As I have watched the debate unfold on JoeUser over the "RealID" the government is pushing through the backdoor, I am fearful in my concern that the opinions on JoeUser may reflect the opinions of the nation at large. The recent poll in which high school seniors viewed the first amendment as going too far would indicate to me that it is.

And that is sad.

Am I the only one who finds irony in the fact that the Republican party, which has long supported the NRA's position against registering firearms, is now the champion for registering PEOPLE? Am I the only one who fears the potential misuse of a smalltown cop who, through the convenience of a national ID, can now gain information to harass innocent civilians without the benefit of a warrant? Sure, a warrant will supposedly be needed, but warrants USED to be needed for wiretaps, too

What disturbs me is that I see a number of conservatives I greatly respect championing this proposal. Sure, our resident fascist who champions the ban of everything he deems objectionable supports the national ID, but these are hardcore REPUBLICANS following this trail. And what they have so far been unable to explain is how this will make our country in any way more secure. All someone has to do is ask for FOUR forged documents instead of just a couple.

I have yet to decide if I will comply with the law. Frankly, I don't even HAVE four forms of ID (my driver's license obviously doesn't count), let alone a second form of picture ID. Yes, a passport could be used, but this would obviously make it extremely difficult for convicted felons to get an ID; guess they can forget about cashing a paycheck, huh?

If I wanted to break down the number of ways that this national ID card could infringe on the constitutional rights of Americans, I could. A lot of them could be considered to be paranoid ravings, but I'm pretty sure that if you described a future such as the Third Reich in Germany in the early 1900's, those fears would be similarly dismissed.

How have we gone so far in 216 years that we have considered the Constitution to be a failed document? How have we become so eager to surrender our rights to the first government official to demand them? These are questions we need to seriously ask ourselves.

The question I'm asking myself, however, is whether I intend to live my life as a criminal due to noncompliance. I have to discuss this thoroughly with my family first.