Welcome Home to the USA?

Seven years after TSA regulations were tightened, travelers are still going through the same charade before boarding a plane in the U.S. or returning to the States. The only thing that has changed is that travelers know without being told that they must remove liquids, laptops, and shoes, must submit their boarding passes and passports for check and recheck, and must, at least outwardly, appear as though they deem whole procedure a serious one, meant to insure safety.

Unfortunately, when we are so far removed from the events that brought us to this point, it all seems like the propagandist performance of isolationists, and we are treated at though our willingness to travel is, in itself, a suspicious activity. In almost any security checkpoint line, it's possible to hear travelers wonder aloud about the the checks that are (or aren't) going on in cargo holds of planes, or elsewhere, where unseen forces hold sway over decisions that are made to appease corporations and not increase safety.

Granted, the whole procedure could be a lot worse. And, granted, it could still become worse. But there is the hope that, with a new president waiting in the wings, that any terrorists threats will now be taken care of at their location of origin and travelers will again feel genuinely safe, instead of like unwitting scapegoats for criminals allowed to run free.