[janalsncm]

Historically speaking, it has been the main excuse at every turn.

Lincoln suspended habeas corpus during the civil war.

People were imprisoned for handing out isolationist pamphlets during WW1 (that’s where we got the “shouting fire in a crowded theater” gem).

Germans and Japanese were imprisoned without trial during WW2.

The FBI illegally spied on pretty much any domestic political organization (and even infiltrated many of them) from the 50s to the 70s.

Now we have pervasive NSA spying on Americans and third parties facilitating the circumvention of any privacy laws we thought we had.