Here, then. Power resides where men believe it resides. No more and no less.
-Varys, Game of Thrones as well.
I think that that's much of the problem. Too many people just accept something because the government does it. Whether it' is right, whether it is justifiable, whether it is lawful, it doesn't matter. And with every day that passes by, that illusion of power solidifies more and more. Us Germans have become very obedient, to be quite honest. Mostly because we've started to accept the notion that nothing will ever change.
Even if we were to elect, say, the Pirate Party, which absolutely opposes stuff like prism now - in about two or three years, they'd be the exact same suit-and-tie straw men, feeding us the same lies, the same propaganda we're being fed right now. I guess our 'version' of democracy has crashed and burned. The media dictates who's getting elected, and whomever actually is forming the government is doing what he's told by lobbyists, the European Union and, to an extend, America, as it would seem. But even if the people were to rule themselves, I feel that, by now, the population, by and large, should be considered unable to do so. Quite clearly, most people can't think of anything besides the utmost short-term benefit. They can't think for themselves, so how would they rule themselves?
I've never been much of a conspiracy theorist. But I do believe that out political system is just one big show, a few puppets on strings dancing to keep the illusion of freedom up. Prism and xKeyscore are but blossoms that are sprouting from a thoroughly rotten tree. Everyone's focusing on them now, but we should be worried about who made them, in the first place. But all of this will eventually blow over. People will resume their lives, they will care mostly about some stupid gossip, like, who's having a baby and what club Mario Lewandowski will be playing for. And they'll slowly forget about Prism, about xKeyscore, about their freedom.
You said it perfecty, that's how people think. 
