That’s the big lesson I took away from Sept. 11: Don’t be passive. After 9/11, my wife bought me a cell phone, so that in the event I found myself in a similar situation I could at least call my family one last time. It’s not much use up here in the mountains, so I never bothered getting it out of the box. If I ever am on a hijacked plane, while everyone else is dialing home, I’ll be calling AT&T or Verizon trying to set up an account. But, of course, no one will ever hijack an American plane ever again — not because of idiotic confiscations of tweezers, but because of the brave passengers on that fourth flight. That’s why, three months later, the great British shoebomber had barely got the match to his sock before half the cabin pounded the crap out of him. Even the French. To expect the government to save you is to be a bystander in your own fate.

Whole thing is here.