I have sat in the border crossing points in Europe while the jackbooted thugs made us wait just because they could. Usually the submachine guns were out of sight except for the American guards. Do we have it in us to stop people in the street and ask for papers?
Indeed.
“I have sat in the border crossing points in Europe while the jackbooted thugs made us wait just because they could.”
When we ran into a delay at a border station of some sort, I went in and got drunk with the French border police, I left with a bottle of something they gave me and left them a bottle of Jack Daniels black.
No, but we have it in us to ask for 'papers' when they attempt to gain employment, obtain drivers licenses, apply for government 'services', or any myriad other mundane daily tasks.
As a brief aside I'll relate a horrifying indignity I was subjected to just the other day. I needed to purchase some Sudafed after my doctor recommended it to me. I don't ordinarily keep such medications in my home so it was off to my local pharmacy.
Now I couldn't locate this 'over the counter' medication , so I stopped to ask Phil, my pharmacist, where he kept them.
"Oh I have to keep that behind the counter" he told me. "Federal regulation."
"WTF is that?" thought I.
"Now I'll just need to see your drivers license and get your phone number. Then you'll have to sign for receipt of the product."
"WFT is this?" thought i.
Well I produced my drivers license, wrote down my address and phone number, and signed for my $5.00 package of 48 Sudafeds.
As I walked away it occured to me that I was required to produce more proof of my identity to by a cold remedy than I was required to produce the last time I f****** VOTED!
So please spare me the Third Reich "papers please" implications.
L