Susan Marshall: ID-less self-sufficiency

I guess the writer of the Jan. 27 letter “Easy IDs” has no contact or empathy with anyone who doesn’t live the same lifestyle as she does.

I doubt my grandmother ever had a government ID. She lived in two small towns in Mississippi her whole life. She never learned to drive; either her husband or one of her children could take her to the store or to visit relatives.

Everyone in the town knew everyone else; no one asked for ID to access her checking account. She might have left the state to visit Alabama once or twice, no ID or passport required for those trips. She had no credit cards. She was a self-sufficient woman who grew and canned much of her own food and quilted so she spent little time (or money) in stores. She raised eight kids who all graduated from college.

I guess that’s “living under the radar” according to the letter-writer. I’m sure there are people like her here in North Carolina.

Personally I can think of no one more deserving of the right to vote without being unduly hassled.

This story was originally published February 4, 2016 at 5:18 PM with the headline "Susan Marshall: ID-less self-sufficiency."