Google arrogantly says that you have no expectation of privacy when you hand over a communication to a third party.
Well Google is speaking for itself only. If, as I suspect, privacy is important to a certain number of potential emailers, this arrogance should properly be viewed as a business opportunity.
Forget about getting angry with Google. Get even. Start a company that delivers to that segment of consumers exactly what Google refuses to. You could well replace the email leviathan at the top of the business food chain.