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Originally Posted by mechman600
I find it fascinating. Not to paint with too large of a brush, but the people who are uber-paranoid of their state are generally Americans, as can be seen in this thread.
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Interesting that you use the prefix "uber" to attach to the word paranoid. The man who thinks he is being followed when no one is following him is paranoid. The man who actually IS being followed is not paranoid. The same applies to tracking and monitoring of data and people's location. Yes, we are being watched. Maybe you aren't...yet.
I wouldn't say that everyone who has concerns about the gathering and storage of information is paranoid. Nor would I paint America with so broad a brush as to suggest that this is the product of media brainwashing or reporting the news. The clandestine information gathering being done that has been discovered and revealed is a
fact - not a product of anyone's imagination.
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From what I can tell, it started during the Cold War, and when there was no longer any need to be afraid of the USSR, people simply turned their fear on their own nation. Is this entire mindset the result of successful media brainwashing or do people [here in this thread] actually have stories of innocent people having been taken away on the grounds of "might have"?
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The problem with your mindset is the suggestion that since it hasn't happened to you or to anyone you know, that it never could happen. As I said before, the more power that is given to authority, the less power the populace has for its defense. "Power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely." (Know that that quote is not American, nor was it the product of media brainwashing.)
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Having been raised in the Canadian prairies (somewhere near Winnipeg), I was taught to respect and trust the authorities. They are there to protect us. The only people who thought otherwise were those who were breaking the law.
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Have you never heard news stories about corrupt cops fabricating testimony or producing false evidence to obtain a conviction? Don't say it never happens. If it were to happen in your locality you wouldn't have the same high opinion of the police.