If you're gonna lead my country, if you're gonna say it's free, I'm gonna need a little honesty
OK you guys, this is a moment where one needs to stand up and speak out. You may already know about this thanks to the viral queen, cleolinda, but the State Department wants to immensely change the passport application that would include excessive information like contact information of all the people (doctors, nurses, candy stripers included) present at your birth. AND the religious and medical details of your birth so boys, if you were circumcised, guess who wants to know? Why does the government want to log who is circumcised? Let's all take a lesson from history, shall we?
Not only are the details required terrifying (like the locations of all of your jobs, supervisors and their contact information, your housing details since birth, your mother's housing and job details before your birth) BUT the info can and will be shared at will with whomever the department sees fit. There are no limits and quantifiers in their "routine use" and it violates the Privacy Act.
So why should you care? Someone is trying to take away your rights. Someone is trying to deny you the right to LEAVE this country should you want to. Failure to fill out this form will result in a denial of passport and since you can no longer get to Canada or Mexico without one, you're landlocked. Regardless if this is a form given to every citizen or just select citizens (which is even worse!) it's our duty to stand up and say NO this is NOT OK, you are NOT flying this under the radar and passing it without MY knowledge!
Read more detailed info on what they plan to do here: The State Dept Wants to Make it Harder to Get a Passport. And by all means I encourage you to follow the instructions and write to the appointed contact (be polite please). If you can't think of anything to say I'm happy to share what I wrote. A single voice can be ignored but the voices of a million cannot.
Not only are the details required terrifying (like the locations of all of your jobs, supervisors and their contact information, your housing details since birth, your mother's housing and job details before your birth) BUT the info can and will be shared at will with whomever the department sees fit. There are no limits and quantifiers in their "routine use" and it violates the Privacy Act.
So why should you care? Someone is trying to take away your rights. Someone is trying to deny you the right to LEAVE this country should you want to. Failure to fill out this form will result in a denial of passport and since you can no longer get to Canada or Mexico without one, you're landlocked. Regardless if this is a form given to every citizen or just select citizens (which is even worse!) it's our duty to stand up and say NO this is NOT OK, you are NOT flying this under the radar and passing it without MY knowledge!
Read more detailed info on what they plan to do here: The State Dept Wants to Make it Harder to Get a Passport. And by all means I encourage you to follow the instructions and write to the appointed contact (be polite please). If you can't think of anything to say I'm happy to share what I wrote. A single voice can be ignored but the voices of a million cannot.