“Avoid the hassle of airport security every time you fly.”
This is the rhetoric being used to entice U.S. citizens to voluntarily provide their biometric information to the U.S. government.
The program, called “clear,” is being installed at airports around the country now. For a little background on this, view a post at this website from September 2005, called Securitizing the Global Norm of Identity: Biometric Technologies in Domestic and Foreign Policy.
In Fallujah, the cataloging of human beings has been involuntary since the U.S. siege of that city in November 2004. Having retina scans, fingerprinting and bar-code IDs is mandatory there for Iraqis.
But now, in the “homeland” of the United States, you too can join the happy club of those giving their biometric data to the federal government. Just bring two forms of government issued identification to your local Clear airport or various downtown location, enroll, pay the $128 fee, wait 2-3 weeks, and then if you are accepted, step up to your nearest scanner, and try not to blink as your retina is scanned.
These kiosks are planned for airports in New York, Denver, Oakland, and many others.
So, no need to be intimidated by the government’s desire to use biometric data to catalog U.S. citizens, (or Iraqis for that matter), as you can rest more peacefully knowing you are now more secure.
You can learn more about this safe, fast, and helpful way to get through airport security in four minutes or less, here.
