@joshweertman posed the question "Should we care if the government watches us if we have nothing to hide? Why or why not?"
We should care that the government is watching us if we have nothing to hide. The purpose of the government, from the Constitution, is "to establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity". The examination of the Preamble can be taken a couple of ways. The first way is that the government needs to watch over its people to insure domestic tranquility, and the argument can say this also provides for the general welfare of the citizens. The second argument, and the side I will stand on, is that of maintaining the blessings of liberty for ourselves and future generations.
I am of the opinion that the government is to have laws that protect its citizens. This means there will be punishment for those that break the social understanding defined by the government. However, the same liberty that the Constitution states to protect, applies universally to all citizens. All the people of this nation should have free will, and suffer the consequences of their actions if they choose to break the law. My big issue with constant surveillance is that it takes away these liberties and instead tries to capture citizens and punish them for breaking the law before they have even done so. I see this as a massive violation of freedoms that the state is to protect.
The flip side of this coin however is private technology corporations surveilling a huge mass of people. While I do not agree with the extent these companies go to hide what they are doing just to ensure the most users on their site, I and many people around the world have clicked on the "I Agree to the Terms & Conditions" button, signing away this potential surveillance to a private company. I have not done so to the United States Government and the Terms and Conditions of the Constitution state that my liberties and those of future generations are to be protected.
