For the record, I unflinchingly supported masking and lockdowns in the first year of the pandemic, before vaccines became available. I was pilloried on social media (and sometimes in person) by people who thought I was being overly cautious or even brainwashed by the sinister CDC. Now I am pelted with accusations on social media that I care nothing for children and immunocompromised people and the elderly. (I am 61 and have at least two conditions that increase the risk from COVID-19.) But the United States cannot organize all of society around a small number of vulnerable travelers—all of whom were at risk from travel before the pandemic—and saying so is not inhumane.

The Biden administration may half-heartedly appeal Mizelle’s ruling. But the playacting over masks on airplanes and trains is effectively over. Perhaps governments at all levels should take this opportunity to get ahead of other judges who might be tempted to ditch rules they don’t like.

Airport security is the low-hanging fruit. A terrorist tried to use a bomb in a sneaker more than 20 years ago, and we are still taking off our shoes. Some of this chaos is our own fault; Americans even now simply cannot get the hang of not trying to walk through security with bottles full of liquids, which are restricted due to hypothetical concerns about explosives. (A fair number of Americans are also idiots who try to walk through airports carrying loaded weapons.) Nonetheless, we are examining old people and children in small airports as if they are Mohamed Atta trying to get through Reagan National.