A False Sense of Security
So, it aggravates me that people still view ID checks as security. ID checks are only secure up to the level at which it costs to fake the ID. Think about it this way: anything is secure up to the value that it costs to circumvent that security.
People cite that the World Trade Center attacks wouldn't have happened if we had stopped the terrorists from getting on board the planes. This is true. They say that we could have stopped them if we had known who they are. This may be true (it depends if we knew the individuals to be terrorists before). They say that we could have known who they are with ID checks. This is untrue. Some of the terrorists had perfectly valid US IDs. They would have shown up in the state databases as exactly who they said they were without any criminal record. They may have also shown up in national databanks that way. The reason for this is that they had 100% valid fake IDs. They bribed officials or otherwise got the IDs from valid people to get the IDs from, like the DMV or the social security administration.
Most of the security that I've seen implemented "to prevent terrorists" is really just a feel good measure that inconveniences the people who need to do their jobs and live their lives. Off the top of my head, the only thing that I can think of that could have actually helped that they've done is limit the people going into airport terminals (i.e. I can't meet Emily at the gate at the airport, I've gotta wait until she's out of the terminal). This is not because they're keeping the bad people out of the terminal; it's because they have lowered the number of people that security has to determine if they're terrorists or not. Unfortunately, they've not really done any better with that determination, and they are removeing civil rights in a misguided (or perhaps malevolently guided) attempt to make the US "safe for democracy."
People cite that the World Trade Center attacks wouldn't have happened if we had stopped the terrorists from getting on board the planes. This is true. They say that we could have stopped them if we had known who they are. This may be true (it depends if we knew the individuals to be terrorists before). They say that we could have known who they are with ID checks. This is untrue. Some of the terrorists had perfectly valid US IDs. They would have shown up in the state databases as exactly who they said they were without any criminal record. They may have also shown up in national databanks that way. The reason for this is that they had 100% valid fake IDs. They bribed officials or otherwise got the IDs from valid people to get the IDs from, like the DMV or the social security administration.
Most of the security that I've seen implemented "to prevent terrorists" is really just a feel good measure that inconveniences the people who need to do their jobs and live their lives. Off the top of my head, the only thing that I can think of that could have actually helped that they've done is limit the people going into airport terminals (i.e. I can't meet Emily at the gate at the airport, I've gotta wait until she's out of the terminal). This is not because they're keeping the bad people out of the terminal; it's because they have lowered the number of people that security has to determine if they're terrorists or not. Unfortunately, they've not really done any better with that determination, and they are removeing civil rights in a misguided (or perhaps malevolently guided) attempt to make the US "safe for democracy."