What if at some point I do strongly disagree with the government's position on one thing or another? Or maybe just someone I communicate with periodically does? Lot's of people lost work and had their careers ruined in the 50's because of lose associations with "communists".

When the country feels threatened, lots of things we would have thought outrageous become acceptable out of fear.

I don't think there's anybody sitting in a room someplace monitoring my phone calls or my forum posts. The problem is that if data is being retained it's becoming increasingly easy to scan it for whatever you want. Even if you are squeaky clean software can misinterpret your online activities. Haven't you ever found yourself targeted by advertisements that were clearly off the mark because of one uncharacteristic purchase you made?