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Freedom of speech doesn't give you the Greene light to say anything

 For years we've heard our parents drill into our brains that our digital footprint lasts forever and to be careful what you put on the internet because it can come back to bite you in the end. A few days ago, the first member of congress gave a sworn testimony in regards to the January 6th insurrection. Marjorie Taylor Greene, representative of the 14th district in Georgia, had to appear in front of a judge for her role in the insurrection last year. However, her testimony didn't give much more insight, since most of her responses where in the line of "I don't recall" or "I'm not answering that question." But it appears that her responses didn't matter all that much, since her social media basically answers any questions that the people might have. But will these tweets that she liked and sent out herself lead to invoking the 14th amendment section 3 and should someone be judged by their social media content? Let's talk about it! 



We all know politicians from both sides of the isle have a huge team working for them on all aspects of their work day, from speechwriting to social media management. Now whether or not Marjorie Taylor Greene is the only person behind her twitter account is doubtful, which begs the question, should she be held accountable for all her tweets that could be incriminating in this trial? Some might argue that the person tweeting should be held accountable, however, i disagree, if tweeted under her name, it is to be assumed that she stands by the content that is put out under her name. Since she seems to present herself as a person with strong opinions, and not just strong opinions that are loosely held. Foucault noted, "people know what they do; frequently they know why they do what they do; but what they don't know is what what they do does." so even if she may claim that she didn't have anything to do with the insurrection, that the words she tweeted didn't incite violence, that those insurrectionists are their own people, who make their own choices, and she is right in saying that. They are grown people who have their own autonomy, but she did water the seed that someone else planted, and she did have a role in the growing of that seed. It's important to remember, that ideas are contagious, and so are emotions such as anger and fear. and when she tweets out to her 543.7K followers that the election was fraudulent and that they should go to Washington D.C. to "Stop the Steal", no matter the cost, i would say she should be held accountable for it, and i don't think that is such a radical stance to take. What do you guys' think? Should she be able to stay in congress or still be able to run for congress? Should she get her suspended personal twitter account back? let's talk about it in the comments!! 


Comments

  1. I really enjoyed reading your post because I hate when people think that freedom of speech means that they are free of consequences. Yes, you can say whatever you want, but don't be shocked when you are faced with the backlash. I think that Greene should be held accountable for her actions as well as all the other members of the GOP that took part in this. To be unbiased I will say that since her term up is over in less than a month there is no reason for her to be removed. However, she should not be able to run for congress ever again. Anyone who incites violence with their social media accounts should have them suspended, but I think that allowing these congress members to remain on these platforms helps build stronger cases against them as they continue to dig themselves into a deeper hole.

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  2. Great topic!I think its an issue that is often swept under the rug.Yes you have the right to say whatever you think but it raises the question of just because you can does not mean you should.As a politician you are a representation of those people who voted to put you into that role, because of this I feel it is very important to be aware of the power your words hold.It is important that people in power realize they are no longer just a representation of themselves and I am sure a pretty large percentage of citizens that voted for her are not in agreement with how she is current representing them.

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