Im tired of the everyone concentrating on Snowden and not the surveillance state

[davidn3600]

49. It goes beyond that...the point that any info is being collected at all is the problem

Surveillance stifles dissent. When you are being watched, you are less likely to question Big Brother. That's a fact you see in dictatorships. People learn very quickly not to question the government and if you do, you'll attract attention. And then they will find something to put you away with.

A free country can only be free if its people are able to freely express themselves without worry that the government could potentially find their expression to be harmful.

I understand the argument that the government needs information in order to stop terrorist activity and defend the country. But the line needs to be drawn on how far its going to go. The government can't guarantee your safety. The Tsarnaev brothers were able to detonate their bombs despite this system. So are we now going to grant more and more power every time someone is able to sneak through a crack and able to blow something up? If we continue this trend, we won't have a constitution left pretty soon while the terrorists keep setting off their bombs.