Secure ID for a Secure America – Why a National ID Card is Unnecessary

In the wake of the September 11th attacks on our soil, Americans were awakened to the
fact that our nation is not impenetrable. We realized that despite our many layers of security in
airports throughout our nation,terrorists had slipped through the cracks. A mere two days after
the attacks, Mr. Dershowitz presented his idea for a plan to make America more secure through a
National ID card in his essay “Why Fear ID Cards.” He presents the theory that the loss of
privacy that thiscard brings is offset by the additional security it offers. To a nation shaken by
the loss of nearly 3,000 lives, any tradeoff might seem acceptable to prevent future attacks.
However, Dershowitz offers no concise proof that a National ID card might have prevented the
attacks. Our nation’s problem is not a lack of identification; most Americans already carry photo
ID according to Dershowitz, and foreigners are required to possess a passport and visa. The
problem is that existing ID’s have not been fully utilized and secured. There are security
breaches that exist even today, and Amitai Etzoni shows that investigators with false military
identification have even been able to access sensitive weapons (101). Additionally, the
government is often not careful with the information they currently possess from ID cards;
individuals have obtained complete databases of data from various government departments
(Sullivan 131). Dershowitz counters that the National ID card is inherently more secure than
cards issued by 50 states and numerous other organizations and government agencies. However,
if investigators have been able to enter sensitive military facilities with falsified military ID, then
even a more secure National ID card can be forged. Most of the 9/11 terrorists possessed
fraudulent U.S. identification (Etzoni 102); it is only logical that with modern technology they
might have forged even more secure IDs. Dershowitz’ essay still conveys some good points, and
his argument is not fully flawed. We must strive, as Dershowitz emphasizes, to not racially or
ethnically profile people, but instead to make our nation more secure by utilizing and securing
the IDs we already have.

Works Cited:
Dershowitz, Alan. “Why Fear National ID Cards?” New York Times 13 September 2001. Rpt in
Current Issues And Enduring Questions: A Guide to Critical Thinking and Argument,
with Readings. Sylvan Barnet and Hugo Bedau. 8th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s,
2007. 15-17.
Etzioni, Amitai. How Patriotic is the Patriot Act?: Freedom Versus Security in the Age of
Terrorism. New York: Routledge, 2004.
Sullivan, Bob. Your Evil Twin: Behind the Identity Theft Epidemic. Hobenken, N.J.: Wiley,
2004.