Chapter 3 Reaction

            In chapter three, it talks about bureaucratic power and politics. One thing that mainly caught my eye was Box 3.1 on the creation of TSA, Transportation Security Administration. I did not know that the TSA was made after September 11, 2001. As far back as I can remember, every time I went to visit my family in the states, I had to deal with TSA regulations of sorts. Then again, I was only a kid and my parents packed my things for me. I started to try and think about what things or restrictions have been implemented since 9/11. The things that popped into my head were not being able to carry liquids (if you do they must be smaller than 3 oz. and fit into a Ziploc), no one can bring sharp objects (even nail cutters), and the implementation of the body searches and body scans.

            Luckily, I have not had to deal with the issues of the body scanners, but I have dealt with body searches. Just in 2009 when I was traveling to California and had to go through Japan, I had to stand there while a TSA officer patted me down to make sure I did not have any weapons or contraband. I felt so awkward, but I know that they were just doing their jobs to help provide protection for all the passengers flying. Although all these new implementations with security at the airports have been made and are a hassle for most people, I know it is for the greater good of society because they are just precautions that are made to ensure our safety while flying.

            Another thing in chapter three that caught my eye was the acronyms, or words formed using the first letter or first few letters in a series of words, that the government uses. Figure 3.1 shows a bunch of the acronyms that are used in public administration. I thought those were a lot of acronyms but I know that they aren’t the only ones. Some of the acronyms I know of are TSA (which I just talked about), FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigations), CIA (Central Intelligence Agency), DOD (Department of Defense), and much more. Thinking about all the acronyms used in public administration made me think of not only the jargon public administration uses but also the many departments and such that the government has. There are so many departments in the government that I probably don’t even know half of them which is pretty sad since I want to possibly work for one of these major departments like the FBI or CIA one day.