In today’s blog, Julian Omidi discusses our civic duty while riding public transportation.
Wherever you are riding a form of public transportation like a bus, train or plane, you have heard the slogan “if you see something, say something.” Over the loud speaker, a recorded prompt tells you that if you see any suspicious activity to report it to a security official. This small action, which could keep us all safe, is one of our civic duties.
Yes, it could be argued that there is security personnel at a transportation station for a reason, but they are not able to be everywhere at once. It then gets put into the hands of the people to aid those security agents in patrolling for our safety. Thus, if we see something suspicious we should report it. However, how often do we do this?
Have you ever been at an airport, bus stop, or train station and saw an unattended bag or suspicious person and said nothing? Your answer will most likely be yes. That’s because in crowded areas, when something illegal or suspicious is happening, we often assume that others will act. It takes away our feeling of necessity to act. Yet, we still should act.
One can never assume that something is being taken care of by anyone else. When information regarding a potential threat goes uninformed to a security professional, that’s when we are more likely to be threatened. It is our civic duty to help protect ourselves and our fellow citizens. That way, we can ensure that we are actively being a part of our countries security.
The next time you are traveling, if you see something, say something. Yes, it might be something unthreatening, but it could also save the lives of many people. We can never be too cautious when it comes to safety. That is why this nation has seen so much investment in national security over the years. By increasing security measures, the government has been able to make our country a safer place. We, in the same vein, can equally help keep America safe by simply responding to that which we observe.
Be good to each other,
Julian Omidi
Julian Omidi, along with his brother Dr. Michael Omidi, is a co-founder of numerous philanthropic organizations, including No More Poverty and Animal Support.
