I think they don't like the situation but not enough to turn off their TVs? Maybe they feel powerless. Maybe they feel like the government is the good guys and the ends justify the means. Nobody they know personally has been waterboarded.

In my ideal society the majority has more respect for education and rationality and ergo they would have thought, "hm, maybe this PATRIOT Act and increased surveillance is exactly in line with the goals expressed by the terrorists."

Or they'd at least think, "what's going on with these congressional districts, some sort of Uzumaki?"

But what seems to be happening is that nobody is angry enough to even vote differently. So I'll probably move to Canada or something.