(U-WIRE) -He causeth all
both small and great rich and poor free and bond
to receive a mark in their right hand
or in their foreheads: And that no man might buy or sell
save that had the mark
or the name of the beast
or the number of his name.
Those are words from the book of Revelation in the Bible. With the passage of the Real ID Act recently in the U.S. Senate, those words might soon become more meaningful in each of our lives.
In George Orwell's novel, 1984
every member of society is under near constant watch, technological advancements are used primarily for public surveillance, and anonymity is a luxury afforded only to society's outcasts. The stories told in Orwell's novel may no longer be just a fictional tale. Orwell's distopian vision of the future could very well become a reality because of the passage of the Real ID Act.
The essence of the Real ID Act makes perfect sense. Its goal is to get state licensing agencies on the same sheet of music so that undocumented immigrants cannot obtain valid licenses from state agencies. The closing of this loophole, according to U.S. Rep. James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., will prevent another attack like Sept. 11.
In actuality, this Act does little to prevent this occurrence and much to curtail every American's most basic liberties.
The secrecy behind this bill and what its passage means to our everyday lives makes one wonder why it would be passed. The bill was never debated before the U.S. Senate; instead it was attached to a military spending bill. By doing this, senators were all but forced to vote for the Real ID Act so they don't appear opposed to the war on terror and unsupportive of our troops.
Underhanded tactics notwithstanding, the passage of this act makes private, everyday activities subject to government scrutiny.
Once Real ID takes effect three years from now, every citizen will need a federally-approved ID card to travel by plane, open a bank account, get a job, join the military or take advantage of virtually any government service. Personal information once available only to state agencies will now be automatically collected in a federal database. Retinal scanning and fingerprinting are parts of this act likely to be approved by the Department of Homeland Security.
Perhaps the worst part of this act, however, is that the Department of Homeland Security will be allowed to outfit these IDs with Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) chips. RFID technology is currently being used by private companies to track the movement of goods. RFID is likewise a very convenient means of tracking people.
It is estimated that Americans are filmed by cameras about seven times per day. Imagine that, in addition to being watched, you were being tracked every time you passed through an airport checkpoint, under a traffic light or even a store's scanner.
This is not science fiction but rather the harsh reality of what provisions of the Real ID Act will lead to. In order to catch the bad guys, everyone must be scanned and tracked, regardless of criminal history or even suspicion. In the United States of the future, everyone will be a suspect.
Cards have a fatal flaw though; they can be lost or discarded. The next logical step of this act, if it is to be truly effective at controlling immigration and preventing a major terrorist attack, will involve implantation of such devices, perhaps in our hands or foreheads. That way they cannot be discarded, traded or otherwise used for purposes they were not intended for. What Real ID means for Americans is not so much added security but an invasion of privacy on a biblical scale iblical scale.
17
