I sort of wonder if some of the stuff we're treating as "new" is really the same stuff with a new face, and the issue in viewing it as "new" is a plain and simple lack of knowledge.
The stuff in the US now with the Patriot Act, the NSA, and the stripping away of freedoms...
...what about when you could be arrested or detained for being a "communist" or a "communist sympathizer?"
The constant fear of terrorism, bombs, and drone strikes (I still fail to see how much worse drones are than the status quo, by the way)...
...what about the cold war? Did we forget the cold war already?
The ability to hold prisoners indefinitely without trial (remember that, a year or two ago?)...
...yeah, we TOTALLY already fucking did that.
The worry about fuel usage, the economy, and all that good shit...
...didn't we ration gasoline a few decades back? Haven't there been other "recessions" since the great depression?
Any other examples folks can think of, or elaborate on?