English Paper

        Not only are non-citizens being subjected to government issues, but the government also seems to be turning on its own citizens. Following 9/11 the governments’ strict enforcement of Homeland Security has robbed Americans of basic freedoms that are taken for granted. The government has proposed the idea of National Identification cards, which will put all American citizens on the same database, ready to have their files pulled up at a moment of notice. “The creation of a National Identification system contradicts the fundamental principles of personal liberty, the government’s burden of proof, and federalism set fourth in the constitution and is of questionable utility”(Sobel). This lack of privacy is a very different way of life than the ones Americans were living only ten short years ago. There are five main pats of this invasion of privacy that the government calls National Identification cards. The five main parts include the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, and the FAA ID Requirement and Computer Assisted Passenger Screening System (       ). The Immigration Reform Act of 1986 is an act that requires a person to prove their citizenship or have the government’s permission to hold employment in the United States. If this identification cannot be shown the employer is subject to a 10,000-dollar violation fee. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 is a data collection system for personal he3alth care. With this act if someone were to swipe a citizen’s identification card they could easily pull up any confidential data or health records. This is not only a huge invasion of privacy, but it is borderline unethical. Something of this nature would seem absurd only ten years ago, but with the recent developments of 9/11 and the Homeland Security Act; this idea could become a reality in the not too distant future. The Homeland Security Act is a newly created cabinet in the government. The purpose of the Homeland Security Act is to collect and coordinate intelligences from the FBI, CIA and NSA, but many citizens feel that this invasion of privacy counter acts the 14th Amendment. Citizens’ very way of life and privacy are being threatened by this lack of individual freedom. The idea of being an American today will be drastically changed if the National Identification cards go into affect.

        In a democracy like the one America promotes it does not seem to exist as wholly as citizens seem to perceive it. With the decision regarding the war and events that took place after 9/11 the government seems to be making decisions with little to no input from the American citizens. The American citizens supposedly run the government, but lately the government has taken its duty of running the citizens to an extreme. Of the Homeland Security decisions the government is a self-contained unit separate from the typical American citizen. “The truth is that a vast bureaucracy now runs the country, irrespective of what party is in power”(Douglas 54). This quote explains the severe imbalance of power between the government and its people. Since 9/11 the government seems to be more focused on regulating its people than protecting them.

        While many people feel that the measurements taken by the government after 9/11 is invasive to our privacy there are a lot of people who argue the counter debate. “So Americans need to get more sophisticated and realize that, in the interest of security, law-enforcement and intelligence agencies are likely to start beefing up their databases on citizens…Despite how difficult it might be to make these databases work effectively, you have to believe that security officials vie networked databases as key to their war on terrorism” (Green 525-526). These people argue that if National Identification cards can work in Europe and Spain then it will surely work in the United States. People may state that these cards are not an invasion of privacy, but a necessity to secure and safety in our country. Knowing criminal backgrounds will help application processes for jobs and make legal processes more efficient in background checks.

        The events of 9/11 have no doubt changed the American way of life and they way citizens look at being American. Citizens could have never known before the 9/11 events occurred to what extent the government would take to establish security. It is becoming harder for citizens to remain anonymous and some might even say that our freedoms are being taken away. Other citizens may say security is more beneficial than counterproductive and without the security of safety within the United States citizens would not have their freedoms and rights anyways.