My casual surveys of friends and acquaintances is depressing. Most "don't have anything to hide", and don't feel threatened by these developments.
In East Germany (during the Cold War) it was similarly risky to tell your true opinion for the same reason.
If one of my co-workers/neighbours ever ask about my political opinions, you bet your ASCIIs that I'd reservedly express approval of our government's great efforts to protect us.
I'm the kind of person that enjoys playing devil's advocate, and I've taken my fair share of pro-communism, pro-liberterian, and absolute pacifism stances (and everything in-between) -- but it was all online. I hide behind my anonymity as a matter of personal policy.
Politicians only follow the pack, much after the movement towards some social progress has been well underway by pioneering citizens for a long period of time.
How much do you care about the credit card purchases of someone you've never met, who lives on the other side of the country, and who you wouldn't recognize the face off if you saw them? How much of your internet posting is done on the exact same assumption?
Well, if you live in the Washington DC area, the chance substantially increases. ;-)
Though, if you have ever been in a position to gain a glimpse into strangers' behavior, be it what bars/pubs they frequent, how they make income on the side, what stocks they trade, or any number of not widely publicized tricks-of-a-trade, I can guarantee you that you would use that knowledge for your own gain and/or entertainment. Your use of that information is untraceable, and in the very worst case can be plausibly denied.
The technical capability to do something doesn't mean you have the legal capability to use it or broadcast it and a good deal of your post is starting to hint at quasi-illegal activity in the first place.