average joes probably aren't reading things on an obscure medium blog getting linked on hacker news. this community has read, in depth, the similar writings by Schneier and the rest.
But those who read this here might share it with five average joes, perhaps one of which might really get upset about the situation and call their congresscritter. If this argument is presented in several different formats and enough average joes hear about it and get upset enough to act on it, then maybe--just maybe--we can fight this bill off, again. And perhaps, over time, public awareness will grow enough that Jim Comey eventually stops making flawed arguments and begins working with the system instead of trying to game it.
I think it's naive to believe that the FBI (or any other intelligence or law enforcement agency) will ever be willing to see their own power checked. The way to check the power of those agencies is by having Congress pass exceptionally strong laws that explicitly forbid them from abusing their power.
I think the immediate purpose of this article is not necessarily to mobilize the average joes to collectively demand better security law. Mobilizing the average joes is less a problem of theory and more a widespread organizational effort. To have that effort in the first place though, you need people willing to take a leadership role who deeply understand the theory behind their actions.
