I find the recent disclosures concerning U.S. Government testing of the effects of radiation on unknowing human subjects to be yet more evidence that you simply cannot trust the government with your own personal safety.
I was disgusted but not particularly surprised to read about these experiments. It's been known for many years that they deliberately exposed troops to atomic fallout and chemical weapons to determine their effects. They also tested LSD, mind control, and truth drugs on unsuspecting human lab rats.
Some people, given positions of power, will naturally abuse those positions, often even if such abuse could cause severe injury or death.
Unfortunately, these people are exactly the type who seek power, and the culture of militarism and secrecy helps them to ignore any small amount of humanity they might otherwise have.
I see little reason, therefore, to simply "trust" the U.S. government -- and given that the U.S. government is about as good as they get, its obvious that NO government deserves the blind trust of its citizens.
What country has ever fallen because of too little oppression, too few prisoners, too little espionage on the people, or too much freedom?
"Trust us, we will protect you" rings quite hollow in the face of historical evidence. Citizens must protect and preserve their own privacy -- the government and its centralized cryptographic schemes emphatically cannot be trusted.
Most people know that; they just don't know what to do about it. I have the Time magazine from 1985 announcing Gorbachev's rise to power in the Soviet Union. They interviewed several Russians. Their attitudes were very much like Americans' today: yes, we know it is screwed up, but what can anyone do about it? Public anger grows quietly and explodes suddenly. T.C. May's "phase change" may be closer than we think. Nobody in Russia in 1985 really thought the country would fall apart in 6 years. Politics has never given anyone lasting freedom, and it never will. Anything gained through politics will be lost again as soon as the society feels threatened. If most Americans have never been oppressed by the government (aside from an annual mugging) it is because most of them have never done anything to threaten the government's interests. For example, much of the progress that's been made against media censorship is in danger of being lost in the hysteria over violence. But could the government ban a book today? Of course not, at least not after one person typed it or scanned it into a computer. Technological gains are permanent. The political approach is only useful as a tactical weapon, to hold them off until technological solutions are in place. If you want to change the world, don't protest. Write code! --- Mike