The American leaders had an endgame planned. "Let's spy on them" is not an endgame. Unless it's part of a much more detailed plan, I don't think the comparison holds up. Spying on your own government is more akin to a couple of 18th-century Americans saying, "Hey, I know, let's go shoot a couple of British soldiers." Outside the context of a revolution, it's only good at getting you killed.
The point is, doing it, and the resulting fallout, may be part of what it takes to instigate a revolution. And, to be honest, I'm leaning more and more towards the idea that it's going to take a revolution to fix the problems with the American government... I still hold onto a little bit of faith in the democratic process, but it's fading.
It's hard to say. And I have mixed feelings about saying "I hope so" or "I hope not." On the one hand, I think freedom is it's own end, and that we have sacrificed far too much and given our government way too much power, and that it'll take a revolution to roll things back a bit. But, I sure hate the idea of a bloody armed revolution and all the death and suffering that would entail. sigh I dunno man, I just don't know...
