The NSA was never the problem. The problem is that our technology is insecure. We should certainly do something about the NSA, but we should not forget that anyone can record, track, and hack us. Even if the NSA were gone forever, we would not be safe.

Technology is a big problem for us. It serves to make information available, but does not discriminate in that task. To have control over one's information requires a lot of education--enough education to permit one to avoid trusting anyone else with the task of such control. That means understanding the protocols, the cryptography, the code, the hardware, and the big picture. Actually, we filled our lives with extremely complex devices that virtually no one understands--it is not surprising we have such privacy issues.

The education gap will be there for centuries. It will be a long time before everyone on the street is up on their abstract algebra, number theory, processor architecture, and the protocols of the day. I think it will happen, however. That is the trend! We are getting smarter.

In the meantime, we can demand that manufacturers and providers close holes. The NSA and AT&T cooperated. We got mad at the NSA. What about AT&T? What about our ISPs? Shouldn't we demand they use their immense wealth to help standardize more secure protocols? Shouldn't we protest their cooperation with spies? All these companies should be held accountable for the NSA's actions because what the NSA is doing is only possible because of poor security practices and spineless cooperation. Your phone is leaking data? The NSA has exploits? Send it back to the manufacturer. The phone is broken. You paid hundreds of dollars for it. Don't put up with such idiocy.