Just to make sure I understand this particular point, are you saying that we should
never demonstrate when we believe rules are stupid and we shouldn't have to abide by them, so that others won't also demonstrate?
So, just keep your mouth shut, lest you spark a rebellion amongst the masses?
Because here's the thing...when the government is doing things that don't work, when the government WE elected via that whole "of the
people, by the people, for the people" thing does entirely stupid and inane things that encroach upon our Constitutionally-sanctioned rights (and I'm not talking just about TSA regulations in that point, but the many other things that have happened due to 9/11 under the guise of safety and homeland security), we have a responsibility to stand up and say
NO, even if there's just one lone dude standing there.
Remember that picture of that guy in
Tiananmen Square? By your logic, that guy was also showing others that the rules were stupid and shouldn't be followed. Now, maybe that guy's demonstration was a bigger, more historically significant one than MKEbound's effort last week, but the principle is the same.
Sometimes it takes the more radical and the more courageous of us to notify the rest of us that there's something wrong and we need to take a closer look. As one with a bone fide Master's degree in sociology from a university where critical thinking is not just taught but encouraged, I promise you that history has shown that the efforts of protestors and demonstrators serve two social purposes- to notify those in charge that the citizenry will not tolerate their rights being trampled on and to alert the rest of the citizens to a problem.
So, as an American citizen who firmly believes in our right to free speech and our right to demonstrate, KUDOS to MKEbound for taking the risk to pull a prank in protest and garner media attention to notify those who might otherwise follow ineffective rules and regulations like sheep. The goal is to effect change- change that must happen, if we
truly want our safety and security to be protected.
GG