I know I've disagreed with you on many topics in the past but here I think you've hit the nail on the head. I'd add an addendum that confuses me and adds to th

I know I've disagreed with you on many topics in the past but here I think you've hit the nail on the head. I'd add an addendum that confuses me and adds to the problem at hand; not only is there a culture of fear, there isn't even the empiricism to ask for accountability. No one seems to be asking what the outcomes of these various efforts are, and a handwavey "we've caught SOME people despite ruining the lives of others and catching millions in a massive dragnet" seems to be enough for many electorates. I had written a much longer response, but I can be more concise to summarize as: "I think there are other incentives that serve to worsen the fear"; our election process and media finance structure are two components of this. I have no good ideas on how to decouple all of these without throwing out various babies with the bathwater, but right now the fear seems to benefit the status quo and is thus going to be rather hard to displace, especially alongside an often shaky education system.