Why, then, all the talk now about implementing a national identification system as part of the war on terrorism? The Bush Administration is not actively pushing legislation. Yet Represenative George Gekas (R-Pa.), who heads a subcommittee on immigration, says his office has been flooded with calls requesting a legislative debate.. . .
Why, then, all the talk now about implementing a national identification system as part of the war on terrorism? The Bush Administration is not actively pushing legislation. Yet Represenative George Gekas (R-Pa.), who heads a subcommittee on immigration, says his office has been flooded with calls requesting a legislative debate.

On Sept. 21, no less than Oracle CEO Larry Ellison entered the fray, calling for the creation of a national ID system, even offering to donate the software to make it possible. "The privacy you're concerned about is largely an illusion. All you have to give up is your illusions, not any of your privacy. Right now, you can go onto the Internet and get a credit report about your neighbor and find out where your neighbor works and how much they earn," Ellison told TV station KPIX in San Francisco.

Perhaps. But creating a national ID system is precisely the kind of reactionary policy the U.S. should avoid. Contrary to what Ellison believes, it would reduce privacy by creating a government-sponsored tracking system for all citizens. More to the point, unless Americans were required to present their IDs everywhere they went ("Papers, please!"), a sweeping approach like a national ID system would do little to increase security, whereas more targeted strategies could be just as effective. A national ID system would have done nothing to prevent the four deadly hijackings of Sept. 11.

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