clear and present danger
Noun
Meaning
a standard for judging when freedom of speech can be abridged
Source: WordNetHypernyms
Examples
We need not renounce the use of conventional force. We will be ready to repel any clear and present danger that poses a genuine threat to our national security and survival.
WikiLeaks presents a clear and present danger to the national security of the United States.
The clear and present danger of climate change means we cannot burn our way to prosperity. We already rely too heavily on fossil fuels. We need to find a new, sustainable path to the future we want. We need a clean industrial revolution.
Kofi Annan's kangaroo court...a clear and present danger to the war on terrorism and Americans fighting it all over the world.
I see in the rising crescendo of ethnic tensions, civilization clashes and the use of religious justification for acts of terror, a clear and present danger to humanity.
The existence of nuclear weapons presents a clear and present danger to life on Earth.