BCT Editorial – 7/25/05

This page was last updated on July 25, 2005.

Salutes & Boots; Editorial; Beaver County Times; July 25, 2005.

Below is a detailed critique of the subject editorial.

“Boot: To a provision in the $82 million military spending bill that was passed in June called the REAL ID Act. The Associated Press reports the law goes beyond an earlier measure that sought to standardize state driver’s licenses. By 2008, states must begin to verify whether license applicants are American citizens or legal residents of the United States. Some governors, Democrats and Republicans, contend they could become national ID cards. We’re sorry, but things are being done in the name of fighting terrorism that undermine basic American principles. It’s time to start getting as scared about the internal threat to our way of life as we are to the external threat. (It also could very well turn into another underfunded federal mandate.)”

[RWC] This will upset both conservatives and liberals, but can someone explain to me what is wrong with a national ID card? All kinds of private and public transactions require dependable identification. In many (most?) cases, we accept a driver license. In some cases we need a Socialist Security card. In others we need a birth certificate, et cetera.

Perhaps I’m missing something, but I don’t see how a national ID card would imperil civil liberty.