It’s Not Paranoia If It’s REAL ID
By Bob Small
For those of us who have read 1984 by George Orwell and wonder when it turns from a speculative work of fiction to a documentary, that time may be arriving.
Certain Federal Agencies will no longer be able to accept driver licenses or state ID cards come May 7.
The ACLU says REAL IDs will“facilitate the tracking of data on individuals “and bring government into the very center of every citizen’s life.”
Some of the advantages of real ID are “standardized verification across states”, “prevention of identity theft, and “improved public safety”.
Negatives include” privacy concerns”, “cost of compliance”, “potential for discrimination”, and “impact on state autonomy.”
Twila Brase, co-founder and president of the Citizens’ Council for Health Freedom, says REAL ID and digital ID may allow the federal government to “usurp state’s rights and assert unprecedented control over people’s lives.”
Another critic “James F. Holderman III, director of investigative research with Stand for Health Freedom, says “The widespread adoption of Digital IDs and digital wallets lays the foundation of a surveillance-based technocracy.”
Some Afro-Americans suspect a racist movtivation.
Scholars Simone Brown, Vanessa Holden, and Elizabeth Stordeur point out that the beginnings of state id’s and registries “can be traced to efforts to spy on the lives and movements of Black people living in colonial and antebellum America”.
This was also covered in Simone Browme’s 2015 book Dark Matters.
To read about the nightmare of trying to get a REAL ID see Getting my REAL ID was an real ordeal
See also:
Pennsylvania lawmakers propose fee exemptions for seniors under REAL ID Act
How to get a Real ID in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania has a really low Real ID adoption rate – Axios
Real ID Exposed: It Is Worse than You Think
You may not need a Real I.D. in Pennsylvania after all.
Since we can use our passports for plane and train travel, the only downside to being real ID is our inability to participate in Federal trials. I can live with that.
It’s Not Paranoia If It’s REAL ID
