Government should step in on airport screening

I have taped an American flag to my front door, the side window of my car and worn the red, white and blue ribbons on my suit jacket.

I get misty-eyed with any rendition of "God Bless America," including the venerable Kate Smith belting out the lyrics from my childhood.

Patriotism is no longer a debate for me. The case was made on Sept. 11 with 6,000 good arguments.

In spite of my newfound patriotic devotion, I am breaking with my president over an issue that affects my personal safety and the economic welfare of this country.

Mr. Atta et al. have created terror. As someone who makes his living by regularly walking down a jet bridge to fly somewhere in this nation or the world, it is no longer "business as usual." The seats are uncharacteristically empty and the eyes of passengers are uncharacteristically full of judgments about each other.

The terrorists succeeded in blaspheming our freedoms by thumbing their noses through the cockpit window of an airliner turned into a 530-mph bomb. The airplane, in our nation, is the ultimate expression of capitalism and living the good life. With a Visa card and a bad case of wanderlust, a Boeing 767 was the ticket to nirvana.

It is my opinion that the terror will not be extinguished until we can be guaranteed some new level of safety.

Pilots who are "packing" and sky marshals who are trained to replay "High Noon at the OK Corral" in the aisle of an MD80 are not, in my opinion, the answer.

The terrorists, on Sept. 11, got on the airplanes with weapons. As a frequent air traveler, I can understand how they easily pulled this off.

If we are all holding out for advanced technology to be our savior here, we are whistling in the dark. Machines do not keep us safe; people do.

It is a simple rule of business: if you want to improve the bottom line, cut your overhead.

Unfortunately, the "screeners" in airport security have been the overhead that were, in part, responsible for the overkill on the 11th.

The problem has been that screeners get a job and not a career. I don't know about you, but I want someone checking me and everyone else out on my next flight who is the consummate professional who views his/her position as a "calling."

I flew four days after the attacks on the East Coast. I could not believe that after this unspeakable carnage, the screeners in Houston were still making personal phone calls at the security station and munching french fries between glances at the X-ray screen.

With a turnover rate of almost 400 percent at some airports, screeners are known as the expendable part of any airport. It is obvious from the demeanor, customer service skills and lack of training that this "job" needs to become a profession.

It is my opinion that federalizing the screeners is the only answer right now. The airlines, which have been paying for the present screening staff, spend about $1 billion a year (actually you and I pay that since it is added to the price of the ticket) for this safety service.

The airlines, in turn, "outsourced" the screeners to the lowest bidder. The lowest bid may increase the bottom line, but no one is talking about bottom line today. We are talking about funerals.

The profit margin argument becomes moot in the smoldering ruins of the World Trade Center.

Do we have the capitalistic energy to compare spreadsheets while billowing white sheets continue to shroud the remains of our colleagues day after terrible day?

Terrorism is a new fact of our life. Kate Smith, Norman Rockwell and Uncle Sam will never erase our jet-fueled memories. We are forever changed.

Personal safety will be illusive at best. Regardless of where we are, there will always be a furtive look over a shoulder and an instantaneous evaluation of the messages behind someone's eyes.

This is no time to be debating "big government."

If you want to debate with me whether to federalize the airport security screeners, join me on my next flight this week.

Let's argue about whether the government should get involved until you see the person sitting behind the X-ray monitor reading People magazine.

(Dr. Cal LeMon solves organizational problems with customized training and consulting. His company, Execu-tive Enrichment Inc., can be contacted via the Business Journal at sbj@sbj.net.)