You are conflating "action" with "observation." You express a point of view whereby if you don't notice being observed, then no rights have been breached. Under that logic, you'd not object to a non-caught peeping Tom. Peeping Toms don't assert control over your actions, speech, etc.
If you have nothing to hide, no harm.
The poster with whom I was conversing asserted that the Patriot Act allowed “control”. I was disputing that assertion by point out that our actions are not being controlled.
Public activites (such as posting on a message board) are always legal for observation ... and the Patriot Act does allow for more surveillance of non-public activities.
SnakeDoc