Sad State of Affairs

Every year, during the first few weeks, I ask my new students to write a letter of introduction to me. I get all kinds of letters about all kinds of things, but this year I got one of the sad ones. One of my kids is of "Persian" (as he puts it) decent, and he still has a large family including grandparents still living in Iran. This summer he went to visit them which was very exciting. He also got to bring home a kitten from a special line bred by the family, and that was even more exciting. However, the fun stopped when they landed back in the United States. His letter tells about how the family was immediately pulled aside for questioning, how he and his brother were taken away to separate rooms, and how the TSA people questioned him for more than three hours. He is TWELVE YEARS OLD! What the heck do these people think he is going to tell? The fact that he is a minor and an American citizen did not seem to make any difference. Later, he said they actually accused his brother of having a bomb. If he had a bomb wouldn't he have blown it up WHILE HE WAS ON THE AIRPLANE? I feel so much safer knowing that little boys are being separated from their mothers and grilled for hours. I'm certain that is making all the difference in the war on terror.