Our security in the homeland

I'd like to ask a simple question: who feels safer in airports due to increased security?
It's interesting. I hear so many people claim that we need to fight the war on terror because we cannot succumb to the desires of terrorists. Okay, I agree: we shouldn't allow others to infringe on our way of life (but our way of life should also not infringe on others'...think about that for a bit), but I'm absolutely flabbergasted about how a nation who grounds itself on forward thinking could so utterly be frightened, with what amount to nothing more than Nazi fear tactics, that we are willing to give up our personal liberties, without question, because our government claims it will make us safer. Honestly. Because of those fear tactics, our nation does not lay claim to being the most free country in the world. How many rights have you given up recently, without even knowing?
Anyway, the point of the post is simple. In an article by the The Atlantic, we get to see first hand how effective these relatively new measures are. Are the actions that we, as a nation, took valuable at all? It's about time that each and every one of us actually asks that question, instead of accepting it as wisdom on our leaders' parts.
Even if you disagree, the article is interesting to read, even just the opening paragraphs. Fight the fear! (Only thing to fear, is fear itself, after all, right?)
[BoingBoing]