I don't usually delve into conspiracies and this is more of a shower thought than a well researched argument, but I felt it would be better appreciated here.
After the leaks by Snowden and the reveal that everybody's data was being collected the NSA has been under increasing scrutiny by the legal system as well as the house, not to mention the people of other countries. After the leaks, Europe has been allowing unchecked numbers of "refugees" from the middle east in to their countries. Whether that was due to a larger conspiracy or incompetence doesn't matter. I believe that now that there have been a number of terrorist attacks the NSA's surveillance network is suddenly going to start catching terrorists before they can pull off their attacks, providing legitimacy to the program. It would then be child's play to use the legitimate fear of the people to fund and expand the program.
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Amadameus ago
The question is, how do we stop it from continuing?
I don't have any good answers, but I think the same divide-and-conquer tactics are in place here on Voat when we see conservatives laughing at limp wristed froo-froo liberals and on Reddit when they assume any conservative is a racist old white guy with a stick up his ass.
It sounds like a hippie dream, but I think the first step is to take arguments and redirect them into finding common ground. If all we ever do is bitch at each other then nothing will ever get done and TPTB will sit in their chairs and laugh.
Lake ago
This is one of the best arguments I have read and I'm really being serious. I'm sure it's been said before and I may have even heard it before but the way you put it made it click for me. It made me rethink my opinions on certain things.
Amadameus ago
I'm glad you liked it!
I subscribe to all kinds of grim conspiracy theories but I'm an optimist at heart. Whenever I start getting too upset about the world I remember that there are TONS of conservatives and liberals I talk to every day who are reasonable, well-spoken and easy to get along with. The reason why the dark figures in smoky rooms fight so desperately to keep their power is because people naturally cooperate and resolve their differences.
Go search around and find those "how to disrupt internet discussion boards" guides ripped from spy manuals. Most of them focus on getting people to argue and forget about the goal. People often put in place rigid rules to try and stop this, but it usually doesn't work well. But what can work at stopping the disinformation? Simply agreeing to disagree, calming down and going back to rational discussion.
Side note: I've had much better discussions online once I stopped arguing my case to people and instead focused on "we disagree on X and Y but we can agree on Z, what should we do about that?" I think people like to collaborate more than argue, so I just let it happen.