The emergency that never ends

Yesterday I passed on a news item about the closure of three terminals at LAX, all because a security guard had left his post guarding ONE exit to ONE terminal, possibly to keep any would-be terrorist from changing his mind and leaving the building.

I am mindful that we are just six days away from the ninth anniversary of 9/11. I remember the day well. Who doesn't? I also remember the actions...and overreactions...of the nation and indeed the world.

At the place where I lurked [worked, surely! ed.] the immediate reaction was a meeting of senior management. Our offices were on a small campus in a somewhat remote rural area, and management was worried that we might get stuck there. The topic of the meeting was whether we had enough food to eat. I suspect a list was drawn up of who would be eaten first if supplies ran out.

Well, supplies didn't run out and things eventually got back to normal. Sort of. For the truth is that life in the USA has never returned to what passed for normal before the attack on the Twin Towers. 9/11 not only killed nearly 3000 people, but made us -- Americans and the rest of the world -- the hostages of fear.

Travellers feel the suspicion and mistrust every day. Any stranger in any strange land is now a potential security threat, and is treated accordingly. In fact, you don't even have to be in a strange land to be subjected to the harassment, poking and prodding of the high-school dropouts charged with "protecting" us.

Maybe our national motto should be changed to "You can't be too careful!" because, for our "safety and convenience", we are subject to new and increasingly severe security measures every day. And these laws and regulations are never going to be repealed because the emergency will never be deemed to be over.

Even if the Osama bin Laden were to turn himself in tomorrow, even if the Taliban and Al-Qaeda and Hunosehu were to convert to Judaism, the political and cultural alienation that has been engendered by the "War on Terror" will never end. After all, just because we're paranoid doesn't mean "they" are not out to get us.

Footnote: I am still waiting for someone to explain to me why US stamps can't be steamed or soaked off envelopes any more.