Free Speech

I feel obligated to explain this whole free speech thing, as it seems some do not understand what it is about. Over and over again when someone is penalized for what they say I hear people asking "what about free speech?" and just shake my head. Some people simply don't get it. 

Obviously some of us aren't aware that in some countries you can be put in jail and/or punished severely just for something that you say. It may even get you killed. Our founding fathers have promised that no such thing will happen in this country by giving us freedom of speech. This means we are free to speak out against (or for) anything we wish, in as public of a place as we wish, and the government will not interfere with that by putting us in jail or any other actions. We can communicate online, on paper, or orally and there is nothing that the government can do about it. 

Now if you are going to utilize this right, there still may be consequences for what you say, although not from the government. You are absolutely free to tell your boss he is an asshole, but he is also absolutely free to fire you. You can certainly attend that KKK rally, but if you are a local newscaster it's probably a bad idea. See the pattern here? Free speech still has consequences. Think about a world where everyone could say whatever they wanted with no fear of consequences from ANYBODY...it is not a happy picture. 

I am not advocating that we all keep our mouth shut about everything. That would be impossible for me anyway. What I am saying is to make sure what you are speaking out about is worth whatever consequences you might face. Just because you have the right to say something doesn't mean it is the right thing to say. Don't be outraged when you face consequences for your actions. Being fired from your job is certainly better than being out in jail or executed. We are still the lucky ones.