It was a time before we found ourselves being tracked, analyzed, profiled, and flagged in our daily lives to a degree we could scarcely imagine.
We were forced into an impossible struggle to conform to the letter of every rule, law, and guideline, lest we create ammunition for enemies in the government or elsewhere.
Our transgressions became permanent Scarlet Letters that followed us throughout our lives, visible to all and used by the government, landlords, employers, insurance companies and other powerful parties to increase their leverage over average people.
Americans were no longer able to engage in political protest or go about their daily lives without the constant awareness that they were - or could be - under surveillance.
They were forced to constantly ask of even the smallest action taken in public, like
"Will this make me look suspicious?
Will this hurt my chances for future employment?
Will this reduce my ability to get insurance?"
The exercise of free speech was chilled as Americans became conscious that their every word might be reported to the government by FBI or NSA infiltrators, suspicious fellow citizens or an Internet Service Provider.
This was before the revolution.
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