Open letter to my congressman.

Here is the letter I wrote to my congressman. Please feel free to write your own at this site. You can edit, take sections or the entire letter if you wish, but please stand up and say something about this.

The TSA is unconstitutional. As you know, the 4th amendment of the Constitution protects my rights against unlawful search and seizure, unlawful being defined as without warrant or probable cause. There is no clause stating that in times of crisis or when flying in an airplane that these rights are forfeit. There is no probable cause to search every passenger, and randomly selecting does no good.

There are other examples of security from around the world that is not nearly as invasive, but is even more efficient. You probably have better access to this type of data, but how many actual terrorist threats has the TSA stopped? It seems like every new security measure comes AFTER a threat gets through security. We didn't have to take our shoes off until someone tried making a bomb with their shoes. We didn't have "enhanced" pat-downs or rapiscanners until someone tried to make a bomb out of their underwear. The security is entirely reactive and shows how irrelevant it is.

But the effectiveness of the TSA doesn't even need to be called into question because whether it is effective or not, it is still wrong. As terrible as the thought may sound, in order to have a free society, you have to allow people to do wrong. People will always drive drunk, does that mean we start confiscating alcohol from everyone? No, because we have to assume people's intentions are good unless they prove otherwise or else there is no freedom.

Is it really worth the estimated cost (from the TSA's website) of $1 per person for a small feeling of safety? Ben Franklin said, "They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety" I feel like allowing agencies like the TSA to take powers like this is exactly the problem in this country right now. Even if certain airports want enhanced security practices, they can hire a private force to do it and not use the taxpayer dollar. They will then have to deal with the consequences of their actions in the marketplace.

Please do something to stop this madness and help us return to the free society that the terrorists allegedly hate so much. Turning into exactly what the terrorists want us to turn into is not the solution. They have won unless we do something.