From 1984:

And in the general hardening of outlook that set in round about 1930, practices which had been long abandoned, in some cases for hundreds of years--imprisonment without trial, the use of war prisoners as slaves, public executions, torture to extract confessions, the use of hostages and the deportation of entire populations--not only became common again, but were tolerated and even defended by people who considered themselves enlightened and progressive.

In light of the state of the world today, reading this gave me a chilling feeling. Not that I feel as if the Patriot Act has taken away any of my day to day freedoms or is extrememly intrusive to my personal life, but without a significant opposition to raise questions and keep people thinking about the direction such decision can take us we could all end up under the surveillance of the Thought Police.