It was post-9/11 security theater — the performative illusion that mass ritualized inconvenience will make us safer.

For the first time in almost 20 years, travelers no longer have to take off their shoes during security screenings at certain U.S. airports.

The Transportation Security Administration has relaxed one of its policies for boarding domestic flights. Passengers are no longer required to remove their shoes when processing through security lanes in U.S. airports.