Do we live in a police state?
Is it generally only those who seriously question authority, or those who are in control of the police state, who recognize it as such?
Imo, I think the answer is probably 'yes'. At least in the early stages where a country is on the way to becoming a Police State but hasn't totally gone there yet.
So long as people mind their own business and don't get involved in protests etc, which a majority of people do not, or are not a part of a minority, such as African Americans and now in the US, Muslim Americans, it is unlikely they will notice the move towards a totalitarian state. And even when given examples, most people, because they do not belong to any of the groups being targeted, will probably dismiss the claims. Until it happens to someone they know and love, or to them personally.
I read an interview with a German Professor who was in Germany during the period before it was completely out of control. He described the slow progression of what we looking back often think was a sudden takeover by Hitler. He describes people talking and sometimes being concerned about the latest law that was passed. But then they forgot about it, until the next one was passed.
He stated that it 'happened incrementally' which is why there was no real effort to try to stop it. Of course there were people who saw the writing on the wall early on, but they were called paranoid etc. He also said that people were waiting for one BIG THING that would make it more obvious that things were really bad. But it didn't happen that way.
I don't think we will proceed down this path as other countries have, because there ARE people both now, and when it happened in the past, who are standing up against it.
However I do think we are definitely headed in that direction, and without those willing to take a stand, we are not immune at all from what has happened elsewhere throughout history.
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