The growing revolt against
invasive TSA practices is encouraging to Americans who are fed up with
federal government encroachment in their lives. In the case of air travelers,
this encroachment is quite literally physical. But a deep-seated libertarian
impulse still exists within the American people, and opposition to the new
TSA full body scanner and groping searches is gathering momentum.
I introduced legislation last
week that is based on a very simple principle: federal agents should be
subject to the same laws as ordinary citizens. If you would face criminal
prosecution or a lawsuit for groping someone, exposing them to unwelcome
radiation, causing them emotional distress, or violating indecency laws, then
TSA agents should similarly face sanctions for their actions.
This principle goes beyond TSA
agents, however. As commentator Lew Rockwell recently noted, the bill
"enshrines the key lesson of the freedom philosophy: the government is
not above the moral law. If it is wrong for you and me, it is wrong for
people in government suits... That is true of TSA crimes too." The
revolt against TSA also serves as a refreshing reminder that we should not give
in to government alarmism or be afraid to question government policies.
Certainly, those who choose to
refuse the humiliating and potentially harmful new full body scanner machines
may suffer delays, inconveniences, or worse. But I still believe peaceful
resistance is the most effective tool against federal encroachment on our
constitutional rights, which leads me to be supportive of any kind of
"opt-out" or similar popular movements.
After all, what price can we
place on our dignity, personal privacy, and physical integrity? We have a
right not to be treated like criminals and searched by federal agents without
some reasonable evidence of criminal activity. Are we now to accept that
merely wishing to travel and board an aircraft give rise to reasonable suspicion
of criminality?
Also, let's not forget that
TSA was created in the aftermath of 9/11, when far too many Americans were
clamoring for government protection from the specter of terrorism. Indeed it
was congressional Republicans, the majority party in 2001, who must bear much
of the blame for creating the Department of Homeland Security and TSA in the
first place. Congressional Republicans also overwhelmingly supported the
Patriot Act, which added to the atmosphere of hostility toward civil
liberties in the name of state-provided "security."
But as we've seen with TSA,
federal "security" has more to do with humiliation and control than
making us safe. It has more to do with instilling a mindset of subservience,
which is why laughable policies such as removing one's shoes continue to be
enforced. What else could explain the shabby, degrading spectacle of a long
line of normally upbeat Americans shuffling obediently through airport
security in their stocking feet?
TSA may be merely symbolic of
much bigger problems with the federal government, but it is an important
symbol and we have a real chance to do something about it. We must seize this
opportunity, before TSA offers some cosmetic compromise or the media
spotlight fades. If you don't live in my congressional district, please
consider contacting your member of Congress and asking him or her to
cosponsor HR 6416, the American Traveler Dignity Act of 2010. With enough
help, we can push the bill to a vote early next year. Unless grassroots
Americans take action, federal agencies like TSA will continue to bully us
and ignore our basic constitutional freedoms.
