|
 My wife's son was born in Illinois, lived in the state for many
years, graduated from high school in Illinois, went to college in
Illinois and of course had a driver's license in the state of
Illinois since he was 16. Later he decided to move to California,
where he earned a master's and a doctoral degree. Of course he had a
driver's license in the state of California as well. After many
years in California, he decided to move back to Illinois. As you move
from one state to another, of course you want to be able to continue
driving, so you seek out a driver's license in the state of
residence.
Within the time limits of arriving in Illinois from another state,
he visited the local driver's license
office to get his new Illinois driver's license, since his long-held
Illinois license had expired. His California driver's license of
course was still current, but having changed his legal address to
Illinois, it was incumbent on him to obtain a new one in Illinois.
A person at the driver's license office said he only needed to take the
written test because he had a current, unencumbered state license
from California. He was relieved to know he didn't have to take the
driving test as well. It was not as easy as he thought.
The person at the driver's license office asked him for his identification.
He offered his California driver's license. No, he needed a birth
certificate. Not just any birth certificate, mind you; he needed one
that had the "official" seal attached to it, not just a copy. Of
course, having just moved from California and having his belongings
stored in storage, he did not have his birth certificate (official
one) in his back pocket. He said he had had an Illinois driver's
license for many years prior to moving to California but had
replaced it with an official California driver's license. The
person at the driver's license office said she was aware he had once had
his Illinois driver's license because she had a record of it on her
computer, but of course, it had expired. He then offered his
passport, which had expired as well, but he reminded the office person that he had obtained his passport by
providing proof of birth with his birth certificate. He reasoned, if
I had obtained an initial Illinois driver's license, it means I
produced my birth certificate; when I obtained my passport I had to
produce my birth certificate. So why can't I use these forms of
identification in addition to my current California driver's license
as proof of my legitimate birth, proving who I am? The
person at the driver's license office held fast, denied his
supporting identification and adamantly stated he would have to
produce his official birth certificate with an official seal before
he could sit for the driver's license exam to renew his Illinois
driver's license.
[to top of second column] |
Now, someone will say, "If that's the law, then it has to be
followed." Yes, but think of the logical line of thought in this
scenario. Initial proof had been produced for two separate pieces of
picture identification cards: an Illinois driver's license and a
passport. Additionally, he had a current, valid California picture
identification driver's license. The point was to prove he had been
born as who he said he was. Other than the obvious proof of him
standing right in front of her, he had two picture ID cards, one
from the state of California and the other from the feds: a passport.
Is it not logical that with that information, there could be some
semblance of "common sense" shown?
OK, fast-forward to sometime in the not-too-distant future. You
are sick and you need the help of medical practitioners. You present
yourself to the physician or hospital and you are covered by the
mandatory Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare. You are now covered
exclusively by the government for all your access to your
health care. Remember, the government is here to help. Do you think
you will be able to negotiate yourself through the hoops and maze of
the government policies and regulations regarding the thousands of
decisions needed to be made by doctors and nurses as they care for
you in their clinics or hospitals? How many government-developed
cul-de-sacs, stop signs and do-not-enter points will you run into
trying to obtain health services being managed by the government's
Internal Revenue Service?
Just remember, government says, "We're here, and we're here to
help." But first, you will be reminded that you must have read and
understood the more than 2,000 pages of the Affordable Care
Act "so you will know what's in it." I can assure you, in all those
pages you will not find any instances of "common sense."
[By JIM KILLEBREW]
Click here to respond to the editor about this
article.
 |
