Last Saturday, my dad and I went to Washington DC on the 5th, and last, Lone Star Honor Flight. It was such a wonderful experience for both of us. I know I'll never forget it. I'm sure it meant a lot to my dad, too. He smiled the entire day - even when we were disembarquing at 2:15 AM. The volunteers did so much to make the entire trip and experience as meaningful as it was. They also went to great lengths to ensure the safety of the 115 veterans who were on the trip and sought to make everything as convenient as possible. However, there was one part of the experience that was inconvenient and quite a hassle, not just for my dad, but for every veteran on the trip...security screening at the airport.
I'm not a frequent flyer, so I was a little surprised at how involved the screening process was. Because of the shoe bomber, people now have to remove their shoes - in addition to taking off every piece of clothing or accessory that has metal in it (metal detectors are nothing new, but are just as much of a hassle). The screeners also have to go through a person's carry-on baggage. I carried my laptop on the trip and found out I had to remove my laptop and allow the screeners to go through it as well as my bag. No biggie - except I forgot a data cable crimper in my backpack. "You have a tool with handles in your bag." I forgot it was there. I had taken everything else out of my bag EXCEPT for that. I talked to the screener and was given the option of checking my soft-sided backpack along with my laptop. "Uh, no thanks. Go ahead and keep it." That cable crimper is now in a bin of contraband somewhere in the George HW Bush Airport in Houston. But, I understand. Because of a few wackos I'm being inconvenienced. That's the way it is. Somebody eventually ruins everything for everybody. And, in this case, I'm a young man and can handle such inconveniences. Many of the 115 veterans on the Honor Flight couldn't take it so well.
Picture this: 20 plus men in their 70s, 80s or 90s approaching the security check point in wheelchairs. "Empty your pockets and take off your shoes, belts and jewelry." These men are heroes and would never pose a threat to this great country. What striking irony!
The screeners proceded to check these men - who fought for the freedom of this great country on foreign soil - screening them as if they were potentially terrorists or criminals. It was an embarrassing sight. Many of the men in the wheelchairs had great difficulty standing on their own, which was why they were in the wheelchairs anyway. Ironic indeed.
In the case of my dad, he couldn't take his shoes off by himself and needed help putting them back on. As we were leaving the screening station, Dad said to me "I hope we don't have to do that again. I'd rather ride a mule than have to go through that." I told him "we're probably going to have to do it one more time, when we get ready for our return flight." Dad didn't like hearing that and I was sorry to have to tell him. And, just as before, the experience on the return trip didn't disappoint. Only now all the chair-bound men were exhausted after their excursion in Washington. The process seemed to last forever.
I know everyone is submitted to the same screens. Those with mobility issues seem to be inconvenienced the most. The TSA maintains that they are fair to every passenger because they check everyone the same way. I heard someone say in the course of being screened "I guess that's the price of freedom nowadays." That freedom seems cheap and flimsy, in light of what I saw later that day. An inscription at the Wall of Freedom inside the World War II Monument (A wall covered in a field of 4,000 stars that represent the 400,000 lives lost of US Servicemen) says "Here we mark the price of freedom." Quite ironic. The definition of freedom must have changed drastically in 65 years.
I am reminded of the words of Benjamin Franklin: "They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." When freedom is given away, it's extremely hard to get it back. Wars have been fought to do that very thing.
As I told my dad Saturday, "I'm sorry, Dad, but there's no mule handy. You're going to have to take off your shoes..."
