Young Americans for Liberty – Ole Miss Chapter

If somebody asked you what restrictions the 4^th Amendment places on the federal government, could you tell them? I’m beginning to wonder if Americans understand the US Constitution actually places limits on government rather than the people. I would suggest that every American quickly acquaint themselves with the 4^th Amendment, because this will be the next Constitutional law that is completely undermined and haphazardly breached. I say that as if it hasn’t already been violated. However, on a side note, I am always taken aback when I hear democrats and republicans quibble over which one is violating the Constitution, as if either of them actually care. Republicans completely ignore privacy rights and are the current party to start a war without a declaration. Democrats point to comma placement in the second amendment as proof that you shouldn’t be allowed to own a gun. Let’s face some facts up front, both parties are in the game for the party, not the citizen.

Having that said, both parties have been in cooperation to pass the first phase of a National ID implementation. Known quite intentionally as the Real ID Act, this law is but the beginning in the American emergence of what the Soviet Union called domestic passports. These were used by the Soviet Union to monitor the place of residence of its citizens, among other things. They are also currently used by China, yet another Communist country.

Real ID on the surface sounds innocent enough, which of course is the intention. Obviously lawmakers knew that Americans would not be happy with an immediate full-scale implementation of a federally managed identification system. Therefore, Uncle Sam decided to start small. Real ID actually establishes minimum standards for state issued drivers licenses. According to dhs.gov, the new cards will be needed for a citizen to board a federally regulated airplane, to access a federal facility or a nuclear power plant. It, of course, is also said to help fight terrorism. Basically, terrorism is the new Soviet Union. Leaders need enemies in order to force a voluntary surrender of liberty.

In understanding Real ID we must first take a look at the questions and answers page of dhs.gov. As the answer to the question of what a citizen will need a Real ID license for, the department of homeland security (DHS) says it will only be used for, “official purposes.” Who defines these official purposes? The DHS does, of course. Evidently, the DHS may also expand on these official purposes in the future to maximize the security benefits of the Real ID. Therefore the DHS, the federal government, has the right to expand on what a citizen cannot do unless they have a Real ID. Let’s also not become ignorant to the fact that your politicians also want biometrics included in Real ID, which is information such as fingerprints and radio frequency technology known as RFIDs.

The government’s first date set to have Real ID implemented was May 11, 2008. However, the DHS had to grant extensions to every single state, including Mississippi, because none were ready to implement the system on that specified date. This means that your constitutional state driver’s license will be invalid after the extension period runs out and the federal government will then implement the unconstitutional Real ID system. The DHS’s webpage says people born after December 1, 1964, will have to acquire a Real ID card by December 1, 2014.

Thankfully, several states are outright rejecting the Real ID system. Maine, Montana, New Hampshire and South Carolina did not even bother asking for an extension because they said they would not implement the program. Idaho and Alaska both filed for extensions yet recently passed legislation against its implementation.

All these ridiculous acts by the federal government are disguised as an effort to fight the war on terror: the Real ID, the torturing of human beings, illegal wiretapping as well as the unconstitutional war. Wouldn’t the defeat of terror involve a people who are not easily terrorized? It seems to me Americans are more scared than ever. We are so scared of being attacked that we are willing to give up the very thing that makes our country great: our civil liberties. For those of you that believe these terrorists hate us for our freedoms, let me ask you a question. When our government takes away those freedoms, have the terrorists won?

-Justin Head