Safire’s Take on a National Id.

Safire’s Take on a National ID.

    After the event of 911, heated debate sprung up over the issue of a national ID. William Safire, a presidential speech writer for Richard Nixon, wrote an article entitled “Threat of National ID”. This was published by the New York Times on December 24th,  2001, shortly after 911.

    Safire’s first claim is that the police and other law enforcement agencies would abuse this ID. Safier lists examples of how groups like the F.B.I. have already invaded the readers’ privacy. These examples include: heat sensors that allow police to look inside people's houses, the federal “Carnivore” system, the Justice Department’s “Magic Lantern”, and the F.B.I.’s electronic keyboard bug.

    In his second point, Safire believes that many groups would want a piece in the ID. He states: Hospitals would want a chip providing medical history. Merchants would want a chip for credit rating, bank accounts, and product preferences. Divorced spouses would lobby for a rundown of net assets and yearly expenditures. Politicians would like to know voting records and political affiliation. Cops would insist on a record of arrests, speeding tickets, EZ pass auto movement, and links to suspicious web sites and associates.

    In Safire’s third claim, he argues that having all of this personal info centered on one single dossier would be dangerous. He claims that if all this personal information was copied into a national databank, it’d be vulnerable to hackers.

    In conclusion, the author believes that the fear of terror attack is being exploited by law enforcement as well as commercial marketers seeking prospects. He writes in an urgent tone and appeals to the fear of the supporters of the national ID.