Name, Rank & Serial Number
for release 12-01-05
Washington D.C.
In America there is no valid law that requires a pedestrian or a traveler to produce ID papers on demand. Not yet anyway. Our first amendment guarantees us the right of assembly and that implies freedom of movement. We don't have internal passports. Yet few people complain about being shaken down and having their IDs checked at airports. It's in the interest of National Security, after all.
Our transportation system has become an obedience school. Like good spaniels and setters and shepherds, we stand in line to learn how to submit to routine ID checks. We are being trained – Sit, Heel, Roll Over. Soon we won't even notice that checkpoints have gone up at every WalMart and stadium and NASCAR racetrack.
But there are some holdouts – those that are headstrong Constitutional animals with some spirit left. Take Debbie Davis for example or John Gilmore. These two people challenged the government's assumption that they could stop anyone at will and demand that they show their papers. Soon the issue will be before the Supreme Court.
There are several good reasons why the instigation of a National ID system is a foul event. The fourth and fifth amendments to our constitution are good starters. To be asked for your ID is a search without a warrant and a violation to your right to privacy, especially in today's information society where your whole life is recorded in digits and can be called up just by punching in your social security number. Your every parking ticket and pot bust and divorce is instantly visible.
In May, our government passed a law which is the precursor to a National ID System. It's called the Real ID Act of 2005 which establishes national standards for state-issued driver's licenses and non-driver's identification cards, among other controlling legislation. It was snuck in at the last moment attached to an appropriations bill. There was no debate.Amendment IV, United States Constitution
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
One of the signatures of a society which overly controls the population is the requirement for internal passports, documents that make it possible to monitor the movements of its citizens. In other words, a National ID. We can list the countries that have used them – fascist Italy, nazi Germany, the former Soviet Union, apartheid South Africa, North Korea, communist China. And now the United States.
The United States is already the most recorded and surveilled society in history. Not only does the US government keep a dossier on you, a US citizen, but private industry has more information about you than you know yourself. At the click of a mouse they can know your credit history, your medical records, your buying patterns, your travel history and your phone call records. And if you have a cell phone in your pocket turned on, they know where you are to within about three feet at any given moment.
Why don't the US citizens simply submit to a National ID System? It would make life easier for everyone. Maybe it would help trains and planes run on time. No standing in embarrassing lines, just swipe your card.
Last week, we rescued a lovely white kitty cat from the local animal shelter. Before we took him home, it was required that a chip be implanted in the animal for ID purposes. We were assured that it would be a painless process and that this electronic tattoo would insure that our pet would be found if he got lost. Who's next? Babies? This is National ID on the cutting edge.
Let's plant a chip in all American citizens at birth. There would be truly no child left behind. We would know where they were every minute. Just a little painless chip implant behind the ear or next to the belly button. Then with a simple whisk of a wand, a merchant will be able to access every American's 'life database' and in seconds know what gifts you received for Christmas last year and if you've had your Avian Flu shot or what books you checked out of the library or what your grade was in high school algebra.
Already, if you have a discount card at a supermarket or a drug store, they know when your menstrual cycle falls by your tampon buying habits, how many packs of instant mashed potatoes and how many dozen condoms you purchase per month. They can infer your political leanings by whether you buy American processed cheese or brie.
The Poet's Eye would like to see your ID please. Let me swipe your card and look into your soul. It's not just name, rank and serial number anymore, baby.
Every single day
Every word you say
Every game you play
Every night you stay
(I'll be watching you)
Every breath you take
Every move you make
Every bond you break
Every step you take
(I'll be watching you)
– Sting
