Article: When a crusade just isn't worth it

Here's a guy by the name of John Gilmore. Yes...he's rich and famous. I'm not going to bother telling you why, though, because I don't want any "saintly-ness" injected into this post.

In 2002, Mr. Gilmore refused to show any form of ID to the person who was checking boarding passes at the gate as he was about to board an airplane. When asked for one, he questioned them...."Why?". The person, in turn, told him that it was the law. Well....apparently, it put his undies in such a twist that he's refused to fly ever since. Whether it's the actually the law or simply a TSA/airport policy is hardly the point. There's more to be considered here.

I will tell you this, my friend. I do NOT envy the folks on the hill who have the unenviable job of weighing the constitutional rights of every US citizen against the government's charge of keeping those same citizens safe. It often seems that liberty and security are at odds with each other. It was Benjamin Franklin who once said, "Those Who Sacrifice Liberty For Security Deserve Neither". In a world of tyranny and despotism, I would most whole-heartedly agree. However, Mr. Franklin probably never considered the security of the people when the threats came from within the people and not from the government.

How do you make such a decision? How does anybody? On one hand, you have the freedoms that US citizens have enjoyed for hundreds of years and are most unhappy to compromise. On the other, you have the growing and continuously-evolving efforts of terrorism that are hellbent on killing innocents. If you opt for the path of absolute freedom and people end up dieing, then you are at fault for not stopping it. If you opt for the path of security and keep the people from that same harm, you are at fault for oppression.

You know....I really don't care which side of this argument anybody is on, but this is one thing of which I am very sure. Everybody, and I do mean EVERYBODY, needs to have a deep appreciation for the folks who are charged with making those decisions for us. Theirs is not an easy job. It's simple to criticize from the stands but it's a very different ballgame when you're the one on the field.

As much as I admire Mr. Gilmore's resolve, I really wish he would have chosen his crusades a little more thoughtfully. This is, again, in my most humbled opinion.