> if the stars align a certain way, "the authorities" may stop a hypothetical criminal act. But that's not the way it is perceived in the general populace. All

> if the stars align a certain way, "the authorities" may stop a hypothetical criminal act. But that's not the way it is perceived in the general populace. All the relevant authorities - police, government, NSA/CIA/TSA/... - tell you that this surveillance is important and continues to save lives. And they should know, right?, because they have the classified facts. This narrative is also supported by our modern crime shows like NCIS where dangerous and resourceful terrorists threaten to kill thousands of people every few weeks and the heroes are kept from doing their work by petty bureaucratic restrictions like search warrants. Oh, and of course they save the world in the end, because they are awesome. In the back of their heads viewers know this is hyperbole. But it nonetheless changes the images that come to mind when people think about fighting terrorism. We need to remind ourselves of the other side of the discussion at every step, because it doesn't help if we live in our little bubble of consent and do not hone our arguments against the views of those that we need to convince.