[bitcharmer]

>so few lawmakers take lead on opposing mass surveillance

There is even a bigger problem underneath it - US government institutions were also proven (on numerous occasions) to unlawfully spy on citizens without any repercussions.

No amount of law will rectify the issue unless the law gets enforced.

[colordrops]

How is this any different from a totalitarian state?

[therockspush]

I think Inverted Totalitarianism explains it better.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inverted_totalitarianism

[phobosanomaly]

It doesn't actually affect the daily life of the vast majority of Americans in a way that visibly alters the trajectory of their life to a degree that they care enough to get upset about it.

The CIA isn't dropping-in to ship Fred down the street off to a reeducation camp for committing thoughtcrime.

Cops might shoot you for reaching into the glove compartment for your insurance and registration during a traffic stop over a broken taillight though. So, people were pretty willing to riot in the streets. Because it actually affects them in a meaningful way (at least the way they see it).

[rayiner]

It’s completely different?

> adjective relating to a system of government that is centralized and dictatorial and requires complete subservience to the state.

The word “totalitarian” has a meaning—the root “total” reflects the intrusion of government and enforcement of behavioral norms in every facet of life.

Even snooping on the content of everyone’s calls, which the US never did, wouldn’t make it a “totalitarian state.” Snooping in everyone’s calls and prosecuting everyone who said anything bad about the President would be closer to the real meaning of the word.

[Lammy]

  "of or relating to a political regime based on subordination of the individual to the state and strict control of all aspects of the life and productive capacity of the nation especially by coercive measures (such as censorship and terrorism)"

Is it only "total" if it's explicit visible control of some aspect of my life? An even more effective way to control my life would be to control the set of possibilities that come to my mind for a particular decision, because then I'll probably think the result of that artificially-constrained choice was my idea and may even fight to defend my choice from people who picked a different iOS/Android, Xbox/Playstation, PC/Mac, Reddit/Instagram than me.

[refurb]

The fact we’re here freely discussing it is probably a big hint we don’t live in a totalitarian state?

[coliveira]

Not only that, but whistleblowers have been severely persecuted and punished.

[phobosanomaly]

I agree, and I want to rant it out a bit further.

People make a lot of noise about the Second Amendment, but, what, they gonna shoot down a predator drone with their semi-auto AR-15? They gonna stop a SWAT team from disappearing them at 3am? They gonna be able to lead a decent life if all of their bank accounts get frozen? Local police departments acquiring armored vehicles and driving around wearing tactical gear are slowly morphing into a network of sketchy paramilitary forces.

Whistleblowers, however, really are on the front-lines of protecting us from actual, meaningful government corruption, overreach, and misconduct. They're what head-off 1984 before it turns into 1984.

If you have to worry about stockpiling ammunition in your basement, things have already gone way too far. Whistleblowers and the press are mechanism by which we don't get to that point.

[base698]

In some civil wars it was neighbor vs neighbor. In the Lebanese civil war people were pulled out of cabs and shot. This wasn't the state you have to worry about.

How would you compare the success of guerilla war in the last few decades against larger powers?

[phobosanomaly]

What a wonderful point.

Guerilla warfare is asymmetric warfare fought by a small minority against a more powerful enemy. It typically emerges in situations like Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan where you have a large, technologically advanced invading force that you are resisting. In the United States, there is very low risk of an exogenous actor occupying US soil, so we don't really have to worry about that.

Rather, we have to worry about our own government, and our best option is to take full advantage of our democratic system to head tyranny off at the pass.

Lebanon was a Civil War in the context of a failed state. The state no longer had a monopoly on the use of violence. A more recent analogy you could draw that would be more apropos would perhaps be Mexico where large swathes of the country are outside of state control, and rather in the hands of transnational criminal organizations.

I would again, argue that we should worry about preventing our country from becoming a failed state. The effort of preparing for the worst case scenario could perhaps be better spent through political engagement and activism to ensure that our country does not reach the point of being a failed state.

As you see right now, the current presidential administration is in the process of attempting a coup. It is not the lone citizen with an AR-15 that has prevented it. It is our institutions. What stands between the current administration staying in office for the next four years in full defiance of the voters as they would very much like to do? It's our institutions, including the whistleblowers, the free press, the judiciary, congress, state legislatures, and a military with a good head on its shoulders.

In fact, I have hundreds of rounds of 7.62x39 in my garage and a few thousand of 9mm. But, I have it because it's cheap in bulk, not because I have any aspirations to shoot another human being in any conceivable scenario. I believe in the strong institutions of my country, rather than my ability to murder my fellow Americans.

I bear no ill will, however, towards those who choose to 'trust in Allah, but tie up your camel.' I only ask that they consider giving their time to mending the patchwork of our society rather than simply preparing for when it rips.