American culture, these days, seems to prefer to attack problems at the margins, thus obtaining marginal results (if those) at great cost, both in money and in liberty.

One interesting example of this is a move by CopyMax (OfficeMax’s in-store copy shop) to notify law enforcement of “suspicious” requests for copying and printing services.

The sign posted at CopyMax says “This is for the safety of our customers, our communities, and our nation.” Never mind that there’s no indication that photocopying had any role in the September 11 attacks, or indeed in any terrorist organizations’ sinister plots. Keeping a close eye on people trying to make copies is certainly a lot easier than doing something that’ll actually have an effect.

I wonder if OfficeMax makes customers register when purchasing box cutters?