Sunday, October 26, 2008

What is Our Identity?

One of the most eerie crimes is identity theft. When a person loses things to a theft, that is upsetting, but things can be replaced. Even if your home has been broken into and you feel that your privacy has been invaded, it would still pale in comparison to discovering that that someone else has been going around pretending to be you.

Imagine if someone hacked into records and erased your identity and someone else was using it. What if you lost it and could not get it back? You would still be the same person, but without your documents, would you feel like you had a life?

Funny how some pieces of paper can make us feel so different. It would have to feel like the strangest experience if you suddenly found yourself unable to do ordinary things if you could not prove that your are who you are. But your identity is not really you. Or is it?

If you lost all your ID's, and you could not prove you were you, who would you be? How much of who we are is tied to our identity? It is a strange concept isn't it?

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