•[-]uzairkhan622 (33) · 4 minutes ago
People in free societies just don't suddenly wake up one morning to find that all their freedoms are gone and they now live in a Totalitarian state (invasions not withstanding). It is a process. It takes time to really lose your freedom. There are warning signs that you are headed in the wrong direction:
You have a large prison population - This means you have a lot of laws restricting behavior that many people wish to be free to engage in.
You have a frightened populace - Fear of foreigners, fear of immigrants, fear of certain minorities, fear of terrorists, fear of crime. People will give up freedom to gain perceived security.
You start making exceptions to Civil Liberties - This always starts with the least liked members of society and the least desirable speech or actions.
You are dramatically increasing domestic surveillance and law enforcement - If you are going to crack down on liberty, you need the forces to root them out and bring them in.
People feel disconnected from the political process - Apathy about who is in charge is a sign of a weak democracy.
Never-ending foreign wars - When you find yourself in a constant state of war, you forget what peace used to be like. Foreign adventures are a great way to distract the public from problems at home. Just ask Iranians or Argentines about that.
I'm sure there are others.

Good comment, but it is plagiarized from:
https://www.quora.com/To-what-degree-is-freedom-becoming-a-myth-in-the-United-States