You know that point in the movie where the gang leader hands someone a gun and tell that person to shoot someone right in front of him? It is that loyalty test. That test that comes at a crossroads. Johnny Newbie has been around the gang for a little bit but hasn’t fully committed. So there is this grand loyalty test so the gang leader knows that Johnny Newbie will do whatever he says with out question. During this time we are all yelling at the screen, “Don’t do it!!!”. But then they do.

That is the first thing I thought about when I heard about the TSA patting down a 6 year old. Ok, that wasn’t the first thing I thought of. The first thing I thought about is how the Federal government was willing to violate children and that I would have charges filed for sexual assault or molestation. But back to my point….

I saw I video on Youtube say how it only lasted 20 seconds. Just do it and get it over with, you can’t do anything about it. It reminded me of something horrible. It reminded me of the mentality that used to be prevalent around those that accepted rape and molestation as an unpleasant but nonnegotiable part of life. Ever heard the phrase “Just lay back and enjoy it”? That led me to thinking of the gang banging rapes that happen as initiations.

The toleration of these TSA pat downs are ridiculous! Not only as a rights violation but also because there is no proof that they make us any safer! But they do have a real point. They are slowly breaking down our willingness to stand up on our own against the Federal government. The Federal government is working on building a population that is willing to substitute the government’s judgement in place of their own.

I am sure you want me to break down this illustration to show precisely what I mean. Well, you have the TSA agent who has been convinced that it is imperative for American safety that they violate someone’s private spaces because the Federal government said so. I mean we know it isn’t because the empirical data supports it. Then there is the parent. The parent has been convinced to cede their child ‘s body to “the greater good of the state” because no one can even pretend that was being done for her good. And the kid. The poor kid. If this continues, the kids in this country won’t have to be convinced to allow the Federal government to think for them because they will not know there is an alternative.

So, are we as a population going to be willing to substitute the Federal government’s judgement in place of our own. I urge that we don’t!