One of the things that came out of the work discussion around the Dunkin' Donuts fiasco I mentioned was that there comes a point where some level of moral outrage has to be expressed to make meaningful change. A coworker asked when moral outrage ever had any meaningful impact on history. I found that quite surprising, because this country was founded on moral outrage.
And therein lies the problem. He, like apparently a majority of Americans, don't get outraged by anything. How else could you explain the moron in office getting re-elected after lying to us over reasons to start a war? People just don't give a shit about anything anymore, and don't stand up to anything. That, frankly, scares the fuck out of me more than any terrorist. Sleepy indifference is a far greater foe to our way of life.
For example, I was listening to This Week in Tech on the way to work, and the guy running The Internet Archive was talking about how they were served a letter by the FBI, with no due process, demanding information with fear of extreme repercussions (under the guise of fighting terrorism) if they didn't comply. Tens of thousands of letters like this have gone out, and only three were challenged. And the crazy thing is that the FBI rolled over each time, knowing how Constitutionally f'd up it is. Why hasn't anyone else waved their hand and protested?
I'm glad I wasn't around for the 60's, but it seems to me that in terms of challenging what is right and wrong, and what defines our national character, people really gave a damn (or so the news highlight reels would lead us to believe). Now the only thing people seem to give a shit about is Britney's rehab and reality TV. That sucks. We've got issues concerning our government, the environment, the economy, etc., that Joe Taxpayer doesn't seem to spend any time thinking about.
My hope is that following this presidential election, things change. There has to be some kind of leadership that brings a call to action to the front of the conversation. I don't know if it's possible to shake people out of their complacency, but I sure hope it is.