Newt Gingrich

It's always a little frustrating and alarming when someone like Gingrich start spouting off opinions about how they think the laws of free speech should be reexamined because of the threat of terrorism. Now, I understand terrorism is a threat, but to me it seems that it has been abused by politicians and their employ in order to restrict civil liberties in favor of increased security. What does National Security even mean, anyway? It's an ambiguous statement that merely favors stemming the concerns of the already fearful. Not only is National Security a way of providing a false sense of security (and what I mean by this, is that if someone really wants to perform an act of terrorism, then they will succeed in their efforts, despite all our preparations), but it is a way of justifying the slow chipping away of liberty.
Liberty, as an economist put well the other day, is the right to be left alone. Free speech is the ability to say what we want as we deem necessary. Of course, I'm sure the tact that Gingrich and his lackeys will take is that of reducing the limits of free speech under the guise that we can say what we like so long as it doesn't cause any harm. Ambiguous in nature, this definition can easily be twisted in order to fit the desired legal parameters that will eventually lead to the abuse of our civil liberties. Frankly, I love these United States and I feel they were founded on liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Gingrich, and any politician that favors National Security over Civil Liberties, seems eager to change those facts of life that, at present, we can still take for granted.
I find it ironic that he then goes on to attack campaign finance laws that he feels reduce freedom of speech. I guess he had no problem with free speech so long as it helps line his pockets.
Here's the article that got me ranting: Gingrich Worries over Free Speech