I don't mean to be insulting when I pose the following question.

When George Carlin said that great line about "not putting up with" the TSA, how does that work exactly? How does one "not put up with it,"? How does a person win by buying a non-refundable plane ticket with their own money, standing in line at the airport, and then willingly getting themselves arrested by humorless TSA agents in the blue latex gloves? At what point does causing a public scene in the name of freedom cause the TSA to decide, "Gee, we're a bunch of jerks who embody the downfall of American liberty. Let's all quit our jobs and return our country to a time when nuns in wheelchairs could actually get on an airplane with dignity in the name of national security." Could I just leave out the middleman, walk straight to the local police station on my day off, and politely ask them to formally arrest me so that I can say I took a stand against tyranny? I can just picture the desk sergeant's expression of, "Why do I get all the nut jobs? Here, fill THIS out. You know this'll be on all your job applications forever after, right buddy?"

How many times did George Carlin end up in jail? I know freedom requires self-sacrifice, but I'd kinda like the self-sacrifice to be something more significant and effective than merely being yet-another-day-at-the-office for the guys who arrest me for giving soapbox speeches and holding up the line. How is me causing them to do their jobs a useful method of fixing society's ills?

How does a person "not put up with something,"? How does a person improve society without the use of violence? How does a person hold signs, chant slogans, and get a mouthful of pepper spray while still showing up on time to work the next morning?

Likewise, when a person chooses not to put up with people who use cell phones in traffic, how does that work? I must admit that my steamed mood behind the wheel doesn't seem to affect anyone else's day but my own. Am I seriously supposed to ram the cell phone user into the orange barrels in the name of the Founding Fathers? "Take THAT, evil-doer!" Is there something more I can do than merely write my senators or choose to leave my own cell phone in the glove box when I'm driving? Is there something more I can do other than merely choose not to hijack a plane. (I'll admit, it's pretty easy for me to choose not to murder hundreds of innocent passengers aboard an airplane, but just because I'm not a terrorist doesn't really seem to convince the terrorists or the TSA to stop behaving like bratty Kindergarteners.) Am I supposed to lead a revolution with a spray can and a red, white, and blue anarchist's banner in my hands? Am I expected to just pointlessly write my congressional leaders once a week like my Grandpa's generation did?

P.S. Assume that I do not have several million dollars to spend. Also assume that I do not want to become a James Bond villain bent on world domination. I don't want to dominate the world; I just want to take a vacation via airplane again someday without being publicly treated like I'm a child molester.