That is interesting. That may be true for the people who made that statement, though it's hard to guarantee it for anyone who has ever or will ever have access to NSA information. You don't have to believe in a nefarious Big Brother to be concerned about the perhaps inevitable potential for mistakes or abuse by some individuals behind "Government's applications of new information technology". History offers plenty of examples, after all.

So how do they end up sucking up tons of data from all over the internet, filtering and storing it (which includes private data of US citizens) -- easy, it is justified as fighting terrorism and protecting our country.

There is a story one needs to tell oneself continuously in order to maintain and support this brainwashing. These are stories that NSA tells itself (public is concerned but they have nothing to worry, we know we don't want to harm them, we are here to protect them).

Pretty sure if you asked those who conducted tortured at the CIA, they'd also tell you they are devout patriots and did what the did to protect the Country, the Constitution, the Flag and everything that stands behind it.

Did you work in HR at NSA/CIA or is this how you guess things work?

The background investigation helps determine the applicant's honesty, trustworthiness, reliability, discretion, and unquestioned loyalty to the United States.

unquestioned loyalty to the United States.

As soon as one stops questioning ones reasoning gets selective and biased.