Pfft, we're all already "on the lists", and it's too late to care about that. The government has dossiers on all of us sitting in databases somewhere, detailing

Pfft, we're all already "on the lists", and it's too late to care about that. The government has dossiers on all of us sitting in databases somewhere, detailing our political views, grudges, radicalization potential, etc. Sure, maybe by being a bit more edgy you get put on the next edgier list and there's more scrutiny, but let's face it, the government isn't even aggressive enough to stop the people on the no-fly list from weaponizing, so they are sure as hell not aggressive enough to bother people not associated with terrorism but who disagree with them overtly. As of now, there are not so many tangible consequences to disagreeing with the government in public. So, in short: the "attention" of the federal part of the police state is algorithmic, and, while malicious, relatively impotent in terms of effecting armed raids. The local cops aren't empowered to hunt down their detractors or federal dissenters so long as they don't demonstrate physically en masse.