Those Long Lines

By: Larry Gordon

The last time I saw lines as long as the ones I saw at several airports recently was in a painting that depicted the Exodus of the Israelites from Egyptian slavery more than 3,300 years ago.

That was my thought—that history was repeating itself—as I shuffled along a few inches at a time as I made my way to the security gate at JFK Airport in New York.

The fact is that I was more in awe of the long lines I saw on TV at airports in Georgia and Texas, to name just two. Of course, the circumstances surrounding those long lines had nothing to do with our historic exodus from Egypt and everything to do with politics in the swamp thanks to the Schumer National Shutdown. And one further distinction between the two situations is that our modern lines seem to be stuck going nowhere while the lines of our ancestors certainly made great progress during our 40-year trek in the wilderness.

And even though the paintings of the Exodus show the lines of Jews as basically still and unmoving, we know they made the journey and quite a few others since then. At least, if you use your imagination, you can practically see the people in the paintings moving, albeit slowly, through the desert. The reverse, unfortunately, is not the case. As we made our way to the TSA checkpoint at JFK Airport on our way down to Florida for yom tov, you needed a very vivid imagination to see if the line was actually moving.

Like those famous renditions of columns of Hebrews navigating their way through the miraculous parting of the Red Sea to facilitate their escape from Egypt, we were on a similar (though less Biblical) march as we made our way to the TSA security booth that would allow us to part through the throng so we could make it to our Jet Blue A-320 plane.

It was Tuesday afternoon, the first day that ICE officers appeared at major airports to help ease the congestion and backup. As I passed some ICE agents, I told them how good it was to see them, and I could see they appreciated my vote of support.

President Trump is now talking about dispatching the National Guard to airports to also assist with crowd control in addition to further assisting with security. At this rate, the Democrats and their leader, our Senator Chuck Schumer, will continue to get their way, which satisfies the Democrats, but creates severe hardships for the TSA employees who are working without pay, not to mention the traveling public, who has no choice but to be subjected to a mass exodus from Egypt every time they want to fly somewhere.

I’ve mentioned a number of times over the last few years that the minute I start writing about a subject, the situation changes from one line to the next and I have to rewrite everything. That’s exactly what happened in the middle of my writing this paragraph. Just a few minutes ago, President Trump said on Truth Social that he was directing his new Secretary of Homeland Security, Markwayne Mullin, to immediately arrange for TSA agents to be paid ASAP.

Last week it was decided that the shutdown was mostly over and things will shortly get back to “normal,” or whatever you call the system that existed prior to the Democrats shutting down our government, including the part of Homeland Security that comprises TSA at our airports.

This entire traveling nightmare was brought to us by Sen. Schumer, Congressman Hakeem Jeffries, and others who decided that they have no compunction in making life difficult and even potentially dangerous for average, ordinary American citizens.

The question that stands out the most for me is where are the principled Congressional representatives like Senator John Fetterman of Pennsylvania? How come friends of Israel and the American Jewish community in the House of Representatives are suddenly silent? People like Congressional Democrats Tom Suozzi and Laura Gillen, who ordinarily demonstrate that they can do what is right instead of just toeing the party line and going along with Schumer and Jeffries?

What if President Trump had to go to Congress to get approval—if it was needed—to finish the war with Iran and protect Israel from having dangerous Iranian cluster munitions take out their air defense systems, which protect civilian populations in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, and Haifa and other communities?

Would Suozzi and Gillen along with others like Rep. Dan Goldman vote to protect Israel and the other Gulf States, or would they just do whatever Schumer and Jeffries tell them to do, or would they step up and be counted as the supporters of Israel they claim to be?

Fourteen months into President Trump’s second term, there is literally nothing the Democrats won’t do in their efforts to besmirch him and his administration with an eye on the midterm elections and their hope to win a Democratic majority, which will allow them to immediately begin impeachment proceedings against the president.

As we get ready to celebrate our exodus from Egyptian slavery, at least the long lines in our airports will hopefully be resolved. Something to think about while you’re standing there. 

Read more of Larry Gordon’s articles at 5TJT.com. Follow 5 Towns Jewish Times on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter for updates and live videos. Comments, questions, and suggestions are welcome at 5TJT.com and on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.