Small Act of Big Faith
Many clever and passionate people have written about their feelings and thoughts on the anniversary of 9/11, about what happened on that awful September day in 2001. I don’t feel like sharing the impact that day had on my life and worldview, though it was profound and I will never forget those feelings of fear and grief. I do not wish to focus on that.
I would just like to share my small act of big faith.
On the evening of the anniversary of the terrorist attacks, I boarded a small domestic flight to Santa Barbara, having left my children in the loving arms of their grandparents, and flew through the air with my knitting and my Kindle to keep me company. It was a short, sweet flight, with no hiccups or security difficulties or excessive waiting. My stuff was x-rayed and I walked quietly through the metal detector. Nobody asked me any questions about my bags; I didn’t check any.
It wasn’t until the next day, when I was rummaging through my purse, that I realized I had accidentally smuggled a pocket knife aboard the airplane. It was in my purse, as usual, because a pocket knife is a useful tool to have. But I didn’t remember I had it and nobody noticed it, not even the technician manning the x-ray.
I don’t know how to feel about this, except to be somewhat amazed at how life is always in a state of entropy, even after a massive, shattering upset. Things go back to normal, despite our personal transformations.
We drop our vigilance. We continue with our plans, despite the alarms. We carry on.
September 15, 2009 at 3:09 pm
I used to travel on business all the time and still occasionally do. I have always found the security theater pathetic and amusing. I refer to the security they offer as “tissue paper seatbelts” – looks like something but in the case of an actual emergency it’s useless. There are numerous stories of people bringing guns through security. It’s trivial to print a fake boarding pass to get into the “no search” express lane and bring whatever you like. And don’t get me started on non-ferrous knife blades.
And that shouldn’t scare you, quite the opposite in fact.
The reason that nobody has flown more airplanes into more towers is that nobody actually wants to.