I had the same thought at about the same time. I think a lot of people saw this coming. Uber-surveillance has been a old standby for dystopian popular enterta

I had the same thought at about the same time. I think a lot of people saw this coming. Uber-surveillance has been a old standby for dystopian popular entertainment for a good while. It's almost like NSA spooks have been consulting to hollywood to make a little coin on the side. What I admire more than Stallman-the-visionary is Stallman-the-idealist. The guy speaks his mind even when it's really difficult. Further, he appears to live in accordance with his thinking as best he can even though it's pretty inconvenient. These are both really very difficult to do consistently over the long haul. At the time Stallman wrote this, it was a very unpopular thing to say. He was not just considered a crackpot but drink-in-the-face-at-parties unpatriotic. For better or worse, I'm more of a pragmatist. I often experience the idealist as a pain in the ass and standing in the way of 'getting things done'. It's good for me to be reminded that the idealists must be listened to carefully. It might just be that I'm trying to get the wrong things done and I should slow down and listen.