How Safe?

A few nights ago on the Daily Show, comedian Lewis Black joked how when he was young they used to practice air raid drills where they had to hide under their desks. How ridiculous to think that you would be safe from bombs, nuclear or otherwise, by hiding under a desk. Now, of course, we've wised up, we know we aren't safe under a desk. So we have duct tape and color charts.

While Black makes an effective point with humor, there is no denying that our safety is an illusion. We have done a good job protecting against the last terrorist attack, but what about the next one. We have added so much security to the airports that it has strangled air traffic. We have cut back civil rights, so that the FBI can wiretap at will and citizens can be held as enemy combatants without their family even being told. These steps, we are told, are neccessary to protect us. Meanwhile, only 2% of cargo shipments arriving in the U.S. are inspected. Wouldn't it be easier and more effective to seach these shipments, which could hide tons of bombs and weapons? The current administration thinks it would be too costly and so it has not acted on the proposals to increase port security. It is just reckless to ignore this threat while claiming to be the paragons of security.