The bureaucratic mindset of those TSA agents is simply astounding (and frightening). Thanks for writing about this.

Unfortunately, while stories of TSA stupidity abound, the more disturbing underlying issue is that Americans are becoming slowly acclimated to this defensive posture which we adopted in the aftermath of 9-11.

Historian John Lewis writes about the perils of such a defensive mindset in his article, "'No Substitute for Victory': The Defeat of Islamic Totalitarianism" from the Winter 2006-2007 issue of The Objective Standard:

http://www.theobjectivestandard.com/issues/2006-winter/no-substitute-for-victory.asp

"Meanwhile, a state of siege is being more deeply entrenched inside America every day. We are losing the war by institutionalizing the loss of our freedoms, searching the sneakers of senior citizens in wheelchairs in order to avoid confronting bellicose dictatorships overseas. In the minds of many people, the Bush administration's allegedly 'offensive' strategy has discredited the very idea of genuinely offensive war for American self-interest, which it pledged to fight, and then betrayed to its core. Our soldiers come home maimed or dead, and military offense, rather than timidity, takes the blame. To compensate for our weakness overseas, we are building electric fences and security barriers to keep the world out, accepting the medieval ideal of walled towns under constant threat of attack, rather than destroying the source of such threats."

Lewis points out that we will never defeat Islamic Totalitarianism if we maintain our current cringing, apologetic, defensive posture towards them. Instead, America must have the moral confidence to know that it is proper to take the fight to them, with the goal of destroying the threat they pose.

He is therefore sharply critical of the Bush administration and the neoconservatives for waging a senseless war in Iraq that merely saps American strength and will to fight, rather than targeting the real enemy in Iran with the goal of protecting our actual security and making these inane TSA checks unnecessary.

For more details, I highly recommend reading the entire piece:

http://www.theobjectivestandard.com/issues/2006-winter/no-substitute-for-victory.asp