Notional Identity

The 4th of July just passed – a big celebration of freedom and independence. As a dual citizen of Canada and the UK, living in the US during their Independence Day is always interesting. But hey, I live here, I love it, and as they say in those tacky Louis Lamour westerns, “I ride for the brand."

From what i remember about history, the American Revolution was about freedom. So I got to thinking – what is freedom to an American?

Well in the US – there are 3 basic documents that hold the tenets of freedom:

United States Constitution
Declaration of Independence
Bill of Rights

There is a deeper question here though – Freedom to do what? Or Freedom from whom?

I personally believe that a person should be free to do as they desire, so long as their actions don't impede the freedoms of another. In other words – what I do in my own home is my business. Most Americans would agree with this philosophy I think (despite the legislation on drugs and such – but that's a topic for another time).

So if what I do in my home is my own business, this begs the question then Freedom from Whom?

The obvious answer is freedom from government intervention. The American Revolution was also based on the Great Awakening and ironically the Enlightenment. In many ways, these were mutually exclusive belief systems, but then this is the idea of freedom right?

Either way, the concept was one of freedom from Tyranny.

So what's Tyranny?

In the original Greek meaning "tyrant" carried no ethical censure, a tyrant was anyone who overturned the established government of a city-state, usually through the use of popular support, to establish himself as dictator, or the heir of such a person.

But today it seems to mean:

The term now carries connotations of a cruel despot who places their own interests or the interests of a small oligarchy over the best interests of the general population of the state over which they govern.
Upon reading that definition – it got me to thinking about some of the issues that are going on right now that deal with freedom.

For example, back in the UK, there's a lot of debate going on about the UK's National Identity Card programme. (More information is available here, and opposition information here)

Aside from the huge cost (according to the LSE it will cost approx $500USD per ID card – and each person pays for their card.

Why is a National ID Card a good idea?

ID Cards don't prevent terrorism
ID Cards don't prevent Identity Theft
ID Cards aren't cheap
ID Cards can be forged
ID Cards make us less secure

Here is some some funny flash animation that also helps explain the issues.

What does this have to do with those us of living the US? Tons actually.

A US National ID card was recently slipped into a “must pass" appropriations bill. This means that soon a US National ID card is coming to you.

So looking at the big picture...

National ID Cards
warrant-free 'sneak and peek' law enforcement investigations
road surveillance cameras being installed everywhere
clandestine biometric surveillance
Patriot Act II – who needs judicial overview anyway?
Echelon
Carnivore
RFID Tags in passports
No Fly Lists
RFID Tags in consumer goods


Hmm... There's a pattern here, but I can't seem to find it.