¶ … Quiet Revolution on Real ID details a middle path between the extremes on both sides of the issue. It is informative as well balanced. In the wake of 9/11, we can not afford to sit quietly back and wait for tragedy to happen again. In that tragedy, fake ids allowed a small group of terrorists to perpetrate the largest and most devastating attack on American soil in its history. What becomes largely apparent is that the delay of Real ID can make such days (or even worse) a reality for Americans. The solution that the authors of the article not only make sense but are critical to our survival as a nation, especially in the light of the threat of terrorist nuclear weapons to America. As recently as 25 April, 2011, an Investor's Daily article spoke about Wikileaks allegations about Khalid Sheikh Muhammad's threat of a "nuclear hellstorm" if Osama Bin Laden be caught or killed ("Investors.com") .
It is rare that an issue so polarizes the public. While there have been calls from many quarters to reform and overhaul the national identification system. Using the word system is almost amusing when it is applied to the ad hoc conglomeration of federal, state and local identification systems. Finally, in 2005, the Congress acted on these pleas to transform and overhaul the system with the passage of the Real ID Act. In the article, Ying defines three different ways to reform system and how the 9/11 incident created a new window for the reform of the system and the development of the movement to do so in the period between 2001 and 2005 (Ni, and Ho 1063).
The closest thing to a national ID is represented by the social security card. Unfortunately, the social security card was never designed for this purpose and has been subject to a great amount of abuse and identity theft. State driver's licenses have also been employed as a de facto national ID. Like social security cards, the driver's license system has been the victim of the same abuses, including its limitation to persons with driving privileges and suffered from the additional limitation of 50 different standards. Plugging in other easily counterfeited ID "systems" does not make things any better. In addition to the counterfeiting issue, there is also the problem of accessing the records due to different databases, as well as storage and access methods. The present issue is to create a "core" ID system that will interface conveniently with the other system (ibid, p. 1064).
The first of the three options used by other countries include the establishment of a national ID card system where the federal government establishes and maintains the system exclusively. Advantages include the ability to start the system from scratch using the latest technology and complete uniformity and access (such as biometric smart cards). Unfortunately, the main downside is political, with resistance coming from advocacy groups that fear government power and its impact upon individual privacy. The second approach entails the "data clearinghouse" approach where a federal agency coordinates and stores data gathered by local and state agencies but does not engage in the gathering itself. Politically, this is more acceptable due to less financial expense and the use of present technology. Downsides include the patchwork nature of the system and the lack of interoperability of the various systems. The third or federated approach attempts to strike a balance by using one system, the state drivers license, but by redefining their format and use. While the guidelines will be federal, the states will still be responsible to administer the system and gather and store data. A readable "zone" on the card will allow data uniformity and the ability for all parts of the system to read the database. Advantages include state management and federal coordination. In addition, core technologies are similar and coordinated. Unfortunately, the downsides include the decision about which standards to use and technological challenges as well as the political resistance (ibid 1065-1067).
Fortunately, it appears that 9/11 changed the public mood of the American public and smoothed the passage of Real ID in 2005. In the authors' opinion, this represented a "quiet revolution" where for first time a national standard was quietly imposed to create a national id card and to organize the present confusing id system. The act represents a combination of national crisis, policy innovation and craftsmanship to create a successful policy (ibid, p. 1074).
However, Real ID is not out of the words. Many state driver's licenses do not match up to the federal standards such as Hawaii's (Watanabe). In addition to the bureaucratic hassles, groups such as the American Civil Liberties Union feel it is an assault upon our liberty and privacy rights and will change the fabric of American life. Real ID enthrones driver's licenses as the cornerstone of a mega-database network that would contain huge amounts of personal information on American citizens. It requires ID cards and driver's licenses to have a "machine-readable zone" that will access to thousands of federal, state and local records that would easily be able to track people's activities and to develop very detailed profiles of personal habits and lifestyles ("New York Civil Liberties Union").
Such concerns as above have caused delays in the implementation of Real ID. The most recent delay was at the hands of the Obama administration in March of 2011. This is the third major delay since the 9/11 commission set down id standardization as a top priority. Top Republicans such as Lamar Smith of Texas say that delay is dangerous and can not be tolerated. To listen to Charles Grassley, any delay in the implementation of Real ID endangers American lives by giving terrorists and illegal immigrants access to fake United States forms of identification ("United States House of Representatives").
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