John Tyner’s column brings up the TSA’s mission (which I was, until reading his column, unaware of):
The Transportation Security Administration protects the Nation’s transportation systems to ensure freedom of movement for people and commerce.
About a month ago, I learned from one of my students while grading a research assignment that the DOD’s mission statement is Orwellian, considering the actions of the department since its founding (emphasis added):
The mission of the Department of Defense is to provide the military forces needed to deter war and to protect the security of our country. The department’s headquarters is at the Pentagon.
I certainly believe that the real war criminals and thugs-in-chief are the head bureaucrats (Gates, Napolitano, Pistole, et al.). I also believe it is legitimate to blame the soldiers, TSA agents, and other low-level tax-feeders for following orders without considering whether the orders are legal or moral. But it is incomprehensible to me how any one of these employees of the various agencies and departments can take their jobs seriously and defend their “work” in light of how greatly the missions differ from the actual policies and actions.
3:05 pm on April 16, 2011
