The Constitution, Real ID Act - Essay Example

The Constitution While there are several rights and liberties that have been granted to the American people through the constitution, the civil liberties which become evident from a reading of the constitution remain the most important set of liberties for many. In recent times, there have been instances where civil liberties have been violated in the name of security and the present situation in America is quite complicated with regard to civil liberties. One example of such a complication is the Real ID Act of 2005 which has led to some states questioning the implications of the new driver’s licence in connection with civil liberties. For example, it was reported by Singel (2007) that some states, such as Idaho are refusing to participate in the Real ID program because they have privacy concerns for their citizens and they consider the act to be in violation of civil liberties. In essence, their viewpoint is clarified by the ACLU which says that the Real ID Act makes it difficult for Americans to be treated as equals. The Act will create a segment in society which does not have the ID card and that would mean they may not be able to make use of all the government services that demand the card (ACLU, 2007). The Economist (2007) reports that the Real ID Act is only one of the means by which the American government is going against the civil liberties given in the constitution. In the name of security, the government has expanded its powers to spy on citizens and foreigners alike. Through the Patriot Act, the government’s intelligence gathering services can force third parties such as internet service providers, telephone companies and even political organizations to fork out the data they have about individuals. This can be done without the due process of a warrant from court or even informing the person. All that the FBI or any other intelligence gathering unit has to do is tell the third party that they are conducting an investigation connected with international terrorism. While the courts have taken notice of this situation and said that these steps appear to be unconstitutional, the American public is living in an age of fear and opposition to these acts of the government seems muted. The civil liberties which promise that no person would be liable to search without a warrant have been circumvented with the Patriot Act since a person’s house or office can be searched without his/her knowledge or a court warrant (Economist, 2007). The warrantless eavesdropping conducted by the government caused many civil liberties supporters to sit up and take notice and the government had to back track on that. However, the government came back with an amendment which permitted the interception and eavesdropping on phone calls and emails if one of the parties is thought to be a foreign party (Economist, 2007). A very weak defense of the situation is presented by Limbaugh (2007) who suggests that these steps are required for national defense and the lack of another attack on American interests is proof that these steps are working. However, it must be noted that the American government goes far beyond what is necessary in their desire to protect America. The Patriot Act and more importantly, the Real ID Act are both situations where the government has decided to forgo the liberties it accorded to its people in order to gain more security for itself. While the liberties of the people are slowly taken away, they may get used to living in an Orwellian society where nothing is private but everything is as secure as the government wants it to be (Economist, 2007). Whether the sense of security is false or true remains to be seen and in the meanwhile, the government is facing strong criticism against its policies and acts. In effect, there are three primary criticisms which can be levied against the act and the first criticism comes from making the driver’s license a definitive form of a national ID which causes real concerns for the public’s privacy. Secondly, the Act imposes severe burdens on states which might have to incur huge expenses to comply with the regulations and requirement of the center. Finally, the ACLU goes to say that the Act and the provisions of the Act would have no effect at creating an increase in security considering the negative costs associated with the implementation process (ACLU, 2007). There is no real way after the Act has been placed into practice for people without driver’s licenses to work effectively within the American society. The poor, the destitute and others who do not cars or need a license may not even apply for a Real ID and thus be automatically excluded from being a part of the system which is supposed to offer equal opportunities. Legal ambiguities under the Act are also quite difficult to address particularly when it comes to basic rights which must be offered to all individuals regardless of their national origin. Moreover, children, young teens and even those adults who have had their licenses revoked would have problems in identifying themselves for various services. For example, more than thirty-five percent of individuals in Georgia who are over older than 75 do not have a driver’s license and thus would be placed in a difficult situation when it comes to proving their identity (ACLU, 2007). Perhaps the best point about security measures such as the Real ID Act is made by the ACLU (2007) as the body clarifies that ID documents and even biometric information does not reveal anything about the intent of a person regarding the safety of others. Therefore, unless the government already knows a person to be a terrorist they are very likely to miss out on catching him/her even with the Real ID Act or the Patriot Act. I believe that the ACLU is right in many ways and agree with their conclusion that the final solution for the security situation in America is exactly as it has always remained i.e., real information about terrorist groups and intelligence operations conducted by American officers that inform the government about the intent of others. These will lead to a more secure and free America rather than government policies which allow big brother to spy on American citizens. Word Count: 1,047 Works Cited ACLU. 2007. ‘Real Answers’, [Online] Available at: http://www.realnightmare.org/about/2/ Economist. 2007, ‘Learning to live with Big Brother’, [Online] Available at: http://www.economist.com/world/international/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9867324 Limbaugh, D. 2007, ‘Liberty or Security -- a False Choice’, [Online] Available at: http://www.townhall.com/Columnists/DavidLimbaugh/2007/10/12/liberty_or_security_--_a_false_choice Singel, R. 2007, ‘Another State Pulls out of REAL ID’, [Online] Available at: http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2007/03/another_state_p.html Read More