Let Me See Your License

 

License means permission to do something, especially formal permission from a government or other authority. The word often refers to the proof of that permission, such as a card or certificate.

I’ve spent more than enough words on identity or how we present ourselves, but this is about what we must do and how. This is about wanting to do something and having to get someone else to approve it.

Early in life, the parents (those old folks) tell you what you can do and where you can go and what is not allowed and hand out punishment if you do not apply. You don’t get to choose what to wear, how to talk, what to eat and when to sleep. You get permission to make you own mind when you ‘grow up’.

Being a ‘grown up’ may come at many ages. If you are 16, you are old enough to operate a motor vehicle (with a proper license approved by the state). That state driver’s license is automatically approved by every other state to give permission to use their roads when you cross the state line. Even other countries will recognize a state driver’s license as identification.

This is not saying people don’t drive a vehicle as soon as their legs reach the pedals or others hit the highway without a license.

And operating a motor vehicle depends on the size and the purpose of use for there may be other requirements and licenses that need to comply with the law. There are even rules for how fast you can operate a vehicle, where you can turn or if you need to stop.

When you are born you are certified.  If you pass enough test in your public schooling you are certified as being edubacated. If you move onto higher learning you can be certified as a doctor or a lawyer or a plumber. You may be certified as an architect do design a building but you need a permit for construction.

You are certified when you marry. You are certified when you die.

If you had to be certified to love imagine zipping up and running down to the corner bodega to purchase a condom and get a permit for copulation until you get home and there is a red sign on the door that says, “Closed. No Entry”. Might keep the population down?

You have to get a permit to fish or to hunt or to sell weapons, but not to buy or own a weapon.

Maybe you need a license to buy groceries? Maybe you need a license to drink water? Maybe you need a license to breath?

There has been talk about what your children are taught or the ideas available to them. Perhaps you need a license? There has been talk that the freedom of speech may need a license if elected officials do not favor certain subjects?

Don’t worry; ‘they’ know who you are. Between the GPS and face recognition and social media tacking you are a moving target. They know your blood type, shoe size, weight, height, hair color and even language spoken. They know where your children live and what they drive.

The person you sleep with doesn’t know as much as your license revels.

So hand over your license. Maybe the pict doesn’t look like you now, but technology will fill in the gaps.

Unless, you don’t have a license.