AT WHAT LEVEL?
Are we “cooling off” concerning our attentiveness to Home Security?
It would seem that we are doing so. Many people now more or less ignore many of the security rules which were put in place after 9-11 and it is, I think, understandable that we have begun doing so. The wisdom of doing so will be decided by future history.
Where are we at the present time?
Exact points are impossible because we don't know the potential peaks or depths to which such statistics can move. We, however, as individual might to well to consider our own, individual stance in regard to safety in our small portion of the total security picture for the nation .
And we can and do have personal reasons which are valid for either accepting or refusing to follow such directives. The choice is ours ...yours ...mine. The end result is obscured by events and changes which have not, as yet even taken place.
Let me cite several example concerning such restrictions from the days of World War II in England. Many of us met up with such rules, and regulations which were hinderences and unworkable theories quite often.
When we first arrived in England from the States American soldiers were fitted out with gas masks of WW I vintage ...the big, shoulder hung tote-bag style and it was required that you had one on your shoulder when you took to visit the nearby city. I learned my lesson with the first few minutes and returned to my starting point were I rented a locker from the Red Cross in which we checked three such gas masks. I never actually wore one into the city once I realized that we were a small minority possessing them and perhaps half a million citizens among whom we moved as guests had none. The Gas Mask rule was ignored and I never had a MP stop me for not having one with me in town. Even military justice exhibited good common sense at such times.
In our first tin-hutted village there was in the midst of the them a cross-shape concussion wall type air raid “shelter”. Open to the sky the crossed brick walls were packed with dirt on the out and they were open to the foggy sky above. During the evening hours,I don't remember when, there was the somber moan of the he air raid alarm sirens from a far, and, in accordance with existing regulations, our officers woke us demanding immediate departure to the air raid shelter. By the time we got there the all clear moan had sounded nd we noticed that the British units on each side of us had slept peacefully through it all. We suffered out first “casualty” when a lanky kid from from Philadelphia scraped the side of his face diving against the brick -walled haven.
Within a few a hours a third regulation was crushed by common sense.
At some early hour our Commanding Officer had the proper call which caused us to form a sleepy company front and to respond to roll call in total darkness. He then set us in motion to march to the Mess Hall which was half a mile or so through the woods. At that point the door of the British Commanding office burst open and British voice demanded “Halt!” He was in base command, and lectured our officers by saying: There would be no formations of any kind on the base. Troops were then instructed to meander off to the mess hall through the woods, purposely avoiding any set path or roadway. We cheered his speech and went on our way mess-ward.
I remember that first mess, too. What a mess of a mess that mess was!
Imagine one hundred and nine hungry GIs fresh from state-side with American stocked rations on board the “Queen Mary” meeting British Army rationed menus for the first time. Ersatz sausages and Powdered Eggs mainly, big slices of rough brown bread and coffee or hot tea. As the new air base we were helping to start firmed up, so did our rations though U.S. supply lines.
We learn so much from experience and by this time,those who work at, for instance, American airports must realize there are certain rules and regulations which are best forgotten.
So, we seem to be in a questioning period in our estimates of what national security must be. That would seem to be a good thing. Perhaps we can eliminate some of those pesky little textbook “Do's and Don'ts”.
Common sense protects our common good.
A.L.M. August 19, 2004 [ 776wds]
