What does Freedom of Speech really mean?
People have been throwing around the 1st Amendment and Freedom of Speech so much lately. It’s become the go to response whenever someone gets in trouble for saying something they should not have said. Take Roseann. While there has been a lot of praise for her show getting cancelled there has also been a lot of “freedom of speech!” comments out there.
Like all attorneys, I took a constitutional law class in law school. Even though I got an A (I think I got an A) I am not in any way shape or form an expert on the constitution. But I know enough to know that Freedom Speech is not what so many people think.
What does the actual amendment say?
First the 1st Amendment is not only about speech there are a lot of other good “things” packed in there; freedom of press, religion, right to peaceful protest. Now what does it say specifically about speech:
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”
So here is the thing, the freedom of speech we have as Americans has to do with the government restricting our speech. It’s political. It doesn’t mean that you can saw whatever you want whenever you want and not get in trouble. There are types of speech that are not protected; such yelling “Fire!” in a crowded building. And this freedom extends to actions but there are also actions that are not protected; such as making or distributing obscene materials.
There are consequences to your words and actions
This where people seem confused, just because the government cannot stifle certain types of speech that does not mean you can say whatever you choose without consequence. The only one of Newton’s laws I remember is that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction (ok, not the only one) it (kinda) fits here. If you go one social media and say something hateful or racist or derogatory and someone else, like your employer, does not like it then yes you can be fired. Your action has a consequence. You are free to say it but you are not free the consequence. You can publicly talk poorly about another person but you are not free from the defamation lawsuit they may file against you. There are consequences. Whether someone chooses to exercise those consequences is their right. You can’t be mad because you said something and then someone reacts to what you said. That is how it goes.
This is why one celebrity can something stupid and get fired and another can say something stupid and not get fired. It’s the choice of the person in power. They have the freedom to decide how to deal with or not deal with those actions. There always seems to be so much uproar about certain people getting away with saying things while others are not. I normally see this as a “liberals can say whatever they want but us conservatives cannot. What about our freedom of speech.” Again, it has nothing to do with “freedom speech” and it has nothing to do with whether you lean more donkey than elephant. You can say what you want, just know that others can also handle your word/actions in a way they want. That means firing, law suits, or maybe even jail depending on was said or done.
There is so much to this topic but I’ll save some for another post. Just remember, Freedom of Speech does not mean you are exempt from the consequences of your words or actions.
