Thank you, citizen Ntuane

It is the kind of caution that US Congress brought to the White House when George W. Bush wanted a 'Homelands Security' law that would allow gendarmes into the telephone lines, bedrooms and emails of unsuspecting Americans.
Having plotted and executed the war in Iraq, pushing Muslims worldwide to react violently to American domination, Bush then resorted to the scare tactics.

"Without the laws that allow the police to fiddle with your mail and telephones, and to search you and your property at will without your knowing, the bogey-man will be here to get you as he did on 11 September," Bush announced.
Thankfully, over 400 years, the Americans have developed a culture and the institutions to resist the manipulations of potential tyrants.