Today is the the tenth anniversary of September 11, 2001. It was a shocking event that catapulted the nation into a series of decisions that did not make America more American. If not for the events of September 11, we would not have the Patriot Act or the Department of Homeland Security. If not for September 11, we would not have our airports overrun with security forces dressed like proctologists, their blue rubber gloves ready to probe for weapons in the darkest recesses of the human body.
Are we safer now? Are the measures that we put into effect to protect ourselves from those who were willing to die in order to kill us doing the job?
On the day of the terrorist attack, all the fallen were hailed as heroes. But helpless victims, however blameless, are not heroes. Dying because there is no other choice is not a cause for celebration, and though we may mourn, we cannot revere. Reverence, admiration and hero worship are reserved to those who strive against the odds. There was one group of victims, at least, who decided to fight back: the passengers of Flight 93. Leslie Fish wrote a song about them. Listen to the song, and honor the heroes.
What could have prevented the tragedies of September 11? Higher security at the airport? More wiretapping? I don’t think so. An armed citizenry is the only defense that works. Instead of disarming everyone before they board the flight, we should allow anyone who wants it to carry a weapon. The real heroes are not the proctologists at the airport or the sheep-like populations that submits to them. The real heroes are not the ones who try to keep tabs on subversive activities or the security experts who eavesdrop on our phone calls. The real heroes are those who dare to fight back, despite the odds. Think how much better they could do, if they were not deprived of the means!
Copyright 2011 Aya Katz
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http://aya-katz.hubpages.com/hub/The-Right-to-Bear-Arms-in-Flight
