http://www.wtsp.com/news/article/272378/36/Secret-Service-investigates-16-year-old-Alyssa-Douglas-tweet-about-assassinating-President-Obama

Do you believe in this day and age that the people in the world are more entitled and do/say more foolish things than those of past generations?

I believe absolutely not. What I have ascertained, however, is that social media has provided an outlet for individuals to express their First Amendment rights now more than ever. I am pretty sure that when the Framers drafted the Constitution and added the right to free speech that they never intended such encounters as tweets and facebook statuses.

Unfortunately, the Supreme Court has ruled that people can essentially say whatever they want, no matter how ignorant and offensive (here's to you, Westboro Baptist Church) so long as it passes the muster of the clear and present danger and a few other tests. 

But, at what point should you pay the price for your free speech when it comes to social media? In case you are unsure of where to start, I can point you in a direction: The President of the United States of America.

Elected officials choose to put certain aspects of their lives on a stage to the masses, so criticism is to be expected. Not every person in this world is going to like you, and that's okay, but in the case of the POTUS, choose your words wisely. 

Americans have expressed their displeasure or non-approval of a President or Presidential hopeful since the beginning of time, whether there were picket signs, protests on Capitol Hill, or even heckling an event where the POTUS will be (sometimes, shoes just gotta fly). But there have been very few instances where one's displeasure with the POTUS and the expression of such displeasure has actually landed them in trouble with law, that is, until social media came around.

Social media has allowed billions on individuals to come together and use a common outlet of communication between other people. Social media has even starting to take a deviation from actually connecting people to just a platform where one can express how the truly feel about a certain topic and have the opportunity to heard by the masses. Social media is your First Amendment rights...on crack. You can post a tweet, status, or picture and gain attention immediately. If someone thinks your post is funny, enlightening, inspirational, or informative, it only takes a matter of time and retweets before millions of people now know who you are and how you view the world. 

But what about when that attention comes back and bites you? Case and point: 16 year old Alyssa Douglas from the Clarksville area of Ohio. During the Democratic National Convention that took place in 2012, Douglas tweeted, "Someone needs to assassinate Obama...like ASAP #DieYouPieceofS--t" It didn't take long for Douglas' tweet to circulate around the twitterverse and into the hands of the local Secret Service office U.S. Attorney's Office for the South District of Ohio. In addition to Douglas, a man from North Carolina was charged after tweeting, "Ima assassinate president Obama this evening!" two days before Obama was to arrive in Charlotte for the Democratic Convention. It seems that making comments in regards to the POTUS' well being are taken as seriously as the era of Communist Party mailings and pamphlets. There are some things that should be understood as a no-no, threatening the Commander-In-Chief is one them. Don't be stupid and end up paying a price for that free speech.