Losing Travelocity

Song Lyric of the Day:

Surrender to nothing / I’ll give up what I / Started / And stopped it / From end to beginning / A new day is coming / And I am finally free

30 Seconds to Mars / “Attack”

6:31PM.
Suddenly, exorbitant gas prices don’t look so bad. Kudos to the British police who foiled an alleged terror plot to simultaneously blow up 10 planes as they flew across the Atlantic from England to the US. Apparently, a few of the terrorists involved were planning test runs this weekend to see how easy it would be to smuggle their materials onboard in their carry-on luggage. Since they had sophisticated bombs concealed in sports drink bottles, to be detonated by disposable cameras, I imagine it would’ve been pretty easy to take those everyday items onboard planes. How scary is that?

As a result, airports are–understandably–on very high alert. Air travel passengers at London’s Heathrow Airport were told they could no longer take carry-on luggage onboard their flights. Stateside, delays racked up around the country as airports instituted their own stricter safety measures. As of right now, the only liquid-type substances allowed to be carried on to planes are infant formula, breast milk, and medications; mothers are being asked to drink from baby bottles to prove that they do, in fact, contain formula or breast milk.

We can no longer take beverages, shampoo, suntan lotion, toothpaste, hair gel, and makeup (among other items) onboard in our carry-on luggage. (For a complete list of prohibited items, check out TSA’s list.) Unfortunately, like so many post-9/11 security measures, I think this one is going to be permanent.

I understand the need for increased security measures, but rather than making me angry, it just makes me sad. It’s sad, and incredibly depressing, that this is what the state of our world has led to. What does make me angry is President Bush stating that our war against “Islamic fascists who will use any means to destroy those of us who love freedom, to hurt our nation” seems designed to paint the US as the sole potential victim of this terrorist plot. What about the British? How about the passengers from all over the world–French, German, Russian, Chinese, Christian, Jewish, Catholic, and, yes, the Islamic, who are merely trying to safely get from point A to point B? The US is not alone in the war against terrorism, and it would do us all well to remember that.

To anyone travelling by plane in the near future, keep your chins up and remember–all these measures are meant to keep us safe. No matter how big a delay they may cause or how many flights people will miss because of them, they are meant to keep us safe. Here’s hoping they are successful. I know that’s what I’ll be praying next time I have to fly anywhere.