Are Americans More Afraid Of Their Government Than Of Terrorists?

Here`s a question I`ve got for you: after the 9/11 tragedy, have you ever thought the citizens of this country would be more terrorized by their own government than of terrorists? I haven`t. I couldn`t have. Just remembering the nation wide panic, the almost palpable despair, the tears and fright that overwhelmed an entire world, not just the U.S. on that fatidic day… it makes it almost impossible to believe that we could ever end up this low. That the government has crushed us so badly that we`re now more worried about them than of bomb attacks.

However, a recent poll reveals that, right now, Americans are more concerned about Big Brother than about religious fanatics that might blow us all up.

According to the Pew Research Center poll, “a majority of Americans – 56 percent – say that federal courts fail to provide adequate limits on the telephone and internet data the government is collecting as part of its anti-terrorism efforts. An even larger percentage (70 percent) believes that the government uses this data for purposes other than investigating terrorism.”

(…)

“63 percent think the government is also gathering information about the content of communications – with 27 percent believing the government has listened to or read their phone calls and emails.”

But is this really true? Are Americans really more afraid of their leaders than of terrorists? This should give you a better view on the issue: :

“Nonetheless, the public’s bottom line on government anti-terrorism surveillance is narrowly positive. The national survey finds that 50 percent approve of the government’s collection of telephone and internet data as part of anti-terrorism efforts, while 44 percent disapprove.”

This basically translates into “I believe the government knows everything I do, everywhere I go, everything I say, and all for other purposes than monitoring terrorists. I don`t like it. But I approve of it.” It makes no sense! You know they`re not spying on you because you`re a terrorist, you have no idea what happens to all your data, but you approve, because the government says so? It amazes me how hard it is for the sheeple to go from A to B simply by using common sense logic.

If you know your government is constantly abusing your rights and your liberties and has absolutely no intention to stop… you should be crying yourself to sleep. You should NOT be “approving of it”. This is the mistake Americans make. They believe that if the government managed to stop some terrorist in their tracks thanks to this technology, it`s ok for them to spy on ALL Americans. But this type of thinking only shows how easy they`ve fallen into our politicians` manipulation techniques.

You must have noticed how every single speech, interview or dialogue about surveillance is instantly linked to terrorism. Basically, they`re trying to burn this connection into your brain, so everytime when you hear “surveillance”, you unconsciously link it to “terrorism” yourself.

Now that`s what I call a successful fear-mongering campaign. Having a (relatively) informed public that knows all about your abuses, that know their rights are being stepped on every single day… and still does nothing about it. More to that… they “approve” of your abuses, because they`re too scared of the alternative.

Some may say nothing`s changed: sheeple will be sheeple. But, unfortunately, I believe a lot has changed. And a lot will change in the nearest future. And I`m not optimistic about it. They`ve already found a way to trick people into giving up on their Constitution, into giving up on their rights and liberties. So what`s next?

This is a question that I`ve asked many times before, right here, on MFSP. It`s a simple, rhetoric question that didn`t leave me waiting long before I got my answer. And the answers I got are still giving me cold chills on my back, over and over again. Unfortunately, the time has already come for me to ask again: What`s next?

Honestly, right now I feel like digging myself a bunker and locking myself in there, just so I don`t get the answer this time. Because I don`t know if we can handle it.

By Alec Deacon