Why you should say no to ID cards

**Will** · 09-25-2008, 02:12 PM

The government has taken the first step to enforcing ID cards on the public. Foreign students entering the country will now be required to have an ID card. It won't be long before everyone in the UK is required to do the same.

So what's wrong with ID cards? They allow you to quickly prove who you are, they will help fight terrorism, and crime, it will consolidate existing forms of ID into one. Sounds great doesn't it? Well in all honesty it would be if that were the end of it.

Trouble is, a card which contains all your personal details won't stop one criminal from mugging you, it won't stop one terrorist from illegally entering the country, and it won't be in any way effective unless it becomes compulsory to carry your ID card at all times. For THAT to be effective, it would then have to be necessary that your card could be checked by the authorities on a whim, at any time, and there lies the crux!

ID cards would make a criminal out of anyone who didn't carry one, the assumption that everyone is guilty until proven innocent. ID cards can only be effective if your personal privacy and freedom is infringed. It is unlikely it would stop there either, once the flood gates are open, more and more information would need to be added to your personal file/ID-number. Your religion, sexuality, health, travel habits, shopping habits, etc. would all be needed to justify the continued use of ID cards, all in the name of your protection. All this information would be in the hands of the government, which brings me to my next major point.

The Government is there to serve the public, not the public to serve the government. No government should be allowed so much power over it's people, they are just as open to corruption and incompetence as anyone else, our current Labour Government have done an excellent job of demonstrating this. Imagine you were an MP or a member of the police force with access to all this information, and a company comes along and offers you 50 million to take a peek at people's buying habits. That's enough to give anyone pause for thought.

Americans are already experimenting with ID chip implants, you can bet that's on the future agenda too. Once we allow ID cards to go through, it's going to be THAT much harder to say no to any other scheme that is introduced, all in the name of our protection!

We are having ID cards brought upon us without our asking, and it is being implemented in the sliest way possible. The next stage will be to give all teenagers ID cards when they reach 16 - few would have the power or the understanding to refuse, and from there all adults would be forced to as well.

If you believe that everyone has a right to personal freedom and privacy, then you must say no to ID cards!