They're nihilistic for a reason, I won't call my representative because its a waste of time. Privacy-minded Americans are a tiny subset of the population vs. the most powerful corporate entities and intelligence agencies in the world, there isn't anything we (or my representatives) can do or say that's going to make a meaningful difference. If the snowden leaks weren't enough to trigger a reckoning on this issue then nothing will. At this point civic engagement on privacy in the US basically amounts to political masturbation, it feels good but does nothing