With all of the controversy surrounding the new body scan and invasive pat-downs at our airports, there is a contingent of people who have not been heard from. I have great compassion for the individuals who work for the TSA. These people are charged with ensuring our safety in the skies. To carry out that task, they are now required to look at revealing images and/or invade the personal space of countless airline passengers.
Think about the joylessness of that task. No one bounds out of bed in the morning, thinking “Hooray! Today at work, I might get to see a blurry x-ray of a 48-year old preacher!” No one goes to work hoping that, in the words of the current viral video, they will get to “touch the junk” of some crabby, sweaty passenger who has been lugging baggage around the airport.
If you have ever given birth in a hospital, you might be as blasé as I am about the new security procedures. After all, I remember a constant stream of people in and out of my hospital room, checking how far along I was. (I have a hazy recollection of the person pushing a broom checking me, but Andy assures me that memory was drug-induced.) The birth itself was attended by a cast of thousands. After all that, posing fully clothed for an airport x-ray just isn’t that intimidating.
True, I do not want to be exposed to unnecessary radiation. Nor do I, however, want my airplane to fall unnecessarily out of the sky. In fact, the not-falling-out-of-the-sky alternative is my preference 100% of the time. Having a bored security guard invade my personal space is a small price to pay for the gift of arriving alive.
It saddens me to live in such a time as this, where we have to protect ourselves from each other so aggressively. However, the TSA personnel are not the enemy. They are simply people trying to do a job, a job which has gotten significantly more challenging and unpleasant. During this busy Thanksgiving travel season, I am thankful that they are willing to be there for us.
