On Feb. 9, 1950, then-Sen. Joseph McCarthy gave a speech in Wheeling, W. Va., that began the panic. “I have here in my hand a list of 205 – a list of names that were made known to the Secretary of State as being members of the Communist Party,” he said. These words sparked the terrified paranoia that caused the Red Scare. Everyone was afraid of being accused of associating with the Communist Party. It was an insult, a reason for investigation, a label of traitor.
Looking back, we see that McCarthy’s “list” was little more than a stunt, intended less to seek out disloyal federal employees than to gain the junior senator attention. But these accusations destroyed reputations and led to self-censorship and fear. And based on what’s going on today, it looks like we haven’t learned much from history.
It may be cliché to compare the many controversial policies of the Bush administration as something similar to the witch hunt that was McCarthy’s Red Scare. But there is one situation in particular that is so comparable, it’s ridiculous.
Erich Scherfen works as a commercial pilot for a small airline. He was also an infantry veteran of the first Gulf War and a National Guard helicopter pilot for 13 years. This spring he learned that he has been placed on the government’s no-fly terrorist watch list – and there’s nothing he could do about it.
According to CNN, Scherfen’s employer, Colgan Air Inc., a small commercial outfit out of Texas, told him in April he was on the no-fly list and that he must be off the list by Sept. 1 to keep his job.
Scherfen converted to Islam in 1994 in order to marry his wife. He was alarmed that his career was in jeopardy because of the secret no-fly list. He believes that he is on the list because of his conversion to Islam and his wife’s origin of Pakistan.
He filed a suit against the U.S. government with the help of the ACLU, saying he’d been profiled because he and his wife are Muslim, and that his status needs to be resolved so he can keep his career and job.
Colgan Air agreed to push Scherfen’s termination deadline to Oct. 1 so he can try to get his name off the list.
The biggest problem with this whole debacle is that while Colgan Air told Scherfen that his name was a “positive match” on the no-fly list, both the Department of Justice and Homeland Security cannot confirm or deny the existence of the name on a list that includes some one million people. There is no mechanism to differentiate between people with the same names, meaning if you share a name with a list member, you’re effectively grounded. There is also no way to confirm why you are on the list in the first place. Even a 5-year-old whose name was found on the list has been detained and prevented from flying.
Scherfen is one of the thousands of victims of this government-sponsored policy of “guilty until proven innocent.” Apparently, his livelihood and previous sacrifices for the country have no bearing on his placement on the list. When Scherfen sent in his request to the Transportation Security Administration, they said there would be no timetable for fixing the solution, according to a CNN report.
The purpose of the no-fly list is to prevent terrorists, or possible terrorists, from flying the American skies. But the list is bloated and filled with countless inaccuracies and errors, and it seems to put more of a strain on the average American than it does on the terrorists who the system intends to block.
The no-fly terror list is just like the list McCarthy was waving around on the Senate floor nearly 60 years ago. Nobody could see the names, verify their authenticity or question its real purpose and effect on the American public. The American public is supposed to blindly believe that the no-fly list works, but the only news that people hear are citizens having their names tarnished and their travel, even their careers, upended in the name of security.
Which leads us to another cliché lesson from history handed down from one of our Founding Fathers: A public that sacrifices its citizens’ freedoms for ineffective security deserves neither rights nor security.
-John P. Gamboa is a journalism senior.
-This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Daily Aztec. Send e-mail to letters@thedailyaztec.com. Anonymous letters will not be printed – include your full name, major and year in school.
