Word is that Walt Disney World is considering the addition of metal detectors at the entrances of the resort's four theme parks. This move, along with the bag checks put into place following the 9/11/01 attacks, is designed to make the parks "safer" for Guests and Cast Members, and many people are actually happy about the possibility of having to pass through metal detectors to gain entrance to the Magic Kingdom or Epcot.
Metal detectors at the parks. Would they make you feel safe? They wouldn't make me feel safe. They would make me feel violated.
If metal detectors had been in place at the parks on June 30, 2000, they would not have stopped the only shooting incident I've ever heard of at WDW, because that incident took place in the Boardwalk Inn.
So, the next logical step would be to install metal detectors and bag checks at the resorts to make them "safe". But that means that ALL of your luggage, every bag, would have to be searched when you check in, and you'd have to pass through a security checkpoint to walk into the lobby of any hotel. Still okay with all of you?
Well, that kind of security existed at the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building. So what did Tim McVeigh do? He put a big bomb into a truck and parked it outside. This would be easy to do at one of the Disney Deluxe hotels, which all have drive-up areas just in front of the main lobbies to make it convenient for folks to check in. Well, let's eliminate that and force everybody to park on common lots outside WDW and rely entirely on Disney transportation while on property. Of course, you wouldn't be allowed to just come and go from Disney property however you pleased, but what the heck, being held prisoner is a small price to pay for a "safe" vacation.
But wait, that wouldn't stop somebody from flying a stolen plane into the Dolphin or the Contemporary. Why not install anti-aircraft missiles on the roof of each Disney hotel and around each park? Then we'd be completely "safe" from aerial attack! And the missile batteries on the rooftops of the resorts would be a great new attraction for Guests to visit.
But wait, Disney security people are not armed, so a group of armed terrorists could easily break their way into the resort to take hostages, plant bombs, or whatever else they wanted to do. So let's create a special Mouse Police Force with paramilitary training and heavy weapons to combat that threat. Yeah, my vacation would be much warmer and fuzzier if I saw SWAT guys with automatic weapons roaming the theme parks. Put Mickey ears on top of their Kevlar helmets and they'd blend right in. Give them bright, cheerful uniforms to disguise their body armor, and paint their MP5 sub-machine guns red and blue, and nobody will even notice them.
Until they slam you against a wall for a random, non-profiled, completely harmless body search. But if you get searched, you get a free FastPass for any attraction in the park, so it's not so bad.
Etc. Etc. Etc, yada, yada, yada. Give me any security precaution, and I'll show you a way that a terrorist or criminal can get around it or through it. Even the most repressive police states that have ever existed on Earth have had criminal or terrorist activities; no matter how hard you try, you can't be "safe".
And the argument that, "Well, if it saves even one life, then it's worth a little inconvenience" is totally flawed. How far do we go with that? Are you willing to give up your freedom of speech to save one life? Are you willing to give up your freedom of assembly to save one life? Are you willing to give up your freedom of religion to save one life?
I'm not.
Far too many people have willingly given up their lives in the 228-year history of this country for us to throw it all away in the futile and dangerous cause of making the population "safe".
Being an American means that we have freedoms. People often mention that those freedoms come with great responsibility, but not everybody realizes that those freedoms also come with risks. The risks, like the freedoms, belong to all of us, not just those who wear uniforms and get deployed to war zones.
I accept those risks and responsibilities, because to me the freedoms that come with them are worth it. But giving up the freedoms does not get rid of the risks.
Personally, I'd rather take the risks and enjoy the freedoms than take the risks without any freedoms.