Why We Must Not Always Be Compliant

You may recall this incident in which Steven Bierfeldt, a Ron Paul supporter, was detained by TSA screeners for no other reason than that he was carrying a box of cash:



Some may think it was stupid stunt. All Bierfeldt had to do was disclose the reason he was carrying that amount of money and he would have been on his way.

But it was a good thing he chose to disobey the TSA agent's unlawful request. His defiance has led to some positive changes:

Bierfeldt and the American Civil Liberties Union, which represented him in a lawsuit, announced in a news release this week that the TSA had changed its rules in response to the litigation.

"It's a huge victory for civil liberties that TSA agents no longer have free rein to conduct sweeping, baseless searches and detain passengers who don't pose a threat to flight safety," Bierfeldt said in a statement.

Sometimes refusing to play the role of a compliant sheep pays off in the long run.