Finding common ground
CHRISTINE HICKS- USTA Travel

As I was packing and waiting for my lift to the airport today, I listened to a news report about airport security screening. The story reported on the up to 60 percent failure rate of the Transportation Security Administration to detect real bomb parts. A man-on-the-street type observed, "We're chasing yesterday's threat." The implication was that no matter what we counter, the "threateners" have proceeded to the next step of un-detection. It's true: there will always be a way.

It bears mentioning that such statistics intend to grab your attention. One ought remember, in the "good news" category, that the 60 percent represented planted material. It didn't take into any account the vastly greater number of checks that don't harbor, therefore trigger, suspicion.

If you think about it, even if we all traveled naked (interesting visual), there would still be places to hide things (even more interesting visual). So long as we travel clothed (my recommendation) and carry all manner of "stuff," a greater potential for hiding things exists.

So, can this threat be stopped? I believe that answer has nothing to do with TSA, bomb pieces or screening. No amount of precaution can absolutely derail such intent. You have to rid the intent, meaning we have to deal with people.

Our world is complex. There are as many different views as there are people. How is it then that so many of us manage to get along without incident? The news only reports on failures to get along, but those reports cloud and tilt from that far greater portion of us who never carry weapons or harbor dangerous, harmful thoughts. If "we" (in the global sense) spent more energy getting to know each other, those prejudicial and judgmental walls we so quickly erect would deconstruct. We are - all of us - poor judges of each other.

I read a feature story about three completely diverse individuals who were juxtaposed for an extended period of time. More wildly divergent perspectives would be hard to find. They represented three religions that have traditionally not coexisted peacefully, and three ideologies completely apart. These three grew up in places as foreign to each other as the native tongues they spoke. But they shared two things: English, and the reason they were together.

They started out not liking each other much, bringing stereotypical prejudgment to the collective table. They were suspicious of each other, motives seemingly at odds owing to differences in cultures, countries, and religious and growth environments. Still, they came, through discussion, thought and time, to understand, respect and even care for each other. They left changed forever, not just tolerant, but understanding.

Most flights are filled with plain people just needing a lift - people like you and me. In the end, it's all about people and how much more we have in common. We're not so different.

(Christine Hicks-Usta has enjoyed more than 30 years of globe-trotting as a member of the travel industry. Direct questions to her at Bee Group Newspapers, P.O. Box 150, Buffalo, NY 14231-0150.)