There is often a disconnect between what is the constitution/the law, and what the people in power actually order their cops/soldiers to do. The constitution o

There is often a disconnect between what is the constitution/the law, and what the people in power actually order their cops/soldiers to do. The constitution of the USSR guaranteed the privacy of citizens' communications, freedom of religion, and doesn't just allow citizens to criticize public organizations but prohibits persecution of critics. You know what happened in reality. The US is by no means immune to that - we've seen last year that the President can easily send some of the millions of armed people he has under his direct control to crack down on protests and disappear some people -- while the constitutional legitimacy gets debated months later once the damage is done...