Today there is going to be a hearing in DC with some top tech executives. Ostensibly, this is to determine if any of the companies (Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon) need to be regulated (uh, yeah they do). Republican clowns will likely also try to use this time to rail about freedom of speech and the “suppression” of “conservative views” on social media. This is hilarious for a number of reasons. First, that it’s the “small government, free-market” folks that are crying about private businesses modifying their product how they see fit, is a whole new level of irony. Second, you do not have a protected right to spread fake coronavirus videos on twitter. Lastly, and I know I’ve said this before, but isn’t it funny that when we say “conservative views” we usually mean something bigoted, outdated, or misogynistic? Yes, nazis really should have a safe platform in America. Funny, I don’t see the same outrage and solidarity for ISIS or literally any other radical group that doesn’t involve white supremacy.

So let’s talk about freedom of speech and what that really means. Here’s what the First Amendment actually says: 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.

Wow. That’s a lot. We won’t get into the religious aspect but just know that unless your weirdo religion is followed by white people, good luck getting it recognized. Rastafarians have been trying for decades without much luck. And I’ll also leave out the “peaceably assemble” part because that’s also something separate. When people talk about freedom of speech, this is the part of the Constitution they are referring to. Let’s simplify: Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech.

The first thing we need to sort out is what this says. It doesn’t say “you can speak with impunity”. It only protects against the government passing laws that limit speech. An example: I, as governor, cannot pass a law making it illegal to criticize me. (Trump has lawyers working around the clock to figure a way around this). That’s all it is. It doesn’t mean you have a right to share nazi videos on youtube and still have a job. It doesn’t mean you can say dumb shit and not be confronted by it. The First Amendment is only about the relationship you (a citizen) have with your government. That’s it. So anything involving companies, private schools, venue spaces, etc. are moot.

There are exceptions to this. Often, rights will bump into one another and overlap. If true and absolute freedom of speech existed, I could say anything I wanted, to whoever I wanted. I could call up the president and say he was a braindead cocksucker and that I was going to kill him without getting a follow-up call from the Secret Service. I could do the first part but not the second. Why? Because the right to threaten someone is not more important than the right to not be threatened. Make sense? As a society, we have to collectively weigh the importance of which rights we want to protect when they come up in conflict with others. Perhaps, someday, there will be a time when it is deemed more important to be able to threaten someone. Today is not that day.

There are also grey areas. Why isn’t it illegal to lie? Leaving aside that politicians and advertisers would be out of business if that happened, it’s an interesting question. Why shouldn’t it be illegal to lie? In some cases, it is, like when you’re under oath or testifying in front of Congress. But, generally speaking, no American citizen is under any obligation to tell the truth when not sworn to. You can lie to your friends, your parents, your employers, and not face any government-sanctioned consequences. You might not get invited to any more parties and you might also get fired but you won’t be in jail. Remedies do exist for people who are lied about. If I own a newspaper and run an article saying that Danny Boyle is a child molester when I know damn well he isn’t, Danny could sue me in civil court to recover damages. But again, I wouldn’t face any jail time. Only civil penalties.

You’ve heard the one about shouting FIRE in a crowded theater? In this case, SCOTUS was trying to determine if speech that led to an illegal act was protected or not. Is my right to say “go commit crime X” to a crowd protected? Or is that criminal? If true freedom of speech existed, I would be empowered to say whatever I wanted and could compel people to do anything. But is this what’s best for America?

There are actual, literal cases of people shouting FIRE in crowded places that did indeed lead to deaths. And I think we can all agree there are too many people in this country (particularly right now) who are very susceptible to influence. Weirdly enough, there has been roughly the same % of dupes in America. The latest fade, MAGA, in many ways echoes the revivalist Christian movements in the late 19th century. The difference between MAGA and Mormon is null. We balanced out the rights (to incite crimes vs. being protected from it) and the right to be protected won out. I think that’s generally a good thing. Laws should only limit rights when it is for protection and safety. I think a person’s right to safety is paramount to pretty much all the others.

Clearly, there are limitations to rights. We’ve covered a few of them. It’s OK to lie but not under oath and not in a circumstance where you slander or defame someone. I do find it very interesting (read: white supremacy) that a person can sue for falsehoods but not for racism. Arguably, racism causes much more damage to society en mass than lying. Why is OK to sue me for falsely calling you a pedophile but not OK if you call someone the n-word? Isn’t that just as false? Sadly, because America was founded on principles of white supremacy, it is perfectly fine to call someone that. Jeez, I wonder why a bunch of white men in power thought it better to protect themselves from being defamed than being called n-words… hmm…

Twitter has no obligation to allow any type of speech on their platform. They could shut the whole thing down tomorrow if they wanted to. It’s a private company that offers a service. That’s it. Even if they wanted to suppress conservative views, which they definitely don’t (engagement baby), they are able to do so. They could turn the whole thing into a Brony Message Board. Don’t know what a Brony is? Consider yourself lucky.

Your employer also has no obligation to allow you to say whatever dumb shit comes tumbling out of your mouth. As a freelancer, I have lost clients because of the things I write about, both here and on social media. And you know what? That’s fine! I miss the income, of course, but ultimately I regard my ability to speak my mind to be more important than keeping some MAGA dipshit happy. The opposite is also true. I’ve worked for some of the most uninformed, moronic people on earth. And guess what? That could send out whatever dumb opinion they had to all of us and we couldn’t say shit about it. Why? Because they were the bossman and that’s it.

As our economy evolves and changes, especially as it has over the past decade or two, I do worry about this in the long term. Corporations are getting so big and so powerful, that a company like Walmart could realistically silence people if they wanted to. They could ban shoppers who speak out against them or the government, leaving many people in rural areas with few options. They could fire employees who say things they disagree with; and having already made it hard to find another job by sucking the local economy dry, you can see the damage policies like this could have. For now, I think I am fine with things being how they are. But it is something the next generation may have to confront.

Rights are not things that Americans have without sacrifice. LOL, no, this isn’t about the military. It’s about the responsibility that comes with having rights. For too long, most Americans have taken their rights for granted. They think they are things that should simply exist for them to use and abuse however they see fit. There is some truth to that. It isn’t my place to tell you how to exercise your rights. But this isn’t about how you exercise your rights, it’s about the consideration that comes with them. Just like owning a firearm comes with a degree of responsibility, I think all the rights we have secured in our Constitution demand a similar level of responsibility. Just because you CAN lie, doesn’t mean you SHOULD lie. If more people took their right to free speech seriously, I think we’d see a change in how we talk about it.

The next time you hear someone crying about Freedom of Speech, first make sure it’s the government that’s doing the censoring. If not, then your friend is out of luck. Your freedom stops where private enterprise begins. Maybe that’s right, maybe that’s wrong, but that’s how it is now. Don’t like it? Speak up and say something.

While you still can.