Martin Niemöller was a Protestant pastor in Germany who spent 7 years in concentration camps. You probably don't know his name, but I would be willing to bet you know something he wrote:
First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out--
Because I was not a Socialist.
Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out--
Because I was not a Trade Unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out--
Because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me--and there was no one left to speak for me.
Keep that in mind as you think about whether you care about the government's tracking of everything you do. The government has already started coming after some groups, but you're not in that group, you say, and you have nothing to hide. The government doesn't care. If they can find anything to use to keep you in line, they will. That's what they started doing with the tea parties and Jewish groups. That's what they did with donors to the Romney campaign, and even Romney himself.
Two months ago the intelligence agencies said they weren't collecting this kind of data at all. This week they admitted they were collecting it, but swear they weren't looking at content. Bull crap. They've had the ability to record any phone conversation since 2003. Reading an email or a text is even easier. Just today they are admitting that ya, they have recorded Americans phone calls...but only by accident. Ya, right. So we go from them not doing any of this, to admitting they were doing it, but not recording calls, to admitting they also record calls. With their changing story on this, why would we believe them at all?
With this information, they can track who you associate with and when and for how long. They can track your online purchases, what web sites you visit, what searches you do, everything. You may not think you are doing anything wrong, so you don't care, but that doesn't matter. The media and Congress didn't care so much about the phone tapping scandal until they figured out they'd been tapped as well. People don't care until it affects them, and by that time it is too late for them. First they came for the Socialists....
So what else can the government do with this information? Data mining. What does that mean? Well, how much money do companies spend to try to understand consumer habits? All the research, all the time, all the money spent, so get just a partial picture. Well, the government can now get information on every consumer, every American, on everything they do, at real time. They can not only sell that info, or give it to their corporate partners, they can use that information against you directly. They can also use it to nudge you in the direction they want you to go. They can put regulations and restrictions on things that they don't want you to do. They can promote or subsidize the things they do want you to do. And they can get feedback on it in real time. They can use this information to control you.
This is a government that says that asking a voter for id is a violation of civil rights, but to collect every electronic communication you make is not. It is a government that won't tell you what they're doing until they get caught. It's time we get this activity stopped.