“You can’t trust anybody…”

I just got “nabbed” by America’s finest…the TSA. I forgot a bottle of water in my backpack. This water bottle has made the trip through numerous checkpoints, but always empty. This morning, I forgot to empty it.

Well…my water bottle became the proverbial “tip of the iceberg” for my TSA experience. Because I had a bottle of water, they “randomly” tested my bag for explosives…and it tested positive. Once the alarm was set off, one TSA “expert” patted me down while another did the “alarm positive” paperwork, while another checked through ONE of my bags thoroughly. (I have to ask – why didn’t they check BOTH bags of this suspected terrorist? After all, I WAS guilty of carrying a water bottle…)

I asked what types of things would cause a “false positive”. She said, “Heart medication or sometimes even hand cream.” I joked that I had heard a commentator say, “The LAST person that needs to be told they test positive is a heart patient.” (I though the implication was obvious…that the stress wouldn’t be good for a heart patient.) Her response? “Terrorists take heart medication too.”

Huh?! The BROKEN logic of that response is a good sign to me that she should be relieved of her role in screening passengers -- TODAY. Is it heart medication we are screening for here? I thought it was explosives we were guarding against, not prescription medication. Terrorists can have allergies too. Should we start screening for Claritin as well? (I confess…I had some in my bag. Arrest me now.)

The statement upset me was when she said, “You can’t trust anybody these days!” That statement is blatantly untrue. You can trust me. She stands at the checkpoint every day and sees evidence that the MAJORITY of the people passing through the airport can be trusted. (Except that you can’t trust certain conservative Christian guys to remember that they have a bottle of water in their backpack…)

TSA exists to protect the general traveling public against the VERY unlikely “bad guy” trying to get on the plane. I have traveled a lot, and I have never –to my knowledge – met anyone who turned out to be one of those bad guys. I would venture a guess that my “friend” at TSA this morning has never met one either. We can’t buy into the philosophy that “you can’t trust anybody”. If we do, the terrorist have won!

You’ve GOT to trust people. I am about to step onto a plane and TRUST a pilot I’ve never met, but I don’t plan to interview him or put him through a sobriety test. I left my vehicle in long-term parking in Washington, DC when I began this trip. I am trusting literally hundreds of people to leave it alone. And it works! You can trust MOST people for the basics in life. While I understand that TSA can’t just assume everybody is OK, I refuse buy into the philosophy that “you can’t trust anybody”.

Here is some interesting reading I found while I was writing this post.

Voluntarily "bumped"...

I write this sitting in a hotel in Erlanger, Kentucky. You may or may not know that I am the Board President for Mission Data International. I am on my return trip from a few days of board meetings in Siloam Springs, AR. The travel for this trip has be quite eventful.

When I went to Washington-Dulles Airport to begin this trip, I ran into traffic snags, construction and the lovely folks at TSA have also developed new and improved ways to hinder the flow of people through their checkpoints. I missed making my flight by 2-3 minutes. I didn't get onto the next flight because they changed the aircraft used on that flight...decreasing capacity by about 20 passengers.

This meant that I got diverted to Atlanta to make my connection. While I was waiting for my flight from Atlanta to Arkansas, they were asking for volunteers to be "bumped" for $400 "Delta Bucks". I was wishing I could volunteer, but had to make my meetings. I arrived about 5 or 6 hours later than planned, but we were able to flex and get all of our business taken care of. When I again had the option to volunteer on my flight to Washington, DC tonight, it seemed like a great idea. I get a good night's rest, and a fresh start tomorrow, instead of arriving home at 1 am. The family won't miss me too much because they would have been in bed when I arrived anyway. Win-win.

My next trip will be on Delta's "nickel". I probably won't use the whole credit on a single flight either... I'll take the $400 Delta! Thanks for the nice room too. :-) Think I'll go down to the Jacuzzi for a while now... :-)