I think it is incredibly naive to think that the American people are any more awake to the deceit of the government than they were in the past. The next major terrorist event will have people running to Big Brother for protection, ready and willing to give up any last vestige of freedom that they might have.

Yes, I am a cynic in these matters, but I am also a student of history. Any honest appraisal of history makes one a cynic. A bayesian analysis on the question as to whether the populace will continue to be deceived and subjugated in ever greater ways and numbers is overwhelmingly at odds with utopian ideals. I see absolutely no signs of this changing, because the nature of humanity has not changed, nor will it ever change.