Why is encryption critical
Your original question was only in regards to SSL/HTTPS, but I’m going to open this up a bit more to encryption in general, if you don’t mind.
I’ve been sending money to the EFF since… 2008 (I think?). I do this because I believe they (or rather, the mission they are undertaking) are of the utmost importance to nothing less than the safety & security of the people of the United States of America (and likely the wider world, by extension).One of the single biggest things the EFF works towards is maintaining the right to encrypt (and let me just take a moment to say “go you guys!” for supporting their Let’s Encrypt service so well with your own, it made securing this little site with SSL VERY straight forward). I’m saying all of this as a way to show, not tell, how important I personally feel encryption to be. Heck, I feel so strongly that I even polished off my copy of InkScape a few years ago and whipped up the below image for a reddit post for fun:
Which leads me directly to WHY it’s so darn important. There are MANY reasons (personal security, privacy, trusted authentication just off the top of my head), but the one I will focus on for this page is Free Speech. Encryption is SUCH a critical part of free speech, the UN declared it essential “key to free speech” in 2015.
As much as it would be more convenient if it were otherwise, anonymity has a critical role to play in free speech. Dissenters cannot safely dissent without it in some regions. One of the many things encryption can provide is that precious anonymity.
One cannot truly speak freely unless one is secure in their safety - anything else puts one in a position of duress. Cryptography helps to minimize the dangers with speaking out. It allows you to be anonymous, but it ALSO allows you to verify the authenticity of whom you are speaking with (Some systems even let you do both). For a real word example, these facets of encryption (anonymity & authentication) were both used by Edward Snowden when he Contacted Laura Poitras (Archive.to Link for those without a sub after trying and failing to convince Glen Greenwald to engage securely.
Please forgive me if this turned into an essay, but encryption is both a personal and professional passion, and I’d love to discuss it further. :)