Our government has turned into this evil beast that does nothing but protect its own power and authority. Actually empowering pilots to responsibly take some responsibility for the passenger's safety is too similar to actually arming one of the sheep.
I think the message that should be taken from this article is that you are merely to sit down, shut up, and don't complain. After all, you're just a peasant. You don't count except when they extract cash from your paycheck.