It’s time to relabel the terms of the “civil liberties versus security” debate.

Longings for “security” are visceral and deep, whereas “civil liberties” feel abstract, legalistic, and professorial.

Relabel civil liberties as “freedom”, however, and we’re comparing apples with emotional applies.

“Security versus freedom”– that’s what the tradeoff actually comes down to, and labeling things this way helps us find the right balancing point in the middle.

Those who advocate for freedom can and must find words that connect emotionally with feelings that everyone shares. Labeling the debate in this way connects with those on both the left and the right who are concerned with the tendency of governments to overreach and to cloak their actions in secrecy.