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IN the present climate of concern about security, we have been hearing renewed calls for a national identity card. Larry Ellison, the CEO of Oracle Corp., which sells software for managing large databases, had a piece in the Wall Street Journal: “Digital IDs Can Help Prevent Terrorism.” Ellison does not go into much detail about how a national ID card might actually prevent terrorism; in fact he leaves one with the impression that terrorists who were careful to keep their noses clean while in the U.S.A. would go undetected anyway.

A few days later, Alan Dershowitz, the notorious professor and lawyer, chimed in with an op-ed in the New York Times: “Why Fear National ID Cards?” Dershowitz imagines a minimal system: “The only information the card need contain is name, address, photo and [finger]print.” Such a system would, he argues, actually enhance civil liberties by “reducing the need for racial and ethnic stereotyping.” It is encouraging to know that the professor acknowledges such a need; though since, by the time the ID card has been requested and presented, the profiling has already occurred, it is hard to see how the card would help.

About the Author

John Derbyshire

Mr. Derbyshire is a former contributing editor of National Review.

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IN the present climate of concern about security, we have been hearing renewed calls for a national identity card. Larry Ellison, the CEO of Oracle Corp., which sells software for managing large databases, had a piece in the Wall Street Journal: “Digital IDs Can Help Prevent Terrorism.” Ellison does not go into much detail about how a national ID card might actually prevent terrorism; in fact he leaves one with the impression that terrorists who were careful to keep their noses clean while in the U.S.A. would go undetected anyway.

A few days later, Alan Dershowitz, the notorious professor and lawyer, chimed in with an op-ed in the New York Times: “Why Fear National ID Cards?” Dershowitz imagines a minimal system: “The only information the card need contain is name, address, photo and [finger]print.” Such a system would, he argues, actually enhance civil liberties by “reducing the need for racial and ethnic stereotyping.” It is encouraging to know that the professor acknowledges such a need; though since, by the time the ID card has been requested and presented, the profiling has already occurred, it is hard to see how the card would help.