Losing our freedom to a card trick

Tuesday, December 21, 2004 12:56 AM

Here in Britain, millions of us are currently rejoicing in a blind man's suffering. His career destroyed, his morality questioned and his name turned into a punchline for a thousand jokes. Are we sickos? Well, yes, but this is something with reason behind it.

David Blunkett is the blind man's name and until last week he was Home Secretary, the cabinet post for the person in charge of prisons, law and order, internal security, etc, etc. Currently in power is the Labour party, supposedly a left wing party (you know, free healthcare, decent pensions, no means testing, all the things that America as a civilised country/superpower doubtlessly has). But Blunkett has presided over some of the most right wing, restrictive, bordering on fascist policies. Many have attributed them as a post 9/11 reaction but rather Blunkett has long held these idea but it is only since the attacks that he's been able to put them forward as policy.

Top of the list is ID cards. In the UK we haven't had a central ID card system since the 1950's when the courts declared them an infringement on our rights. But once again, the Labour government is trying to introduce them, despite the protests and wishes of civil rights groups here. There are several complaints about them, most notably 1) they're a terrible infringement of citizens privacy and 2) they won't do any good. Spain for example has long had ID cards. Did that prevent the 3/11 attacks? Nope.

Unfortunately, despite the home secretary's departure (sex scandal, our favourite trick), the government is pushing on with their plans. I doubt they'll carry them through for several reasons: 1) they're impractical, 2) they're hugely expensive, 3) people like me are going to undermine the system. Compulsorary ID cards are the beginning of the end for civil rights. If anyone in any position of power can just click a button and know everything about you, you have no privacy, security or freedom. Even if you think you've done nothing wrong and have nothing to hide, a united database will prove otherwise.

I think this ties in with Firefly nicely. The whole Alliance/Browncoats war was about freedom from a big tyranny. It's not as though the Browncoats were insisting on anarchy, they'd have had local governments but they refused to accept instructions from a remote power, oblivious and uncaring of their needs. Let's just hope the anti-cards movement has more success than the Browncoats, for all our sakes.

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