Posted in response to the editorial on USA TODAY....
Imagine yourself waking up on a cool Sunday morning. You walk to your back door and take in the sight of the sun peeking over the horizon. You think to yourself, “What a great day for a drive in my car to just put the worries of the upcoming work week on the back burner, take in all this great country has to offer and to just enjoy my life." You check the pressure in your tires, open up the hood and check all the fluids, let the engine run for a minute or two in your driveway and pull out onto the open road. You got up early and have the millions of miles of this country's highways at your every whim. Five miles from your house you are pulled over by two military Humvees and ordered out of your car and forced to lay on the ground at gunpoint. You are not read your Rights; you are treated like a criminal. Just for enjoying a morning drive in your car? Correct, you are detained for several hours for simply driving your car. Why? Because you didn’t call the Department of Motor Vehicles and see if it was legal for you to drive your car today. Is that the type of America you would like to live in?
If your hometown team is playing baseball, you cannot leave your house without supervision. If the President is within 30 miles of you, you cannot leave your house without supervision. You forgot to ask for permission and supervision to drive to the pharmacy to pick up some medicine for your child – you lose your license for 180 days. You may no longer visit the Grand Canyon, because someone drove his or her car off the North Rim. You may no longer drive with the windows down on your car, because the manufacturer does not specifically say you are allowed to. You have to tell the D.M.V. what time you are leaving your house, how long you plan to be gone, how many people are going to be with you, what time you will arrive at your destination, and call them when you arrive. Is this the America you want to have?
That is the type of America that pilots have to endure every day of week. You wish to impose more restrictions on pilots, on where they can go, what they can and can not do, and why? Because they simply choose to enjoy life in a manner different than you, and in a manner that you deem unsafe, and "scary"? I should hope that your wish to impose more restrictions on people who value freedom is really what you want, because what is to stop the restrictions from spreading to your boat, your car, your bicycle, or even walking, when airplanes are completely prohibited in this country? Is that the America you want? An America where you are no longer allowed to drive where you want to go? An America where you must provide federal identification to ride the bus? An America where you are not allowed to visit your mother in the hospital because the bus service does not go there? An America where you are watched constantly by the government, that questions every turn you make, and every destination you hope to visit? One where you must show your papers to the authorities at every turn? I should hope not. It is not the America I want. I value the freedoms we have in America. I would hope you do too.
With Reverend Niemoller in mind...
First they came for the Pilots, and I didn’t speak up, because I wasn’t a Pilot.
Then they came for the Boaters, and I didn’t speak up, because I wasn’t a Boater.
Then they came for the Cyclists, and I didn’t speak up, because I was a Driver.
Then they came for me, and by that time there was no one left to speak up for me.
Be careful what you wish for.
Edward Frederick
Commercial Pilot
Aircraft Owner
Airport Manager