From the Heartland: Identity Crisis

Every few weeks I’m struck with an overwhelming sense of dread. Where did I leave my wallet? I panic over worst-case scenarios until I’ve located it, once again, in my left front pants pocket.
From the Heartland: Identity Crisis
YOUR LIFE STORY: What would you do if one day you cannot find it? (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Conan Milner
5/16/2011
Updated:
10/1/2015
<a><img class="size-medium wp-image-1796044" title="YOUR LIFE STORY: What would you do if one day you cannot find it? (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)" src="https://www.theepochtimes.com/assets/uploads/2015/09/85291317.jpg" alt="YOUR LIFE STORY: What would you do if one day you cannot find it? (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)" width="320"/></a>
YOUR LIFE STORY: What would you do if one day you cannot find it? (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

“I feel like a number”—Bob Seger

Every few weeks I’m struck with an overwhelming sense of dread. Where did I leave my wallet? I panic over worst-case scenarios until I’ve located it, once again, in my left front pants pocket.

I know it’s silly to worry, but the mind reels at the vulnerability contained within a small leather billfold—the credit cards I would have to cancel, the driver’s license I would need to replace, not to mention the loss of any cash I would have to kiss goodbye. At the very least, a lost wallet is a major inconvenience. At most, well, I shudder to think about the amount of damage that could be done.

This periodic panic makes me consider how much of our lives are tied to these pieces of paper and plastic. From the strength of one’s buying power to the legal permission to drive a car, even access to health care—these identifying documents dictate our ability to function in society. In this sense the value of these papers are priceless. However, I understand that the going rate for passable facsimiles start at about $350.

Last week federal agents uncovered a Detroit-based operation churning out fraudulent birth certificates, Social Security cards, Michigan IDs, and more. According to the Detroit Free Press, customers were charged $350 for a fake state ID, and as much as $1,000 for a counterfeit passport.

Outside of impatient teenagers hoping to score an illicit six pack, I wasn’t aware of any significant market for fake IDs, but authorities say operations like the one uncovered in Michigan are quite common. Over the past three years, the Department of Homeland Security has conducted over 4,800 document fraud investigations nationwide, resulting in over 3,100 convictions. It seems the power these papers afford proves valuable enough to risk arrest.

Thinking about this demand for fraudulent documents reminded me of the phrase describing a person who “looks good on paper.” In this expression, the documents in question are completely legitimate. However, the image these papers convey is still incomplete. While a person’s paper counterpart certainly provides some insight into the actual individual, it’s hardly the whole picture.

Still, at the end of the day, it’s our paper selves that carry the authority necessary to get things done. It may only require a token flash of a relevant document to make things happen; nevertheless, society demands that we comply with the ritual. Observe, for example, the cashiers that must blindly card even the grey haired customers for purchases of anything stronger than apple juice? Similarly, consider the suspicious birthers who refused to back down until President Obama revealed his long form birth certificate.

It’s not all that surprising that a society already geared toward assessing people based on the documents they hold would take this practice to a ridiculous extreme—in the last decade especially, who we are on paper has become increasingly more detailed. Due to the rise of the Internet, and coupled with the growing security concerns accompanying a post-911 world, various aspects of our identity are now being tracked with a scrutiny never previously imagined.

The purchases we make, our Internet search history, even records tracking our physical location via smartphones are assessed and evaluated for a variety of purposes. In theory this approach, although somewhat invasive, promises to provide a more comprehensive image of the individuals and groups being evaluated. However, this data collecting method still has its limits.

In a paper published earlier this year, “The Identity Crisis: Security, Privacy and Usability Issues in Identity Management,” authors Gergely Alpár, Jaap-Henk Hoepman, and Johanneke Siljee examine the shortcomings of modern identity management systems. They show that not only do these systems fail to provide necessary privacy and security, but—for all their thoroughness—the picture of identity they describe may still not really be all that accurate.

“Identity is not only what you want to reveal about yourself, but also what others conclude, believe, and find out about yourself,” the authors write. “Such data may be wrong, become invalid over time, be misrepresented, or be misguiding, and etc. In other words, an identity does not necessarily correspond to reality.”

If it can’t produce a true picture, what’s the point of these comprehensive virtual profiles? At the very least, we’re surrendering mundane information for the benefit of security and marketing research. At most, well, I shudder to think about the amount of damage that could be done.

 

Conan Milner is a health reporter for the Epoch Times. He graduated from Wayne State University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts and is a member of the American Herbalist Guild.
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