In message <002c01c41c8f$eb5fc640$663468d5@ntlworld>, ianwelton
<[log in to unmask]> writes
>> In the USA the population already accept that they need ID
>> cards for lots of different things.
>
>That viewpoint of the US position, much like the one in the UK, does not
>seem to be by any means a consensus opinion, more an indication of a
>perceived need by certain interests where other easily available options to
>answer those needs have been avoided for various reasons.
I really can't work out what you are trying to say. If you are
suggesting that there is not a consensus that an ID card is a good idea,
or that the Driving Licence is not an appropriate vehicle for such and
ID card, then you are mistaken. I've lived in the USA the past six
months and have yet to meet *anyone* who doesn't regard it as a "good
thing" to *have* to carry your DL with you [when driving, which is a
ubiquitous activity] and to present it as ID when required. No-one, for
example, wants drunk teenagers driving the streets, and the alcohol laws
are seen as a very good way to prevent this (of course, all the
teenagers have cars...)
There is a very strong "those with nothing to hide have nothing to fear"
mentality, together with a strong personal safety culture that Americans
perceive to be enhanced by ID cards. (So, for example, I can't collect
my own kids from school without showing ID; but every parent's name
address and telephone number is in a school directory given away free -
go figure....)
--
Roland Perry
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