what do Americans think about the NSA scandal

[kandrathe]

... Stalin used socialism as a vehicle in the same way for justifying his own power, not because he had any vestiges in actually building socialism. Same with Hitler and the concept of nationalism and German pride. ...

Well, except for all the ways that the world is not like Europe in the mid 1920's.

More likely, I would say, that totalitarianism is the de facto lazy model of governance. It requires the least maintenance to be a sheep, and to let others fight over being the shepherds. It does not require your electorate to be educated. We are all too ready to surrender the responsibility of decision making to good orators, and sloganeering.

If you believe in entropy, then unless there is a consistent effort to renew your democratic institutions, all roads lead to serfdom.