We have a responsibility to wield these freedoms with accountability.
Just as the political whirlwind is dying down, I want to dip my toe into some controversial waters. A nurse here in Kansas City was fired from her job after she dressed up as Beyonce for Halloween; black-face makeup included.
I don't want to talk about whether the hospital was right or wrong in the firing or even whether the nurse was right or wrong...but rather the social media response to the event. Within my own social media circles, there was quite a bit of debate around the "death" of our freedom of speech.
I've thought about this commentary for the last few days: The woman was "free" to use black-face. She was free to go as Beyonce on Halloween. She wasn't arrested or fined. But then it dawned on me, people aren't bemoaning the death of freedom of speech...but rather, they desire freedom from consequences!
Freedom Of Speech
Let's look at the First Amendment: "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."
The social contract we have as individuals in regards to free speech is with our government.There is no law that exists that prohibited this woman from dressing as whomever or whatever she wanted for Halloween. Her freedom of speech was not infringed upon.
But freedom of speech does not protect us from consequences. I'm "free" to tell my boss he or she is a jackass; my boss, in turn, is "free" to fire me. My freedom of speech exists. My freedom from consequences does not.
If, however, I express a political opinion online that is in opposition to the current administration and am subsequently arrested? My freedom of speech will have then been violated. This is what the first amendment protects us from.
I'm not a lawyer nor do I know all of the ins-and-outs of constitutional law, but I do know this...the woman's freedom of speech was not impinged upon.
You Are Your Brand
Something those of us in marketing have had to quickly learn is that social media is a megaphone that we've never seen before. Social media amplifies missteps (and positives!) like no other media ever has. Even major brands with so-called experts have faced social media backlash for their own blunders:
Pepsi's Kendall Jenner ad that undermined the Black Lives Matter movement. The response to this ad was lightning quick and brutal leading to it being pulled off the airwaves.
Cinnabon. When Carrie Fisher passed away, this company posted an image of her plus one of their products with "you'll always have the best buns in the galaxy." Star Wars fans were quick to flood social media with their disappointment and outrage.
Dove body wash created a video clip that showed a black woman transforming into a white woman. I don't need to tell how how well this was received, do I?
These are all huge missteps in marketing that then were amplified by social media. Blunders that 20-30 years ago may have created a small wave and then later been forgotten. But thanks to social media, the mistakes were amplified.
We, as individuals, are our own brand. Each action, word and social media post we do is part of our own "brand message." As adults, we have to think through how words, images and actions may be perceived and interpreted. We have to think "is this the brand that I want to be?" Don't get me wrong, on Facebook, I love a good joke...I tell crazy stories about my family. Perfectly acceptable. We are more than our professional personas. But when lapses in judgement creep into our social feeds...those become a part of our brand story. Those can impact how we are perceived within our professional circles.
Some may look at this as a negative; that we live in a hyper-politically correct world. Many may say that we shouldn't have to think through situations this much. It's not my place to say whether this is fair or unfair; right or wrong. It is, however, the reality of the world we live in right now. And we need to learn how to operate and navigate within it.
Physics 101
"For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction." Physics 101. Since the dawn of communication, our actions and our words have created reactions. Freedom of speech or not, what we say and what we do have consequences. Positive or negative. Each action has a reaction. And we, as individuals, will be and should be held accountable for those actions.
Social media is a tool. It is morally neutral. It's no different than a rock. A rock is neither good nor bad, but rather, our decisions on how to use the rock is where morality exists. Social media, as any other tool, only reflects the shade of own moral leanings.
If we've lost anything over the last several years, it's not our freedom of speech. It is our ability to have civil discourse. It is our ability to listen for understanding vs listening to respond. Social media's flaw is that it allows for anonymous postings where consequences can be avoided; where instead of saying something derogatory to a real human individual, we are able to keyboard-warrior it and never see the reaction our words create.
Freedom of speech is alive and well. Scroll through Twitter...there's an incredible amount of crazy-shit being said. But what has never been guaranteed is freedom from consequences. And we have to ask ourselves, do we want to live in a society that is free from consequences?
Do we want to live in a society where our darker-skinned brothers and sisters are called hugely offensive names simply because of skin tone and there be no consequences? Do we want to live in a society where our daughters can be cat-called simply for walking down the street and there be no consequences? The same goes for those of different sexuality, religions and ethnicity, nationality and so on. This is not how our forefathers envisioned "freedom of speech." Freedom of speech is not a weapon to be used to tear our fellow humans down.
Freedom of speech is a beautiful and powerful right, created to keep our government in check. Created to allow the free-flow of ideas. Created to allow for different opinions to be voiced. But it also holds within it an awesome responsibility. If we wield our freedom of speech in a manner that is unbecoming, we should be held accountable and accept the consequences. After all, freedom of speech + freedom from consequences sounds like a terrifying world to live in.
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