Forest or Trees

I just came back from a trip to Aruba, a tiny Dutch  island off the coast of  Venezuela with great weather, beaches, and tourist attractions.It was very interesting to me that this small island would be the first country to use technology to speed up their customs process. They use a kiosk that a passenger can go to, insert their passport for review. Then a photo is taken of the person and they are allowed to proceed. The countries authorities now have an electronic copy of each persons passport information as well as an up-to-date photo of the person.  They now have several of these kiosk which have replaced the tedious chore of standing in line waiting for a customs agent to ask you the mandatory script of questions to allow you to enter the country. Each person turns in their entrance form which they receive on the plane, and they are free to proceed to retrieve their luggage if they have any. I just wondered how this would improve the process for places like Atlanta, Chicago, etc. It seems strange that they can get it done and we here in America can't.

The other thing that struck me as odd was the fact that when I went through security they relieved be of my manicure scissors. These are the little scissors that come in travel kits with a file and nail clippers. These scissors do not have a blade portion even an inch long, and would be a laughable weapon. But rules are rules. What is interesting is that I just read about a shooting at the Ft. Lauderdale airport where a passenger was allowed to check a gun and "ammunition" in their luggage. When the person arrived, they got their checked bag, went to the restroom, removed the gun and loaded it, and then went out in baggage claim and began shooting people. He killed several innocent individuals. Is it just me, or is this just a crazy policy? The.

gun rights people would say they have the right to do this, but in this day and age it just seems like someone could figure out that this policy had a potential for disaster.

I guess as they say, some people can't see the forest for the trees.