In the familiar round of terror attempts, Umar Farouk Abdul Mutallab failed in his attempt to bomb a Detroit bound plane. His efforts were not foiled by the tens of billions of dollars the US Government spends on intelligence and homeland security, but by vigilant citizens who took just action when called upon. The travelling public joined an unwritten compact even before the Twin Towers finished burning and collapsed: nobody shall be permitted to hijack an airplane. Within a few minutes of the three planes’ successful attacks on 9/11, the fourth plane’s passengers realized their grim reality and took action against their attackers. From that minute on, the Government has failed to stop several airline attacks, but never the People.

Congressmen have rightly asked how the TSA failed to prevent the terrorist from boarding the plane with explosives strapped to his legs. The answer is that the TSA is the largest body of sloths and self-important buffoons ever created without the benefit of an election. As with every government body, the TSA seeks to prevent yesterday’s attacks while Al Qaeda cooks up new ones. While the TSA hassles grandmothers over illicit shoes and oversized shampoo bottles, the travelling public is no safer for it.

Without a doubt, the TSA is more focused on its discrimination policies than on focusing on the probable sources of trouble, but the trouble runs deeper. Like any government agency, the front line of the TSA simply follows orders. While the prospect of individual low level functionaries exercising their own discretion is itself troubling, terrorists know that the TSA’s procedures and their weaknesses are predictable. Even if the TSA were staffed with competent, honest people, they and the air marshals would never be able to stop all threats.

The one reliable safety resource of the past decade has been the travelling public, so why not leverage that advantage? Rather than disarm honest citizens at the advantage of terrorists, why not deputize a legion of frequent fliers? A rough outline:

• Offer US citizens who pass a background check a discount (10%?) on their plane tickets in exchange for providing security on their flights.
• These deputy marshals would check out firearms, Tasers, or other weapons at the departure gate, carry them onboard their flights, and return them at their arrival gates.
• Deputy marshals would have to pass periodic training and testing to prove that they are competent to carry and use weapons onboard a plane.

Of course this system flies in the face of the Government’s way of life. The idea of citizens doing the work of overpaid government goons is against everything Washington stands for, but it is consistent with a long tradition of US Citizens taking charge of their own security.

Shout Bits readers will rightly dismiss this proposal as impossible in this day and age, when even pilots are discouraged by the FAA to carry weapons. Still, the next time a TSA agent treats your parents like terrorists, ask yourself how much good the TSA is really doing. Ask if you wouldn’t rather trust in yourself for your flying safety.