What purpose do comments as these serve to you? Encourage other people to be sheep? Such a small minded attitude to have, if you ask me. And insulting to all the people throughout history that time after time have sought to bring change, successfully and unsuccessfully. We all have pessimistic attitudes, but to make pointless comments like these, to me, it's like pollution; better to be a leader, no matter how small or insignificant a person is in the large scheme of things. Anything can change, nothing can be fully predicted, this much is proven throughout history. It starts by not accepting the status quo.
I don't think it's a defeatist position. The first step to devising an effective strategy is to acknowledge and understand reality. "Anything can change" is simply not true. Strategies based on fantasy will fail. This reality of ubiquitous surveillance is not going to change. The sooner we realize that, the sooner we can direct our energy toward changes that might actually be possible. It's not that outlandish to say that we can't prevent the information from being gathered. Can we exert some control over what's done with it? Can we add some meaningful accountability? Who watches the watchers, and how can they do so without invading people's privacy themselves? These are questions we should be addressing even if we think we can prevent or limit the data gathering, and if we can't then that vain hope will have distracted us from other approaches while those were still feasible.
I am playing devil's advocate a bit here. I actually do believe that we can stop data gathering on this scale. However, I don't have the certainty that comes from ignorance, nor the hauteur to condemn someone else for reaching a different conclusion. Let others have their say, even if you disagree. The urge to quash dissent is exactly what we're fighting.
There is a world of different between being conscious and realistic about potential abilities (all communications being stored for example) and accepting this as a status quo, not challenging this and asserting that there is no alternative direction that it can be taken in.
At different points throughout history, it was unfathomable that women would be able to vote, black people would have equal rights or that dictator ships would end.
Is it realistic to think that these multi billion dollar projects would now be abandoned? It wouldn't be the first, in fact, a lot of these things are subjected to economic realities, any large financial project can come to a halt no matter how big the investment. Pressures can come politically, socially, technologically and economically, thinking certain things are set in stone, that's not just unrealistic, it is defeatist, pessimistic, and negative.
As for personal strategies, there's also a world of difference between settling for the status quo and working to fight against it, even in small ways. It's a different starting point, instead of powerlessness, it's a position of power. Want to diminish snooping? Be more discerning about what data you make available, close your FB account for example. That's saying: I don't accept the status quo set by corporations and agencies. That's just a small example. Choose webservices that provide better safeguards and respect personal data. Another small example.
I'm all for accepting reality if it means that in doing one can recognize a status quo that needs to be changed while understanding that a 'new' reality starts with an idea that change is possible, if not inevitable.
What do you mean by "history shows us otherwise?" Are you saying that all power structures created by humans have continued to rule indefinitely? History actually shows us the opposite, unless I misunderstood what you meant. Genuinely curious.
