Writing science fiction is my day job and in that day job I have a whole other set of editors. One of them, as it turns out, was at the airport during the Hartsfield shuffle. For four hours they were held outside in the sun, no information on why, no food, no water, no shelter. All because one idiot forgot something and went back down an escalator to get it.

This simple action shut down the busiest airport in the world. If he had been a terrorist he would have succeeded in spades. (Indeed, the Hartsfield security morons have just created a new form of terrorism that doesn't even require a weapon.) Millions of dollars were lost, thousands were severely inconvenienced (it was luck of the draw that no one died of heat stroke) and half the nation's air traffic was shut down.

Sheer, utter insanity. If it had been a clearly distinguishable nuclear weapon, it might have made sense. If the person was holding hostages, it might have made sense (although, frankly, you should be able to continue service in most other terminals.) But the initial reports, that it was a single, blonde, unarmed male, turned out to be correct. A single, unarmed male isn't going to get very far doing anything in the days since 9/11.

And this is not the profile of someone who is going to wipe out a skyscraper. The person might have boarded a plane. Holding the planes until he was tracked down might have made sense. But driving everyone out of the airport, and then doing a full body-cavity search on the way back in, was utter stupidity.

We are constantly bombarded with the request to "get on with our lives." Okay. We will. If you'll quit treating us like sheep and give us a chance.

Every single American male is a member of the unorganized militia (including, by the way, the imbecile on the escalator.) That's not some right-wing chest-pounding, that's federal law. Since September 11th, we have rediscovered that fact. I doubt that it was much in Beamer or Glick's mind, but they were acting as militia members on September 11th. And it is the militia that will continue to defend the skies. Despite the idiocy of the "Airline Security" speech, no one is going to trust flying until terrorism ends. Everyone boarding those planes is going to be lining up potential supporters if it's necessary to "Roll." Because the essence of airline security has not changed one iota. They didn't arm the air-crews (as the Israelis do), they have not authorized police or military to carry on planes (as the Israelis do) they have not authorized persons with concealed carry permits to carry on the planes (as the Brazilians do.) What has the Congress, in its infinite wisdom, done? Created two new bureaucracies and implemented a "flying police" program that will have the first marshal on planes sometime in 2003.

In other words, they have done nothing to improve our security. Not one damned thing.

All they've done is tell us to go out and buy a new car.

That being the case, quit treating us like sheep. You want our support in the war against terrorism, quit treating us like we're the enemy. 90% of the people on an airflight, 99% in any airport, are good guys. Treat them as such. Use them, as the Israelis have learned to, as your first line of defense. There are too many of "us" for the US to get through this war regarding the common citizen, the militia, (and that means you, Mr. 18-35 Year-Old Liberal) as the enemy.

Stop treating us like sheep, stop treating us like the problem. Or the government will find itself fighting a two front war. The next time they try to shut down an entire airport on the basis of one guy who forgot his Palm, see if they don't have a riot on their hands.

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