This, like my post on the term "Conservative" ("What's a Conservative Anyway?", below) is for discussion purposes and to gain information, so if I am stupid, dead wrong, or naïve, please don’t "hate" on me, just tell me why I should care and I’ll be happy to care.
Why are people so uptight about the idea of a National ID card? I suspect it has something to do with “The Mark of the Beast” and other bedtime-end-of-the-world horror stories. But anyway, I would be irked about it except for the fact that—don’t we all have Social Security Cards and Social Security numbers? If they put my picture on the card, what difference does it make? What great evil would be achieved by a National ID card that we don’t already have by virtue of the Social Security card?
Maybe some of you think having a Social Security card is a bad thing and think we ought to get rid of them. That’s a rational position.
[Aside: now my conspiracy theorist friends will say I’m a “Change Agent". ]
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6 comments:
Civis--
I suppose it would depend upon what kind of information the I.D. card had encoded on it. Obviously, its advocates want more than a simple picture I.D., since most of us have at least two of those, already. What is the need for it?
You are correct in that we already have a national ID card (passports) and a national ID # (Social Sec #). We also have drivers licenses. These are all used for different things in most cases. REAL ID/national ID merges these documents and adds to it. This is bad because when all your info is in one basket, as opposed to being spread, the consequences are greater if lost. And the same card you need to fly to Europe or buy a gun or hold a job becomes the same card you have to let them photocopy at blockbuster video. On top of that, the new national ID has to subscribe to any requirements of the other cards. Since by international rule passports have to have RFID and biometrics, all of a sudden you have no alternatives, and rules are set by an international community. Once the card is set up, then you need to present it in order to do most things in society, they pass laws requiring you present it to do just about anything. How could you live without one? You can't. It then creates a surveillance society at odds with what America is built on. We have inalienable rights, not rights on having to present a multi-biometric, expensive, RFID laden card to leave the house in the morning. We become subjects, branded by our country in a way little different than a rancher brands his cattle.
http://news.thomasnet.com/companystory/812775
Anonymous:
Thanks for stopping by. I’m excited to see someone who is interested in a topic and has some useful information. As I said, this post was largely to gather information. That being true, I have a couple of questions:
1) You said that the National ID Card (I’ll call it NIDC for short) adds to what is on the Social Security Card (SSC) and Driver’s License (DL). What does it add? (or did you mean it adds what you discussed in your comment?)
2) What is RFID?
3) What are biometrics?
4) I don’t understand how what you said about how passport ID’s would change anything. Don’t we already have to have an ID for a passport? What is the difference if it is national rather than state?
COMMENTS:
1) “Once the card is set up, then you need to present it in order to do most things in society, they pass laws requiring you present it to do just about anything. How could you live without one? You can't.” But isn’t this true of SSC’s and DL’s?
2) Good point about the consequences being greater if lost if all is in one place, though I would be shocked if it isn’t all in one place already. Your SSN is already tied to your DL anyway isn’t it? It used to be written on everybody’s DL.
3) I share your concern regarding “Big Brother’s” prying eyes.
Sometimes there are more than one person posting as "anonymous". If you would, put your name, a nickname or pen name that will help keep confusion to a minimum.
To do this, when you type in your comment, chose the "Name/URL" and then type in whatever name you want to use. You don't have to have a URL unless you want to advertise your blog or website.
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