I feel that we have to understand that using technology to fight legal battle never is the right answer. As soon as the government sees a particular technology as a hinder, threat or even an inconvenience, they can legislate against it. This holds true for encryption, VPNs and all other technological "saviours" that internet evangelists keep ranting about.
The truth is that the only reasonable thing to do is to become politically active.
Yes and no. Sure, we have to fight bad laws. Here's the thing: Encryption is legal now, but what good is it if we don't use it?
We need to build and use technologies that respect human rights and we need to fight to make sure that they remain legal. One without the other is nothing. There is no point fighting to keep something legal if you don't have the technology and infrastructure to use it.
I generally agree with you that there is no technological solution to these issues, not on a broad scale at least. Educating everyone about using encryption isn't going to fly because as soon as it becomes effective, they will legislate against it.
But I wonder what shape any political activism could have. Maybe this cryptography movement should be seen as just that, a way to force a political debate and make any political activism relevant.
The truth is that the only reasonable thing to do is to become politically active.
If you can't beat them, join them.