Who are we?

When we hire new employees these days we're required to have them comply with an I-9 form: to show proof of citizenship, which is usually a driver's license.

Congress is now toying strongly with the idea that states must demand proof of citizenship before giving out a new driver's license or renewing an existing license.

Does anybody have a green card?

If the states and federal government don't already have a record of who is a citizen and who is not, how are we supposed to prove it?

Many individuals and groups are focusing on the federal government's infatuation with the driver's license as a national identification card. These groups are concerned about individual rights to privacy and more.

Personally I find it hilarious. The driver's license is probably the most counterfeit ID in the country and has been for decades. Oh I know, it's getting harder what with holograms embedded right in the license and all. But that just seems to be another challenge for the creative types out there.

The driver's license as a national form of ID doesn't bother me. Nor does the Social Security number. They've both been that defacto for most of my life.

My concern is for the braver, newer world down the road - perhaps not too far away. A world where every baby born is tattooed with an identifying mark or perhaps a tiny chip inserted beneath the skin at the back of the neck. The chip would contain identification information and be easily located through a GPS type system.

If we can read electric and water meters with a handheld device from the street, why not a chip implanted in our necks?

Hell, this is beginning to make the driver's license look pretty tame. Until they start trying to figure out how to prove you were born in this country without us having to carry around a stack of papers too thick to fit in a wallet or purse.

Actually, I've got another idea that is totally 1984. Let's limit the ability of U.S. citizens to move around. What could be more secure?

Can we start with the Beltway? We can build a big wall around it and cut off all communications coming from within. After a couple of decades we can let the survivors and descendants out but first they have to prove they are who they say they are. Or think they are. - Roger Morris