Critical Reasoning #3

Saturday, July 08, 2006

As part of our program to halt the influx of illegal immigrants, the administration is proposing the creation of a national identity card. The card would be available only to U.S. citizens and to registered aliens, and all persons would be required to produce the card before they could be given a job. Of course, such a system holds the potential, however slight, for the abuse of civil liberties. Therefore, all personal information gathered through this system would be held strictly confidential, to be released only by authorized personnel under appropriate circumstances. Those who are in compliance with U.S. laws would have nothing to fear from the identity card system.

In evaluating the above proposal, a person concerned about the misuse of confidential information would be most interested in having the author clarify the meaning of which of the following phrases?
(A) "all persons"
(B) "however slight"
(C) "civil liberties"
(D) "appropriate circumstances"
(E) "U.S. laws"

Note: Post your answer along with an explanation if required. Highlight this note to check your answer. Answer: D