John Whitehead's Commentary

A nation of sheep will beget a government of wolves.--Edward R. Murrow

The New Hampshire House recently passed an amended bill to prohibit that state from participating in any national ID card system. Although the state Senate, by a narrow vote, turned aside the amendment, this move may indicate that some of us are waking up. Some innocent citizens, however, have already been snared in the ID trap.

For example, Deb Davis thought her time commuting to work would be better spent reading and working than driving. So she decided to start riding a public bus. But on the first day, while the bus was stopped at the Denver Federal Center, which houses various government offices--none of which are high security areas--a security guard boarded the bus and demanded the identification of every passenger. Feeling uneasy about the situation and not sure what to do, Davis, like all the other passengers, followed the guard's orders. The guard barely glanced at her ID and handed it back to her without comparing it to any "no ride list" or "terror watch list." Davis went on to work and rode the bus home without any trouble.

However, when she got home, she began to think more about what had happened that morning. She began to reflect on what she remembered about her rights as a citizen and restrictions on law enforcement agents. Davis remembered from her eighth-grade Civics class that she was not required to carry an ID. So why, she wondered, could she be forced to provide the guard with an ID? Not able to think of a good answer to that question, Davis decided that she would not provide the guard with her ID the next time he asked.

On September 26, 2005, Davis' bus pulled up at the Denver Federal Center. A guard boarded and demanded to see everyone's identification. When the guard reached Davis and asked if she had ID with her, she said "yes." He then asked to see it, to which she replied "no." When the guard asked why, Davis responded that she didn't have to. The guard then ordered her off the bus, but she refused. The guard returned with a federal agent, who demanded to see her ID. Again, Davis refused. Another law enforcement agent arrived, and they explained to Davis that she had to show her identification to the police any time they asked for it--regardless of where she might be.

Davis again explained to the guard and two agents that she was simply trying to commute to work. The agents then arrested and handcuffed her. However, the government, under criticism, later decided to drop the charges.

While this story is disturbing, it is not without historical precedent. In fact, the idea of requiring citizens to carry a national identification card is not new. Many authoritarian regimes of the past have used the ID system to control the people. Indeed, the idea of a national ID card has an uncanny resemblance to identification cards used throughout history by nations to commit genocide. For instance, in Nazi Germany during the 1930s, Jews were required to possess a "J-stamp" identification card at all times to identify Jews who were to be deported to death camps in Poland. In the 1990s, a national identification card was used in Rwanda to assist in ethnic cleansing. As one expert noted, "an ID card with the designation 'Tutsi' spelled a death sentence at any roadblock." "No other factor," the expert wrote, "was more significant in facilitating the speed and magnitude of the 100 days of mass killing in Rwanda."

Presently, many countries in Europe, Asia and South America require all citizens to carry specific documents at all times. If caught without the proper identification, they can be punished.

The term "national identification card" includes a broad range of various technologies. Most, if not all, of these cards are "machine readable," allowing any government agent to scan for any information necessary. Of the suggested ID cards, the most discussed and the one with the most potential for privacy invasion would be a card that included an RFID (radio frequency identification). RFID is a type of automatic identification system. The purpose of the RFID system is to enable data to be transmitted by a portable device, called a tag, which is read by an RFID reader and processed according to the needs of a particular application. Currently, RFID is used in many ways, including by private businesses to track the quantity of a product available on the shelf. But RFID has other potential uses, such as allowing the government to track the moment-by-moment movements of American citizens--even in their homes.

Also included within the broad definition of national ID cards is the use of memory devices within the card itself. For instance, these cards (suggested to replace traditional drivers' licenses and passports) would store information about their holder. This information could be as basic as the person's name, birth date and place of birth. But the card could also store private information including a person's Social Security number, fingerprint, retina scan and personal, criminal and financial records.

Congress' vote to enact the Real ID Act of 2005 is a giant step closer to requiring Americans to always possess a national ID. This law requires states to satisfy federal standards for issuing drivers' licenses. If the license does not satisfy the law's standards, the cardholder will not be permitted to use the license to satisfy federal demand for everyday activities such as boarding an airplane, opening a bank account or entering a federal building. According to the law, beginning May 11, 2008, federal agencies, including the Transportation Security Administration (the agency that checks identification before boarding an airplane), will not accept a state driver's license unless it includes stored data required by the Department of Homeland Security. To date, this data includes the driver's full name, date of birth, gender, permanent address, signature, driver's license number and digital photo of the person's face. Furthermore, the card must be machine readable and include physical features that are yet to be determined.

Corporations and politicians, eager to please security-conscious voters, have jumped at the opportunity to provide and produce a national ID card. Former Congressman Tom DeLay (R-TX), for instance, argued, "If these commonsense reforms had been in place in 2001, they would have hindered the efforts of the 9/11 terrorists, and they will go a long way toward helping us prevent another tragedy like 9/11." However, as many opponents of a national ID card point out, such arguments are unfounded. After all, the terrorists on 9/11 used identifications issued by the government. Moreover, "Claims that the government will protect the privacy of Americans when implementing a national identification card ring hollow," Congressman Ron Paul (R-TX) argues. "We would do well to remember what happened with the Social Security number. It was introduced with solemn restrictions on how it could be used, but it has become a de facto national identifier."

Clearly, we are at a crucial crossroads in American history. And it is our response as citizens that will determine whether we have a "government of wolves." Remember, it is the sheep who get eaten.

ABOUT JOHN W. WHITEHEAD

Constitutional attorney and author John W. Whitehead is founder and president of The Rutherford Institute. His most recent books are the best-selling Battlefield America: The War on the American People, the award-winning A Government of Wolves: The Emerging American Police State, and a debut dystopian fiction novel, The Erik Blair Diaries. Whitehead can be contacted at staff@rutherford.org. Nisha Whitehead is the Executive Director of The Rutherford Institute. Information about The Rutherford Institute is available at www.rutherford.org.

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