This brings us to the heart of the matter -- political correctness.  Political correctness has become a major road block for airline safety.  From what I've now learned from the many emails and phone calls that I have had with airline industry personnel, it is political correctness that will eventually cause us to stand there wondering, "How did we let 9/11 happen again?" 

During a follow-up phone conversation, one flight attendant told me that it is her airline's policy not to refer to people as "Middle Eastern men."  In addition, many emails have come in calling me a racist for referring to 14 men with Syrian passports as Middle Eastern men.  For the record, the Middle East is a geographical region called just that: The Middle East.  If you refer to people who come from countries in this region (including Syria, Jordan, Israel, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Yemen, Oman, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Iran, Iraq) as "Middle Easterners," you are being geographically correct.  We call people Americans and Canadians and English and French.  I call my relatives who live in Norway Norwegians. So really, what is the hang-up?

The fact that I quoted Ann Coulter seems to have many people up in arms.  I want to be clear -- there is no political agenda here.  I quoted Ann Coulter for the information she had, not for who she is.  Read the quote again and pretend Joe or Jane Doe wrote it.  She states the facts. The facts she states are that 10 days after 9/11, Secretary of Transportation Norman Mineta sternly reminded airlines that it was illegal to discriminate against passengers based on their race, color, national or ethnic origin or religion.  

Perhaps the title of Michael Smerconish's new book sums it up: "Flying Blind. How Political Correctness Continues to Compromise Airline Safety Post 9/11."  On June 24, Smerconish testified before the U.S. Senate about the role political correctness plays in protecting airline security in a post-9/11 world. Click here to read his full testimony.

I keep thinking back to a photograph I saw in the Los Angeles Times called "Falling" by Pulitzer Prize winning AP photographer Richard Drew.  It's a photograph of a man, his body is stretched out, one knee at a right angle, as if he's lying on a couch, watching television in the living room, relaxing and enjoying life.  But he's not.  It's a photograph of a man falling from one of the top floors of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001.  This man jumped to his death, most likely because it seemed a less painful way to die than being engulfed in flames. 
 
This picture is haunting.  For a long time I kept it in my office.  I still think about this picture and I wonder about this man -- his daily life, what he did for work, what he did for play, what his thoughts were about the world.  I think about this person. I think about the meaning of "dry run."  And then I think about what it means to be politically correct.  And I keep coming up blank.

The above article is based on the opinions of the author and does not necessarily reflect the opinions of womenswallstreet.com

To receive any follow-up articles about Annie's experience, click HERE to register for www.WomensWallStreet.com. You will receive an e-mail notifying you of any subsequent articles on this subject.  

Do you have any thoughts about this article that you'd like to share with our e-ditors? Send them an email by clicking HERE.