The main paper -- Essays Papers

The main paper In response to the tragic events of September 11, 2001, there has been renewed interest in the creation of a national identification system, typically embodied in a "smart" ID card, as a component of a national counter-terrorism strategy. National ID cards have been advocated as a means to enhance national security, unmask potential terrorists, and guard against illegal immigrants. "The core issue can be expressed as a question: What actions should the federal government take to certify the identity of its citizens and other persons in its jurisdiction, and what role should computing technology play in that process? To deal with questions like this, lawmakers, leaders, and government agencies often begin the policymaking process by seeking the advice of expert panels"(CSC4735 Forum). In overall, there are many opinions that people agree with the national ID card; also many of them disagree with it too. In my opinion the national ID card system would not protect us from terrorism, but it would create a system of internal passports that would significantly diminish the freedom and privacy of law-abiding citizens. Larry Ellison, head of Oracle Corporation, the California based software company, has called for the development a national identification system and offered to donate the technology to make this possible. He proposed ID cards with embedded digitized thumbprints and photographs of all legal residents in the United States (Black). In recent ideas, ID cards have been linked to national registration systems, which in turn form the basis of government administration. In such systems the ID card becomes merely one visible component of a much larger system, with the advent of magnetic stripes and microprocess... ...debates over health are reform, the Clinton Administration also constantly stressed that it was opposed a national identifier. In 1999 Congress repealed a controversial provision in the Legal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996, which gave authorization to include Social Security Numbers on drivers' licenses. For conclusion, there are some reasons that discussed in this paper. I think the national ID card system would not protect us from terrorism, but it would create a system of internal passports that would significantly diminish the freedom and privacy of law-abiding citizens. So now imagine this. A police officer stops you in your car. Scan your license, matches your fingerprint with a central database and has immediate access to a plethora of information, including whether you are on a terrorist watch list. What would you think?