Identity cards

Submitted by Ian Mordant (United Kingdom), Jul 29, 2005 at 00:55

The UK government is bringing in identity cards precisely because physical borders are now physically impossible to patrol and monitor.

This raises privacy questions vis-a-vis the state, but four things seem to me to remain wholly unaffected:

Any public policy remains subject to mass public criticism
Any law passed or proposed remains subject to mass public criticism
Any political leader past or present remains subject to mass public criticism or ridicule
Any political act remains subject to mass public criticism.

With these four protected claims that free-speech countries are sliding towards a police-state seem to me to be a gross exaggeration.

The detentions at Guantanamo bay need to be approached not moralistically but practically i.e is the US on balance helping itself with these detentions. Like the detentions under the Smith Act of 1940, the answer is probably no, but this seems to me to have a thoughtful adult discussion about this.

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