A Nation of Whiners

AUGUST 25, 2005
By GREGORY J. RUMMO

...Americans love to complain about everything.

Continental flight 2987 accelerates smoothly down runway 22R at Newark Liberty airport. We’re rolling for takeoff in one of those small, 57-seat ERJ jets that the airline uses for shorter hops, like on this flight to Kansas City. We’re quickly airborne and on our way.

And once again, just like every other flight I’ve been on since 9/11, the TSA folks manning the security check-points were courteous and efficient. Maybe it took all of fifteen minutes getting from my drop-off point at the curb to the other side of security. And that included the time it took to check in and print a boarding pass at one of the many self check-in kiosks Continental has throughout the terminal.

I don’t know—maybe I’m just blessed or lucky or whatever you’d call it not to have ever been hassled by the TSA at Newark airport. Not even once. And I’ve flown a lot since 9/11. One month after the Twin Towers were destroyed, and before the TSA had been created, I boarded a virtually empty Virgin Airways 747 bound for London.

Security measures at the nation’s airports have gone through several makeovers since then. You still may have to remove your shoes at the x-ray scanner but at least the number of times your ID is checked has been reduced to two. And you can pack a nail clipper in your carry-on baggage without having to worry about it being confiscated.

So why are there still complaints of people being hassled by the TSA at airport security checkpoints?

I think there are several reasons; among them, overzealous journalists looking to make mountains out of molehills. But I think the real reason simply boils down to this: We are a nation of whiners. Americans love to complain about everything. From the food not being precisely as ordered in restaurants to the weather, it seems that nothing is ever good enough for us.

The truth is, we are spoiled. We have running water and flush toilets and electricity all of which we take for granted. God forbid if there’s a water main break or a power failure and the cappuccino maker goes down for a half-hour. You’d think the world was coming to an end.

We have cars to take us wherever we wish to go whenever we feel the urge and even if it almost cost me $60 to fill up the tank on my big, comfy German SUV, I didn’t have to wait in line—another thing Americans bitch and moan about constantly despite having more leisure time on our hands than at any time in history. .

Need something in the middle of the night?—There’s probably a 24-hour convenience store where you can find it. Don’t have the money to pay for it?—No problem. Use a credit card.

I could go on and on but you get the point.

If you want to know the true measure of the nation’s airport security, then ignore the complainers.

The simple fact is this: There has not been one incident of terrorism in America since 9/11. Whatever the plan is, it’s working. And that’s something no one should complain about. n