I don't know - the nullification of the 4th Amendment thanks to the Patriot Act, and the recently voted 93-7 NDAA law that allows US military to arrest American citizens indefinitely without due process, is a pretty good start for totalitarianism don't you think?
And please don't use the argument "but if you didn't do anything wrong, then you have nothing to fear" because that completely misses the point.
No, I would never use the "if you didn't do anything wrong" argument. I'm not defending these messed up laws at all. I think they're awful like everyone else. All I'm saying is that if you take the long view you kind of see a pattern. People always feel like the past was better despite evidence to the contrary if you look at it. What I'm against is hyperbole. The country always seems to be going to hell but is it really? Things have gotten better overall. Women's rights, abolishment of slavery, civil rights movement. There are always these restrictive laws that come about and awful circumstances but in the end things get better. We had a terrible financial collapse and out of that was born Occupy Wall St. Maybe that movement will be the one that helps us move forward on the economic front just as those of us who are against internet censorship may, in the end, save freedom online. I just don't believe things are as bad as many would have us believe.
And please don't use the argument "but if you didn't do anything wrong, then you have nothing to fear" because that completely misses the point.