We Meet the TSA

My wife and I got up at 6 AM to finish getting ready for our flight. In the mad scramble to get ready, which included picking up our four children, last minute trips to the store and packing, we neglected those last minute things – cleaning out the fridge, making sure all the trash is out, and turning the thermostats up. Finally, after our morning trip to the bank, we arrived at Will Rogers International Airport in Oklahoma City. At 8:30 AM we checked in, and lined up for our friendly TSA screening.

At the TSA checkpoint, I had some difficulty with my new Delta Fly app (great app, operator error with the difficulty). After finding both our electronic boarding passes, we proceeded to the scan or pat down area. I trudged through the machine, with time more of a concern than the indignity of a pat down on my mind. I wanted to get coffee before getting on the plane. Then I realized my wife had “opted out”.

This was a stunning turn of events! My wife is not the one railing against civil liberties being violated by such Soviet-style police state tactics we all experience when traveling – I am. She is not the politically active one who goes to conventions and views the whole world in terms of Liberty vs. Tyranny. She is a “normal” person, who tolerates her husband’s eccentricities. With a smile, she moved to another line while I watched with pride.

The security guard known as a Transportation Security Agent asked question after question, as she put on a new set of gloves in preparation of the pat down. My wife, large smile on her face, just ignored the questioning. As she was patted down, she dramatically thrust first one and then the other leg out to be groped, halfway mocking and halfway laughing at the whole ridiculous process. She seemed to be having fun with it, in spite of the indignity.

Humor is necessary in the face of Tyranny. 

This is something I will keep in mind as I travel to Tampa, and the Republican National Convention. I will keep standing up for what I believe to be right, which is Constitutional Liberty and the Rule of Law, but I will do everything I can to have fun while I do it. Thank you for the lesson, honey!