In Robert Heinlein’s classic 1951 science fiction novel “The Puppet Masters”, a slug-like alien race capable of attaching themselves to human being’s spinal cord and controlling their minds secretly invades earth. A shadowy intelligence operation detects the alien menace, and led by the protagonist “Sam” and his partner “Mary” manages to defeat them. One of their biggest challenges after they understood what they were up against was preventing infiltration of “Zone Green”, the areas known to be free of puppet masters. One of the measures necessary to defeat the alien menace was “Schedule Suntan”, ordering uninfected civilians to wear a bare minimum of clothing (or less) so that the slugs would have no place to hide. Desperate measures for desperate times.
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Ignoring for the moment the obvious allusion to the invisible spread of insidiously dangerous political ideas like trading fundamental liberties for the illusion of safety, I was reminded of Heinlein’s bare-skin solution by a discussion about so-called “airport security” on the Liberty Round Table’s mailing list recently. One of the ladies joked that an effective protest against the comically ineffective airport “security” screeners and their frequent groping of women was to arrange a protest by “a gaggle of freedom lovers” who present themselves to the screeners wearing nothing but a trench coat. As she put it, “What a way to protest the increasingly inane ’security’ measures… show up and strip naked right there in front of God, goons, and everybody else!”
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Most of us are willing to show that much skin in public on the beach for recreation. We should be willing to sacrifice a little dignity to fight for our freedom. Identify yourself as both somebody who is no threat to the other passengers, and somebody who wants everyone to know they have utter disdain for the whole farcical proceedings. Be tasteful and respectful, and remember that there are probably kids watching. I’d suggest wearing a jacket over your bathing suit until you actually reach the screening area. Be sure to pointedly tell anyone who asks WHY you are under-dressed for the occasion. If possible, be prepared with flyers and information presenting alternatives. One good source of information you might find useful is the Project: Safe Skies web site I maintain at www.projectsafeskies.org.
Not a bad idea. Perhaps it will catch on.
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