/u/161719 tells us all why surveillance is not OK
I think this story is touching.  But it misdiagnoses the real danger facing the US at the present time and misapplies the lesson to be learned, which no doubt is applicable in some parts of the world.The real danger facing the US at the present time is not of becoming a fascist surveillance state.  It's of becoming a corporation, with a vast sea of indentured servants, where the owners of the corporation are a small group of people with wealth beyond one's wildest dreams.  This is the dystopian scenario that Orwell would write about if he were alive today.  In this future, you will have to be on good terms with the management of the corporation, or you will find yourself in great difficulties.  The owners will take pride in the acts of charity and goodwill that they bestow upon you, the poor, and will expect gratitude in return.