This has been going on for what, 30 years now? And people expect it to change? Face it, they yelled “Drug War” and the American people gave it up faster than a drunk prom date. Of course, we thought they would only ever do it to “those” people, but here we are.
Sadly, you hit the nail right on the head.
The seeds of tyranny were sown decades ago.
This is why no power should ever be granted to the Federal (nor any other government) without first considering how your worst enemies would abuse it.
Which is to say, the powers of the Government should be severely constrained.
That's what the Constitution (and State Constitutions) were for, and virtually all involved in their inception were focused on the potential for the abuse of power by government.
That reason for the Revolution was still fresh in their minds. They knew it could happen here.