It's true that it's not as extreme. It's actually worse, though, because even people like you can't see a comparison. That people barely worry about new model is done by design. The original model was obvious and scary to everyone. The new model of Dual State (here in U.S.) is to have majority only worry about the seemingly legit, but ever more powerful, public system of law or "justice." Abuses in it are explained away as government incompetence, rich/powerful people getting away with stuff, and otherwise tolerable issues. The secret system is controlled in executive branch, does mass surveillance on whole population, can hit domestic ones with FBI via "parallel construction," act overseas with spies/soldiers/drones, does disinformation/kidnapping/torture/murder, has total secrecy, and has criminal immunity. Since most people neither see their actions nor are targeted, they assume the secret regime is no threat and acting only in their interests. That mental effect of thinking the quasi-dictatorship is all fine and will never harm average American is the strategy of the modern, dual state.

The other component is media partnership. The prior systems taught them that shaping what people see is vitally important to preventing a revolution. The U.S. secret state doesn't seem to outright control the media but the for-profit, elite-controlled media will cooperate voluntarily where it matters. The reason is that the status quo ensures their owners and executives riches plus wield power. How they covered 9/11 incompetence, Iraq deceptions, torture, and Snowden leaks shows cooperation: partnership at worst and aiding in damage control at best. So, we have a Dual State plus a media that keeps public's worries away from secret, dangerous component except for brief coverage of low-impact material unless forced to do more (esp by Snowden, etc). The media is certainly not pushing hard for reforms despite the fact that they're wise enough to know what a surveillance state means for them if they're truly independent and looking for the truth. They're not, though, so they have nothing to worry about if they play along. ;)

This combined approach might expand and last a long time compared to previous surveillance states, dictatorships, etc. The surveillance dragnet went on a decade before Snowden revealed what it really could do. Just like with other topics, media fueled polarization of Americans, got them to fight each other, and drowned them in raw data without any coherent solution. Hell, they couldn't even see the big picture: just stuff in isolation. I first saw this effective combo of pervasive lying plus fait accompli when studying Nazi regime's propaganda. As before, it worked and no changes happened. Secret powers continue to expand, laws keep getting passed giving government + big companies more power, Supreme Court refuses to take critical cases, and U.S. + partners are currently negotiating a treaty (TPP) which will change laws despite lawmakers & voters not being able to read it.

Many similarities to rogue states of the past. You personally might not be feeling the effects but the secret state's targets are: Muslims, privacy technology developers, civil rights activists, reporters/lawyers focusing on govt corruption, etc. Being under surveillance, negative consequences on the job, a few on Do Not Fly list, marginalized in communities, extra searches at airports/borders, extra stops/interrogations by police, occasional random seizure of equipment by SWAT teams, DHS asking people to spy on their neighbors paying attention to anti-government remarks... these are normal for such people in current America. Is that more like democracy w/ Bill of Rights, due process, and presumption of innocence? Or more like life under Stasi rule and surveillance?

Note: It's a hybrid system so they're not going to be exactly the same. We're saying there's similarities, the similarities are growing, some effects are already happening, and so we need to fight it. I think mass surveillance, unjustified interrogations, seizures, threats to activists, DHS encouraging citizen surveillance, etc with it mainly aimed at political enemies sounds very Stasi-like based on what I read in accounts. Including your comment.