Okay, so many of my closest friends, colleagues et al, reading only that headline would deny it came from me. I can hear David now, ” … there’s no way that Demo-lib-tree-hugging-pacifist Rob Mineo would say ‘Yes’ to a National ID Card!” However, if Hurricane Katrine forever blemished my view of the current presidential administration, it forever swayed my view for the need of a National ID Card.

As I joined hundreds of millions of world-wide citizens looking on in horror at the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in August 2005, feeling hopeless to do anything except give what we could to the Red Cross, I became convinced that a National ID Card would have greatly aided the thousands of families left wondering about their loved ones. As people entered into the stadium, other shelters, or even other cities, FEMA representatives or local officials could have easily tracked our fellow citizens’ well-being and whereabouts as necessary under the circumstances. Imagine walking into an American Red Cross shelter, swiping your ID card, no different than you swipe a card at the airport to prove identity, and immediately being put into a database showing your location (New Orleans, Houston, etc.). That same information also acts, unfortunately, as a list of who may yet not be accounted for or found as of yet.

No doubt many of my fellow citizens who have concerns about privacy will cry foul, but a National ID Card could in fact enhance personal security and guard against ID theft. I do not want Uncle Sam into my life any more than necessary, and a hell of a lot less than possible now, but I firmly believe that if we weigh out all of the pros and cons, we will reach a consensus on the need for a National ID Card.