In what may appear to be counter-intuitive, given the latest revelations about how the U.S. government and powerful corporations have partnered up to set up a massive and intrusive total-information-awareness surveillance system, I'm actually feeling pretty hopeful and optimistic about the future, not only here in the U.S., but for many other countries.

You see, for years I've been observing two very disturbing trends: The first one is the process wherein powerful transnational corporate elites basically took over the levers of governmental power via what is in essence legalized bribery (influence peddling, revolving door corruption, profiteering).  The second (which I found even more disturbing) was the apparent obliviousness of much of the population regarding the wholesale undermining of democracy and the rule of law, as a result of the alignment of interests between corporatist government officials and profit-seeking corporations.

I watched in horror as this previously slow-moving process went into hyper-drive after September 11, 2001, when the corporate surveillance state proceeded to impose the legal framework to undermine citizens' constitutional protections, and to consolidate their power.

And I watched in horror as these ruling elites spread their world vision and ethos to many countries around the world, replicating a modus a operindi that involves the wholesale takeover of government institutions by enticing (and incentivising) the political class into acquiescing to the demands and expectations of transnational corporations and powerful individuals.