In other news, the US Government has passed the USA Freedom Act. Basically, it just gives the illusion that they’re curbing mass surveillance.

That aside, there is something important to consider. Even if the United States government shut down the mass collection programs carried out by the NSA, there would be no actual proof those programs were gone. How could we take the government’s word for it? How can the normal person, without expert computer experience, examine their network and see for themselves that they’re gone? We wouldn’t have access to the system for “national security purposes.”

Another theory why the American public hasn’t gone mad with revolution yet: surveillance isn’t a tangible thing. There’s no bad guy. There’s no invading foreign army. It’s happening, right now, as you read this article. It’s difficult to see something as potentially harmful when no harm has been done. Why should someone be alarmed? They have nothing to hide. Right? I don’t think that’s an appropriate approach.

No matter what your stance is on the issue, there is a fundamental absence of trust between the government and the governed.