We all have to stand together April 26, 2007

by Will

Thomas Hays is an activist whose politics are not to everyone's taste. Born and raised in Missouri, Hays now lives in Seattle, where he's involved in anti-war and anti-globalization protests.

In February, Hays applied for a US Passport in order to take an academically accredited trip abroad. He presented his birth certificate, Social Security card, and Washington State ID.

A few weeks later the State Department sent him a letter denying Hays the passport and demanding ?school transcripts, high school yearbook pages showing your name and photograph, religious records, [and] tax/employment records.? Producing this information would be costly and time-consuming. It is also not legally necessary.

Hays has made no effort to conceal his radical politics, and believes that he's being denied a US passport because of his activism.

Ideology aside, it's difficult to disagree with the lesson Hays draws from this experience:

?We all [have] to watch the government. We all [have] to stand together, that's the only way we'll change anything.?

Indeed: Let us stand together in the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free.

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