin’s perspective, we deserve NEITHER liberty or safety, as we are quick to give up our essential liberties for a little safety.
The results of the poll are not a good sign. However, I would bet that as more Americans learn about the body scanners with the accompanying invasion of privacy and the inherently abusive nature of such a manner of security, they will become outraged and we will see such poll numbers plummet. Much work remains to be done to educate the general public about liberty. We do not have to choose between liberty and security. We can have both. Without liberty, we are far less secure in reality, even with the illusion of safety. The body scanners will not make air travel safer. This and many other “security measures” we can expect to see are nothing more than government theatre, intended to break the American spirit of courage in the face of adversity for the sake of submission to power.
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