Originally published in the Jacksonville Observer

Fly? I have decided that unless I commandeer an aircraft, I shall never fly anywhere again. I cannot imagine flying anywhere for any purpose, for any amount of money that justifies the indignities that one must presently endure.

There are still viable alternatives to flying, of which not going at all is still a great idea. You can drive, or take the bus or the train. Folks used to do that all the time, and if you make some adjustments to your schedule you can too. Perhaps pick a central location where you can meet the relatives or your business associates. See the sights, get a little reading done on the way, or enjoy a little romance as the train makes its way monotonously over the tracks, click clack, click clack, click clack.

Yet the airports are still full. I am reminded of a swimming pool filled with septic waste and hundred dollar bills. Watching citizens line up to dive in, it occurs to me that these people do not deserve liberty, but the meanest form of slavery. Mark my words they shall have it too. “What?” you say, “Would you rather that a terrorist blow up the plane?” “Yes,” I reply, “Blow the damn plane up; only let me keep my shoes on.” I would rather be killed in the struggle to secure liberty, than be free from harm in a society that is able to monitor my every conversation, photograph and film my every movement, search my person at will, and interrogate my every thought and word.

There are plenty of other ways to reduce the risk at airports without turning them into a replica of the strip search cells at Florida State Prison. The intelligence community is more than able to identify viable suspects, and there are dozens of technological solutions that do not involve someone grabbing your wee-wee. Sadder still is the knowledge that we are not looking for a needle in a haystack; we are a looking for a piece of hay in a haystack. Our government knows full well which nations incubate, train and dispatch terrorist bombers, and as yet have refused to reduce those nations to a fine gray ash, something that is a whole lot cheaper than “nation building.” Someone is making a lot of money producing these scanners. I wonder if they also make campaign contributions. Can you imagine for a moment the amount of political will it will take to make them go away, the cost to toss them all on the trash heap?

Soon such scanning will be required on trains, busses, and ships. Regulations shall be extended to shopping malls. Someone is bound to blow up a shopping mall soon and then it will become “obvious” that such measures are necessary. Eventually all stores and buildings will require scanning before admittance. Are you willing to have a full body scan before you enter a restaurant? Don’t doubt for a moment that it will not come to this. Will you rise up when they require scanning for you to leave your neighborhood? The events we are witnessing today are just a shadow of the extent of control that a socialist state will want to impose on us.

When will you consider liberty, freedom of movement and privacy of person, worth more than your very life? Or will you just bend over and let them LoJack you?

What will it take before you as an individual, without backup, without hope of reinforcement refuse to comply, will stand and deliver; will resist with force? Will it be when police can search your home without warrant or prior notice? When they install cameras in your living room? What precisely will it take before you counter-attack? The time for warnings is past. Now is the time to refuse to comply, to say “No, absolutely not!” The Fourth Amendment states that “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.” This is not a law that was passed only to be summarily revoked. This is a right that has been deemed self-evident and must be continue to be recognized as such. Do not comply. Do not allow yourself to be body-scanned or searched without probable cause. Now is the time to resist, to rebel, to once again fight to secure that right.