because you can?

  Exploring a topic that is at the forefront of thinking at this particular moment in time. I'm asking if suffering the consequences of what you post online, on social media sites, is a violation of your first amendment right. Does free speech include saying whatever vile and degrading or disgusting comment you want without consequence? That's the general thought regarding that isn't it? Is that the intent of that particular piece of legislation? Is it intended to shield you from any repercussions, any accountability or responsibility for your words? That is exactly what we are taught. 

  At the same time we have laws regarding libel, slander, and hate speech. You can be held to account for those actions, those forms of speech. Those forms of speech are recognized as causing harm to individuals and punishable by law. In more recent years we have included terms like "offensive" in describing those words or viewpoints. You can be held to account for being offensive. So how do we delineate that? That is the challenge of free speech. If all speech is to be free, we must allow all speech. How do we legislate emotions? That is at the core of this question. 

  To regulate emotions, we established government. The function of government is to govern the actions of the citizens of that government. That is to say to provide a means of redress for wrongs committed against our persons. The challenge becoming defining exactly what actions are allowed and what are not. If what you are doing offends me, but causes no physical harm, or property damage, should that then be allowed? The thing is, emotional damage is as destructive to society as physical damages. Still, we aren't regulating emotions just attempting to regulate the response to injury, provide a tool, a method, to hold someone accountable. And so my thoughts return once more to the question of morality.

  Today accountability implies the imposition of some financial penalty. That's what we hear from all the "firms" advertising there services on television. You can get the justice you deserve! The larger the monetary award the more justice you received! It's progress. There was a time when a person could demand satisfaction. There were actual duels involving all sorts of weapons. It was a matter of honor. We look at that today and think how barbaric that was. 

  But was it? Well it was certainly a deterrent to just "running your mouth" and making unfounded and unjust statements regarding others. There was a time when being incarcerated was intended as a punishment and treated as such. Today incarceration is directed at rehabilitation. There is no reliable data concerning recidivism rates over long periods in history. Prison today is supposed to change the "heart" of the criminal. Being held to account means being told you were wrong to do what you did, but we will forgive you. And you have to pay restitution or punitive damages. You can do that on the easy payment plan! In some situations we have even established funds just for that purpose. Justice is monetary compensation. But more so everyday, justice is becoming the imposition of your morality upon others through legal means. Free speech is one of those methods. 

  If we must justify our actions, should we not also have to justify our speech? We certainly justify our actions by saying things like, it's the law, or it is in the constitution as a right! We have entire libraries filled with books of law. We have codes to follow as well. Codes are a compilation of individual laws. Codes tell us how we are allowed to react. But not all codes carry the weight of the law, some are just suggested. Consider the US flag code as an example of that. That code delineates how we should render respect to the national standard, the American flag. Breaking the flag code carries no penalty however, no legal consequence. It's justified through the exercise of free speech. At least that is what the supreme court has decided. 

  I began by asking if suffering the consequences of what you post online is a violation of your free speech. Personally I do not think it is. I'm thinking the loss of your job or some other punishment. I'm not talking about any physical harm to the individual, no violent response. But, I should certainly be able to express myself, to exercise my free speech as well. If, in the exercise of that free speech it is within my authority to dismiss you from employment, I'm simply exercising that right. If you can burn my flag, I can fire you. You do not have any right to be employed by me. And so I'm thinking this, yes you can be held accountable for what you say. I am not prohibiting you from saying whatever you want, I am not restricting free speech. But free speech does not include freedom from accountability. It is up to you to exercise sound judgement and discretion when doing so. I am restricted by law in my response. Do you have a right to employment? No, you do not. And that's the bottom line. Just because you can, doesn't mean you should. Many need to learn that lesson.