The point is, it almost destroyed the whole concept of freedom. We STILL do not have the freedoms we had before it. This will turn out the exact same way... It always does.
Civilization seems to cyclic. I think we might be in the "Forth Turning", which is prelude to collapse. Our gadgets are not what make civilization collapse. It is the decay of trust, honor, work ethic, and efficiency and so on that causes collapse. We are poised on the edge of an opportunity to reverse some of those trends; but, many choose to adhere to lack of trust and despair rather than working to restore it.
In the words of Odd Ball, "Have a little faith, baby, have a little faith".