More flying hysteria
I guess I’m not the only one who feels that shrouding ourselves in nameless dread and constant fear is not the way to handle threats. It just seems to me that if we choose to live in abject fear, throwing all our civil liberties away in the fruitless hope of “safety”, which means some impossible absence of all possible danger, we have already conceded defeat to terrorism.
First there was the story from Wednesday of the flight diverted in panic because some poor Orthodox Jewish kid was praying on the plane. Not only are we supposed to be frightened for our lives, now it’s dangerous to pray, too.
And here’s an article by a pilot–he has to live with this stupidity. Ask the Pilot – Salon.com.
How long before there is a voice of reason? Whatever happened to the thought that it is better to die on your feet than live on your knees?
Totally Unauthorized 
And the Real Problem is:
Superstition.
Who anymore is afraid to open an umbrella inside his house for fear the sun god will bring down his wrath. Or who still wears St. Christopher medals when getting on airplanes? Or who still stays home on Friday the 13th? Who still breaks out in a sweat after breaking a mirror, or walking under a ladder, or when a black cat walks by?
Thankfully, as civilization progresses, superstitions continue fading from the landscape. Just think: a thousand years from now no superstitions will be around to disrupt our lives any more. No suicide bombers blowing themselves up in anticipation of 80 black-eyed virgins. No young Orthodox Jewish kids reading prayer books on airplanes scaring the daylights out of everybody. No promising young Oakland A’s prospect going into the priesthood as was reported in yesterday’s Green Section. Nobody playing for the Queen to drop with five out.
It will be a totally rational and “fun” world, finally.