A newspaper report today (Indy or Mail I think) about an airline pilot being sacked for allowing a famous footballer into the cockpit during a private flight reminded mrs maytrees and I of how personal discretion and freedoms are being whittled away in the name of "security". Furthermore once a freedom has gone or a layer of bureacracy imposed, the chances of the freedom being regained or the redtape being cut, are very slim.
Years ago whilst we were in Ireland with two then tiny children, we needed to fly back from Dublin a day early. We had booked a flight with Aer Lingus which said no to our request. BEA (now part of BA) said that they would exchange our Aer Lingus tickets and rebook with BEA for a flight leaving the day before provided that we accepted the last flight out - about 10pm. We agreed. Upon joining the flight the stewardess told us we were the only passengers. Furthermore she gave us the whole bag of toys they shared out amongst all the infants usually on a flight. A few minutes later she said that as we were alone in the huge passenger cabin, the pilot had invited us all to join the aircrew in the cockpit which he (correctly) assumed would also keep our two babies occupied.
No bureacracy; no fuss; much personal discretion and relaxed freedom.
I suppose since then the likes of the IRA and now Al Quaeda, who don't or didn't give a fig for human life especially if it is not in their own team, have caused governments to take liberties with their peoples' freedoms but today even with the promise of compulsory ID cards in the UK being re-trenched from, one cannot sometimes wonder if Al Queda, the Taliban and miltants have already won much of the diminution of others freedoms that they are gunning for.
I wonder too why the Al Quaeda type of international bully was not around in those BEA flight days? What has happened since say 1980 to inspire such deathly inhumane not to mention inhuman, attitudes becoming so prevalent in parts of the world?
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