3 ms·

The top entry for the list of cumulative non-disease or old age causes of death in the 20th century is "murdered by own government". Anything we can do to help

by dpratt 5y ago

The top entry for the list of cumulative non-disease or old age causes of death in the 20th century is "murdered by own government". Anything we can do to help prevent that is a good thing.

babypuncher 5y ago
Interesting that you limit this claim to the century that saw two world wars and the largest ethnic extermination program in history. ID systems back then weren't any more thorough than the SSN every American is required to have and use for a litany of purposes today. I do not really see how replacing your SSN with a public/private key pair that you use to cryptographically sign tax returns, loan applications, or election ballots would make a repeat of World War II any more or less likely; I just see it making identity theft a lot harder. Any government that decides it has the will and power to start a genocide isn't going to be stopped by antiquated blue paper cards.
- dpratt 5y ago
  "ID systems back then weren't any more thorough than the SSN every American is required to have and use for a litany of purposes today" would imply that a more formal way to record IDs, namely a centralized database of personal information would be an even more efficient way for a government to top the largest ethnic extermination program in history. And before you say "but that can never happen!", stop for a second and rethink that. It has happened many, many times in human history, and it will absolutely happen again somewhere unless we do our best to confound it.
  - deleted 5y ago
    [deleted]
  - babypuncher 5y ago
    "a centralized database of personal information" already exists. That ship sailed a long time ago. The government issued your birth certificate and social security number. I'm advocating that we upgrade this with some semblance of security in mind, rather than continue to rely on an antiquated solution that was designed nearly a decade before the first electronic computer was turned on. Unless you want to argue that the lack of security is a feature, and that rampant identity theft is somehow stopping the US government from perpetrating the next holocaust.

by dpratt 5y ago

The top entry for the list of cumulative non-disease or old age causes of death in the 20th century is "murdered by own government". Anything we can do to help prevent that is a good thing.

babypuncher 5y ago

Interesting that you limit this claim to the century that saw two world wars and the largest ethnic extermination program in history. ID systems back then weren't any more thorough than the SSN every American is required to have and use for a litany of purposes today. I do not really see how replacing your SSN with a public/private key pair that you use to cryptographically sign tax returns, loan applications, or election ballots would make a repeat of World War II any more or less likely; I just see it making identity theft a lot harder. Any government that decides it has the will and power to start a genocide isn't going to be stopped by antiquated blue paper cards.

dpratt 5y ago
"ID systems back then weren't any more thorough than the SSN every American is required to have and use for a litany of purposes today" would imply that a more formal way to record IDs, namely a centralized database of personal information would be an even more efficient way for a government to top the largest ethnic extermination program in history. And before you say "but that can never happen!", stop for a second and rethink that. It has happened many, many times in human history, and it will absolutely happen again somewhere unless we do our best to confound it.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
- babypuncher 5y ago
  "a centralized database of personal information" already exists. That ship sailed a long time ago. The government issued your birth certificate and social security number. I'm advocating that we upgrade this with some semblance of security in mind, rather than continue to rely on an antiquated solution that was designed nearly a decade before the first electronic computer was turned on. Unless you want to argue that the lack of security is a feature, and that rampant identity theft is somehow stopping the US government from perpetrating the next holocaust.