Identity Cards
There's a plan to introduce ID cards to Britain. It's something that's already a part of life in some other European Union countries, along with having a passport. The outcry against it is due to "Big Brother" philosophy -- if your information is stored on a card, then the Big Brother government will know all your details.
This morning on the radio, I heard one of my social policy lecturers from last year speaking about it. He said that people don't seem to object to store cards having most of the same information, so why not have it on an identity card? True, a lot of people don't have store cards, but I would be willing to bet that a lot of the same people who are against identity cards have more than one credit card, a driving license and a passport. In my humble opinion, it's the media who is shit stirring. If you listen carefully, it's not necessarily the people they are interviewing who sound like they're against it, it's also the way the reporters phrase things. For example, this morning I heard "The government is set to debate the controversial policy on identity cards, which will increase the information the government holds on us". That's paraphrasing, I admit, but not by much!
Doesn't the government hold most of this information on us in one form or another anyway? Think about it: the Inland Revenue, Social Security, the Passport Office, DVLA, not to mention various registry offices who have our birth, marriage and, eventually, death information. People such as myself have a boat load of information stored with the Immigration and Nationality Directorate as well.
To me, it's like having to go through the metal detector in the airport. Okay,it's a pain. It's extra work. But if it's for the good of us all, and it's not hurting me in any way, why not? I'd rather they took the time to check each and every one of us before we get on the plane than not have the plane make it to its destination. If these identity cards do help prevent terrorism (and I'm not completely convinced that they do, but I'm willing to wait and see), then I'm for it. It's one more card to stick in my purse, stretching it to the limits. Maybe I'll have to chuck out one of the cards I use to save points at local stores. Nah!
This morning on the radio, I heard one of my social policy lecturers from last year speaking about it. He said that people don't seem to object to store cards having most of the same information, so why not have it on an identity card? True, a lot of people don't have store cards, but I would be willing to bet that a lot of the same people who are against identity cards have more than one credit card, a driving license and a passport. In my humble opinion, it's the media who is shit stirring. If you listen carefully, it's not necessarily the people they are interviewing who sound like they're against it, it's also the way the reporters phrase things. For example, this morning I heard "The government is set to debate the controversial policy on identity cards, which will increase the information the government holds on us". That's paraphrasing, I admit, but not by much!
Doesn't the government hold most of this information on us in one form or another anyway? Think about it: the Inland Revenue, Social Security, the Passport Office, DVLA, not to mention various registry offices who have our birth, marriage and, eventually, death information. People such as myself have a boat load of information stored with the Immigration and Nationality Directorate as well.
To me, it's like having to go through the metal detector in the airport. Okay,it's a pain. It's extra work. But if it's for the good of us all, and it's not hurting me in any way, why not? I'd rather they took the time to check each and every one of us before we get on the plane than not have the plane make it to its destination. If these identity cards do help prevent terrorism (and I'm not completely convinced that they do, but I'm willing to wait and see), then I'm for it. It's one more card to stick in my purse, stretching it to the limits. Maybe I'll have to chuck out one of the cards I use to save points at local stores. Nah!
posted by Melinda at 12/20/2004 12:29:00 pm
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