Once upon a time, I forgot my driver’s license when I went to the airport to fly to Canada for a few days. Well, in those days, that wasn’t a problem. I just said, “I forgot my driver’s license. Can I go up anyway? I have my ticket here.” They were all very nice and let me pass. At one point, just before boarding in Seattle, a Marine interviewed me. After he finished questioning me, he told me I could go, but with a warning. It may not be that easy to return to the United States without any identification other than my plane ticket.
Well, when I got to Vancouver, BC, they let me into Canada with no problem. In fact, I don’t even know if they asked me for ID. It was certainly an education. I began to realize how those people could dodge the current so easily by heading north. No one asked any worthwhile questions and they let you go based on how you answered the questions they asked you.
I was going to be there for a few days so I thought I might get my wallet before I go. I was well. I just couldn’t drive or buy anything without cash. I called my wife from the hotel. She was feeling kind to me that particular day. She agreed to send me my wallet overnight the next morning. I understood. But something strange happened as he spent more time in that other country without any identification. I began to realize that this country could not recognize me as a citizen of any country. If there was a problem and I was alone. They would have no way of knowing where to send me home. I also realized that without that little card in my pocket, my own country would not know who I am and it would not necessarily allow me to enter my own country.
He had no homeland. He just wasn’t anyone without that little ID.
It was such a shock to have him at such an innocent moment. Now things are not so innocent. You can have a birth certificate and a driver’s license. You may even have several other pieces of identification on your person at the border when you return home from a little vacation. But, if you don’t have a passport, in good condition, it’s in the same shape I was when I didn’t have any identification.
I guess it’s a bit different, because someone might reason that if you had an Oregon driver’s license it would probably be from Oregon. But that wouldn’t necessarily convince US government officials at the border that that was the case. The fact is that due to people from other countries who want to enter our country to wreak havoc, our government can only rely on official documents. Gone are the days when a good story allowed you to cross the border between Canada and the United States.
We must remember that when we travel abroad, we are no longer in Kansas. We are not in our country when we are in another country, even Canada. And, once we are on that side of the line, the return must be guaranteed by being able to present official documents that prove our citizenship. That’s what the passport is for. This is why you need a passport even to take a cruise to Mexico. You need it even if you leave and return to the United States with stops in another country.
