I'm disappointed in the lack of reaction when I talk to people, they think if it is used against terrorism then it's OK.
If I bring up the tea party IRS angle (govt power can be abused) I generally hear how that was a one time thing.
I believe most people don't value freedom and am not sure how long we will be free if this is the case.
I understand.
The thing to do is put it in a frame of reference that gets their attention a little bit. Sometimes you have to start over in left field (no pun intended), and work your way back.
For example, "If it can be used against terrorism, it can be used against you. Or, more likely, used against opinion leaders and politicians. We already know Hoover used his dossiers to influence politics. We know about Hillary using FBI files in the travelgate scandal. We know about the IRS targeting certain groups based on their political ideology. What happens when the party you dislike is in power and starts using that information against opinion leaders you like? Or, starts influencing politicians by blackmail? You know, 'We'll keep your little trysts with the escort that we found out through your cell calls under wraps if you will just vote more money for us, or just vote to bomb Libya, or just vote to...'
I've had a very little luck with clearing up that trading liberty for safety is a red herring, a false positioning. Rights
are safety. By empowering government thru reduction in rights, one is trading long-term security against short term security. Yeah, the terrorist might blow up a city. That's not a certainty. But, what is a certainty is that a bad government affects every single person in its jurisdiction, not just one city.
Etc.