In
Pursuit of Happiness Against Capitulation to bin Laden I am a plane spotter. As a hobby, I take photographs of commercial aircraft. These are not great days for plane spotters. It is especially difficult for a Bangladeshi-born Muslim US permanent resident such as myself. On March 30, I was questioned by the Ft. Lauderdale airport police about my plane spotting activity. Eventually, an agent from the FBI was also involved. He was extremely courteous, and with the minor inconvenience of missing an earlier flight, I continued my flight to New York. Hearing of this incident, my friends and family have asked me to reconsider my hobby. On the contrary, I am even more determined to continue this odd but personally gratifying pastime. This country, like many, is built on the ideals that as long as I cause no harm to the society at large, I can do what I please in pursuit of my happiness. It would be the wrong time to shy from that fundamental principle of this nation. If I give up, it would be almost tantamount to me leaving everything and moving to Iran. I have been an avid fan of planes for as long as I can remember. While what I read in aviation magazines and show interest in is geeky to most, this is what I chose to do in my free time, and I am happy with it for myself. Few other countries in the world allow me the good fortune to hold a steady job and maintain a hobby without a second thought than these United States. Recently, with the help of my new digital camera, I have put a life-long passion on commercial aviation into a full blown hobby of a plane spotter. That means that whenever I travel, I click away taking photos of airplanes from every possible angle. I submit these photos – after some touchups - to websites for plane spotters, where enthusiasts like me exchange photos of planes from around the world. Sure, we're a bit different, but being different is part of any obsession. September 11, 2001 was the darkest hour for all plane spotters, as it was, obviously, for millions of others. I was particularly shocked by the events of that day. The weapons were airplanes, the target was my beloved home city, the pretext was my religion. Not that I am a deeply religious person, but never have I heard that it is acceptable to take three thousand innocent lives in the name of Islam. My uncle had office in the twin towers. Thankfully, he and his employees are fine, but the psychological trauma still haunts us. For the longest while, I lost interest in aviation. I would actually feel anxious whenever I would see a jet over Manhattan. The world did not make sense any more, as aviation – an industry that bridges the world – seemed to be the very tool that tore it apart. And my interest in the field of aviation dimmed for a while. Time is a healer, and over the next year or so, I found that alienating myself from my true love was more difficult than I had given myself credit for. A year later, I discovered one of the websites where I regularly submit photos of planes. Initially, I started off by taking photos at Newark Airport. I spent many hours riding the monorail and being on top of car-parks taking photos. It is not easy to click away at howling winds in below-freezing temperatures. In all honestly, my photographs are not even that good. But I love it for the thrill of it. I am aware of the changing world and the changing realities. Thus, I make sure I call an airport and find out if there are any restrictions for taking photos. It is unfortunate but true that given my ethnic background, it would be foolhardy not to. I cooperate with any questions or inquiries people make. If someone needs to make a phone call to verify permission I have already obtained or know exists, I cooperate and wait patiently until the verification is completed. They are just doing their job. At times, however, I come across people who can be rather rude. Take the young lady who tends to Newark’s monorail riders; accosting me on a photo shoot, she told me I could not take photos. I knew I could, and asked her to call the Port Authority, which allows photos to be taken from public areas. She snarled back, “First someone takes a photograph, and then next thing you know planes are crashing into buildings”. I was both hurt and angered by that statement. I told her that I loved this country just as much as anyone else and that she was insinuating things that she herself may not be aware of. She called the PA offices, and was informed that I could indeed take photographs there. Alas, my words had no effect. She just looked blankly, no apologies, and said, “Go on, you can take photos.” The Ft. Lauderdale incident was slightly different. A passenger had called in to say they thought I was involved in some suspicious activity. The patrol officer was very polite and apologized and said that they were just going to check my records. He was extremely courteous. I had to wait as it takes a fair amount of time to pull up records. Again, he apologized for the inconvenience. Later, a plain-clothed gentleman approached me and showed me his FBI ID. He, too, was very gracious, and apologized for the inconvenience. He also arranged for me to fly on the next, rather over-booked flight back to New York. My family and friends seem a lot more concerned about this incident than I am. Their argument is that these are not the same times as before, and perhaps I should quit my hobby now. Given the hassle, that would be an easier thing to do. But there's no way that I'm going to do that. The reason why I love this country is that it allows me to follow any dream, work anywhere, and keep any hobby I want – provided I don’t do harm to others while keeping that hobby. Yes, thanks to Osama bin Laden, we have to take precautions. But to give up on what I do or how I live would be the same as admitting defeat – and I am not prepared to lose to the likes of bin Laden. This country was built on the pursuit of life, liberty and happiness. There are many countries with similar principles. We just need to pursue them with minor modifications. As long as there are people like the vigilant passenger who called the police about my photo taking and courteous police officer and FBI agent exist as they did at Ft. Lauderdale, we can still pursue the same principles as our nations' founders, we just have to do it with a bit of prudence. Written
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article posted here with permission |