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Though unrelated, today I was watching a 2006 episode of Boston Legal where one of the characters makes an impassioned argument about how Americans have next to

by x0054 13y ago

Though unrelated, today I was watching a 2006 episode of Boston Legal where one of the characters makes an impassioned argument about how Americans have next to no privacy nowadays (2006) and how the NSA is already reading all of our emails and listening to all of the phone calls. Anyone who was involved in any way with security knew perfectly well what NSA was doing, and yet it took this long for people to care. And truth be told, outside our technobabble no one cares still. Sigh....

deleted 13y ago
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tn13 13y ago
Ordinary people generally do not understand the second order effects of government decisions. That is why you need to explain them the consequences of these decisions in a more dramatic way. I am new to America but from little experience I can say that if you really want American to move their asses then should somehow link the issue with some of the American sports. Say that NSA is actually fixing NBA, MLB matches and you might have an uncontrollable situation in the country.
- Karunamon 13y ago
  That's exactly it. There's a bit of a gulf in people's minds between "The government spies on people" and "The government spies on me".
Zigurd 13y ago
If you are waiting for The People to get on your side, forget it. That's never how it works. They'll get there once it's completely obvious to the most casual observer (there's a tautology in this if you look). At which point the fight is over and they'll be no help. If you don't like what's happening, do what you can do. Now. Don't wait.
fit2rule 13y ago
The point is not that 'we knew' they were doing it years ago. The point is that we now have actionable evidence of crimes against humanity being committed, and can properly go after the criminal elements behind this power grab. We've known for years that the American people are okay with their out-of-control government using its super powers to gain even more treasure throughout the world. But until we actually have evidence that can be used to do something about it, we shouldn't just stop repeating the message. The reason is that there are, every year, whole new waves of human beings entering this realm of culture, gaining enlightenment on these issues, and formulating their own opinions. These people will be running the country soon enough. Just because we old folks knew it, doesn't mean we shouldn't keep beating the drum for the teenager->adult crowd, too. Or else if we don't, then we're going to see just how quickly a culture can be flipped on its values.

by x0054 13y ago

deleted 13y ago

[deleted]

tn13 13y ago

Ordinary people generally do not understand the second order effects of government decisions. That is why you need to explain them the consequences of these decisions in a more dramatic way. I am new to America but from little experience I can say that if you really want American to move their asses then should somehow link the issue with some of the American sports. Say that NSA is actually fixing NBA, MLB matches and you might have an uncontrollable situation in the country.

Karunamon 13y ago
That's exactly it. There's a bit of a gulf in people's minds between "The government spies on people" and "The government spies on me".

Zigurd 13y ago

If you are waiting for The People to get on your side, forget it. That's never how it works. They'll get there once it's completely obvious to the most casual observer (there's a tautology in this if you look). At which point the fight is over and they'll be no help. If you don't like what's happening, do what you can do. Now. Don't wait.

fit2rule 13y ago

The point is not that 'we knew' they were doing it years ago. The point is that we now have actionable evidence of crimes against humanity being committed, and can properly go after the criminal elements behind this power grab. We've known for years that the American people are okay with their out-of-control government using its super powers to gain even more treasure throughout the world. But until we actually have evidence that can be used to do something about it, we shouldn't just stop repeating the message. The reason is that there are, every year, whole new waves of human beings entering this realm of culture, gaining enlightenment on these issues, and formulating their own opinions. These people will be running the country soon enough. Just because we old folks knew it, doesn't mean we shouldn't keep beating the drum for the teenager->adult crowd, too. Or else if we don't, then we're going to see just how quickly a culture can be flipped on its values.