Convenience, Security, Trust

M.T.A. Slow to Spend Money on Transit Security

As for this article, I won't discuss it directly, but rather, I want to tackle something that's going on in the Amerian psyche (and elsewhere) as we face down these terrorist threats. People talk about spending money and beefing up security, etc. The problem is, is that it's essentially money down the drain. It's impossible to plug all the holes, and a terrorist only needs one. It's still relatively easy to transport things on to airlines if someone really had the desire to. Just so, I feel it will probably *always* be easy to attack a rail network. People thrive on convenience, especially here in America, where we want instant gratification, short lines, and constant tending to our needs (compare restaurant service here to Europe!). So in the struggle between convenience and security, convenience will always have the upper hand. A successfully thwarted terrorist attempt is NEVER seen by the public, even if they hear a line or two in the news about something being stopped. It simply isn't headliner news for the modern media, they thrive on sensationalism and these events actually happeneing. So it is that the public (not just on these shores, but elsewhere) will not have the patience to put up with security measures neccessary for their safety. A good subway network, for example, is suppose to be more efficient and cheaper than a taxi or personal vehicle. If the London tube, DC metro, or NYC subway suddenly start taking FOREVER because people have to filter through long, airport security-type lines, the underground companies will fold, traffic will collapse, and congestion above ground will exponentially increase. People will not tolerate inconvenience once they are lulled back in to their dillusion of false security.

Where does this leave us? Are we stuck, unable to truly change? This is why preventive action and military force are not comprehensive answers to terrorism. We have to discover and chip away at the root causes. The only succcessful prevention is by altering the thought process and disturbing values of these attackers. Strong, careful diplomacy. An open society depends on trust--we must ensure that that trust is being established. In a global age where the world is criss crossed and internetworked to the extent that it is, the entire globe becomes "local," and trust efforts must be carried out across the world's surface. Meanwhile, if we accept a comrpomise to continue our openness and avoid the security of a police state, we must accept the responsibility and the potential danger of our choice in favor of convenience. We're called to be adult in this, and accept whatever role in the blame we ourselves also share.