Just since 2011, the public perception of the government protecting our rights has dropped considerably. The right to freedom of assembly went from 75% to 42%. The right to an impartial jury dropped from 67% to 44%. The right to keep and bear arms saw a further decrease, from 57% to 35%. Freedom of religion went from 75% to 51%. And freedom of speech went from 71% to 41%, the most basic of rights. (Reason)
Interestingly, Democrats, as a group, don't see the loss of rights as much of a problem as Republicans do. Something to consider in the next election.
The viewpoint of public surveillance is not good for members of either party. The support for the monitoring of domestic phone calls went from 23% in 2011 to 14% in 2021. Support for snooping on international calls has decreased from 49% to 28%. Support for monitoring internet searches from 48% to 27%. Private emails from 30% to 17%. The only surveillance that enjoys any support is cameras in public places. That stands at 60%, but has dropped by 10%. (Reason)
What it shows the analyst is that 9/11, as well as COVID-19, was an opportunity and excuse for the government to squeeze more control over the populace. The Bush and Obama administrations went to great lengths to widen their aim for the surveillance of ordinary Americans—illegally, of course.
It is a hard thing to say, but it is no longer a conspiracy to say that elections in this country are not what people think. They are filled with corruption, government operatives, foreign and domestic, working in the background with mules, harvesters, hackable voting machines, and tabulators. There are people in our government right now who only want the appearance of democracy. And the ones to watch are those that scream 'save democracy' the loudest.