The People Come Through, Again

Via Instapundit we have this Mark Steyn comment on the recent attempt to bring down an airliner.

On September 11th 2001, the government’s (1970s) security procedures all failed, and the only good news of the day came from self-reliant citizens (on Flight 93) using their own wits and a willingness to act.

On December 25th 2009, the government’s (post-9/11) security procedures all failed, and the only good news came once again from alert individuals.

Let us hear it for "The People".  We all need to be alert citizens, without becoming East German informers on our own parents and spouses.

As Canadian Columnist (living in exile in New Hampshire) Mark Steyn notes, we all owe thanks to "Jasper Schuringa, a film director who was traveling to the US to visit friends."  Mr Schuringa is the one who acted and helped get the pyrotechnic device under control before it could turn the cabin into the Towering Inferno.

As for the alleged terrorist, he was a middle class young man from a nice middle class upbringing, attending college in London.  When one is looking for who is going to make the revolution, one should be looking at the middle class, and the upper middle class at that.  Your average shepherd is too busy tending the sheep and goats, and dreaming of joining the middle class, to go off and make revolution.

In forwarding Mr Steyn's comments I do not mean to belittle the work of TSA.  They filter out a lot of problems and deter others.  But, at the end of the day their net will not catch all the problems and it is up to individual citizens to be alert and to act.  We remain a democratic republic not because of the Government, but because of the citizens, even citizens from other countries, like Mr Schuringa, who joined the flight in Amsterdam and joined the fight on approach to Detroit.

Regards  —  Cliff