I've lived in a totalitarian state too. In a totalitarian state (or even many authoritarian states) you can't speak out against even mundane policies without very real danger of arrest and imprisonment. I remember my dad always closing the door and keeping volume law when listening to VoA or BBC. I can openly view websites and television programs of countries us is in de-facto state of war with. I can speak my mind to coworkers on politics topics (something, again, I can't even do in authoritarian states). Best of all, I can take concrete steps (e.g., make substantial donations to ACLU and EFF, some tax deductible, others not) to find the unnerving and dangerous tendencies.

In a way, saying "we live in a totalitarian state" sounds like defeatism to me: if it's true means there are genuine dangers to speaking out and standing up for individual rights -- which is a legitimate excuse not to do so. It also absolves the voters (and non-voters) of responsibility -- as in totalitarian and authoritarian countries individuals have no say in these policies. So stating US is totalitarian could become a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Here's how The Economist -- for the most part, a publication with a civil libertarian bend -- saw the United States in 2007 -- the near height of abuses: http://www.economist.com/media/pdf/DEMOCRACY_INDEX_2007_v3.p...

#17 is a far cry American's own self perception, but it is an even further cry from authoritarianism and totalitarianism. Given that, e.g., Vaclav Havel has successfully stood up against true totalitarianism with not much more than a typewriter, I think there's both a chance and a responsibility to turn this trend back.