What makes America different from any other country in the history of the world?
There are a lot of things. One is the Rule of law and limited government that has power granted to it by the people-- not the other way around.
Give a government the right to skirt the basic principles of the rule of law and we will have people relishing the idea of the use of torture to get information. The ends justify the means? Hardly. The only thing that prevents us from being like the government we all decry is the protections provided in limiting the power of government. A convergence of events does not mean conspiracy, but a wise leader will use events to his advantage. Even an inarticulate leader with a good team can use them.
Remove the limits of power from government and you have a rule of men. A loved leader with too much power is trouble. Look through history and find one, just one, that did not abuse power. Americans are not special people, we have a special form of government, that is what should make us different.
You go a head and trust 100%. As for me I am making sure my guns are well oiled, and that the sheep at least ponder what they are allowing.