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"Security" is the most prominent buzzword of the 2000s, and with good reason. For those who will always remember what it was like before 9/11, we know that the United States and the world will never be the same. Despite a more guarded outlook and perhaps a more intense need to protect ourselves, we members of western civilization will inevitably continue living our lives as all humans naturally do, but we will also attempt to keep our public servants responsible and do everything we can to ensure that such a diabolical plan never again reaches fruition.

Even before the initial shock of the attacks faded, agencies all over the country began implementing new security procedures and quality control checks. Thanks to the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), many of our airports, harbors, and interstate checkpoints now have video cameras and high-definition x-rays for careful screening of travelers, their bags, and their documents. Even the security officers must be screened.

Not only that, but one of the currently running TSA programs is designed to help officers pinpoint individuals based on behavior, not ethnicity. This is a step towards a more realistic, less insulting form of profiling. It makes more sense to pull someone out of line because they are suspiciously looking around or fidgeting with their shoe, instead of peacefully waiting, with skin color or clothing that happens to be aligned with a particular part of the world.

Additionally, a bumper crop of mandatory on line classes has grown into the federal employee lexicon, such as the Security Awareness Virtual Initiative (SAVI) Training Program. Intended to educate and raise awareness of both electronic and physical safety procedures, this Internet-based course is an annual necessity for Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) employees. Many may not remember every single acronym or procedure from the class, but the basics are there, and that's a small price to pay (maybe an hour) for tighter workplace safety.

But travel checks and workplace education are not the only security programs out there. What about the media?

Don't get upset because CNN or your local news channel hasn't kept you abreast of the latest military plan to thwart our enemies. Today's technology allows information to be sent all over the world quite rapidly, so if Homeland Security or the FBI outlined a plan via national media, that would be very dangerous. After all, our enemies watch the news, too. When you don't hear

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