EIGHT VALUES OF FREE EXPRESSION

FREE EXPRESSION

Participation in Self Government

It has been said that if there is no freedom of speech, then we have no democracy. This is mainly true because democracy is defined by government that is run by people voting for or against decisions, policies, and/or laws. Politicians need the ability to freely promote themselves in order to get their policies and plans across. How are we, as Americans, supposed to make an educated decision without hearing what the politician has to say? This is why freedom of speech is so essential, especially around big elections. 

Marketplace of Ideas

An individual with a fully educated and non-biased perspective is willing to listen to any and all ideas. John Milton suggested that "truth will win out." Some will neglect an opposing opinion because they are so passionate about their beliefs or simply because they refuse for it to be true. 

A prime example may be this upcoming election, there have been some pretty aggressive opinions or statements being thrown around on platforms such as X or TikTok. The politicians, news platforms, or citizens, have the right to put any information out there... but it may cause for some arguments or disagreements. This opens the floor up for conversation and ultimately, like Milton said, discovering the truth with facts. It is our responsibilities as citizens of America to debate or create discussion so that we can decide what is good and bad.

Stable Chance

Passion fuels emotions, and some people can be pretty passionate about their opinions or beliefs. To continue with the same hot topic, the upcoming election, there are major topics that will determine an individual to sway one way or the other. These topics could include abortion, the border crisis, and the cost of living. The addition of free speech allows citizens or politicians to speak on these issues. As mentioned earlier, allowing for any and all ideas is beneficial. However some people are extremely upset by the opposing view. Take abortion for example, allowing for peaceful protests or these online "rants" may prevent violent and aggressive acts. If we try to silence someone, they are more likely to get more angry and it will ultimately just fuel their fire. 

I think this is something that we see quite often. A couple of weeks ago, a story was released regarding the Supreme Court's possible consideration of including "bubble zones" to abortion clinics, moving the protests further away from the buildings. The argument here is that there is still a violation of the first amendment because they're taking away the ability to fully convey their message. This has just made these activists groups even more angry because they feel the support of this law would just be supporting viewpoint discrimination. There are many other stories just like this one, but it is important to note that allowing for peaceful ranting is beneficial for everyone involved. 

Individual Self-Fulfillment

Good ol' fashion autonomy is something that allows us to feel, think, and believe what we want. This value of expression often deals with creative speech, or wanting to send a message. It is important because it allows people to feel competent in having their own opinions, or creating their own identity. 

I believe this could especially be essential for young adults in their 20s because they are finally able to break free from the opinions/values that were instilled in them when they were younger. 

Check on Government Power

It is important to hold the government accountable. This value of free expression is something that I think gets mistaken a lot in the modern world. I think a lot of people believe they are criticizing when in reality they are slandering. Criticism involves the sharing of educated and valued opinions, usually driven by facts. On the other hand, slandering involves false statements that can damage one's reputation. 

Since there is such a heavy media presence, false information spreads like wildfire. This is how the shift from criticism turns to slander. I believe nowadays on social media it is more common to see the attacking of individuals or policies versus the criticism of them. While it is beneficial we are able to speak freely about our opinions, it is important we are doing that in the right way. 

Promote Tolerance

As mentioned earlier, allowing for all ideas to be surfaced, is a good thing. While this is true, all speech may not necessarily mean good speech. Freedom of speech allows for anything that can extend all the way to hate speech. Hate speech is defined as speech that attacks an individual or group based on characteristics such as race or disability. The promotion of tolerance is all about allowing hate speech to lead to a more tolerant society. It is said that the value we get from hate speech is that we as a society can learn from it. This is how acceptable behavioral norms are formed. 

Promote Innovation

If you haven't guessed by now, we as a society can benefit greatly from allowing any ideas to be freely shared. Without the ability to share freely, we may not be able to technologically advance as well as we do in the United States. An individual is more likely to be creative or involved if they feel comfortable doing so. 

I believe this value to be important because I value our Country continuing to be innovative and keep progressing. 

Protect Dissent

The most essential part of protecting dissent is protecting minority views. Minority views include the unpopular views, and those are just as important as the popular ones. Without hearing the minority opinions, we may never see change or innovation. One of the greatest benefits we see from hearing the random "unheard of" opinions, is that it sparks the desire to change. 

HISTORY & WORKINGS OF SUPREME COURT

SUPREME COURT 

The Supreme Court is something that when it first comes to mind you think of power and decision making. They are responsible for accepting cases that tend to have a lot of meaning and significance to then make a decision that will ultimately decide future precedent. 

Since this Court was developed, there have been over one hundred Supreme Court Justices that serve on average sixteen years. However, many of them will serve much longer than that. When watching the video I got a sense of how slim the chances are of becoming one of these Chief Justices, in fact one of them compares it to getting struck by lightening. They are able to tell Congress, the President, and the States what can or cannot be done, which is a lot of power. Something mentioned in the video, it took almost "two hundred years for Americans to accept their authority." I can believe this to be true considering how much power and control they have over what can happen. 

Something that I didn't know about the Supreme Court was that they typically receive more than one hundred cases every week and roughly seven thousand a year. This is an insane amount of reading and decision making for these Chief Justices. Some things they consider when deciding which cases get accepted and which don't is, "was the law applied properly in the lower court?" and "is the law constitutional?." 

I was happy to hear that no matter who the individual is that files the application for their case to be handled, each one gets the same consideration. With my prior knowledge, I would have assumed that without the highest level of names on the case it most likely didn't get the same consideration. But this is what is so impressive and important with the Supreme Court is that they have a lot of power in their hands, and they prioritize fair consideration. 

One last thing that I wanted to touch on as this was new and surprising information to me, the Supreme Court selects one justice on the majority side to write their opinion on the legal reasons for the decision. This was shocking to me because I always assumed they got together to discuss what will be written as this document could be very important in the future. They mention that this written piece could decide future precedent so it is a long process that is taken care of with a lot of importance. That to me, seems like a lot of pressure on one of the Justices, but I can see the benefit of having one voice instead of many. 

Top 5 Ways to Stay "In The Know"

TOP 5 SOURCES of NEWS & INFORMATION

X 

Recently "X" or what used to be known as Twitter, has been on the outs on terms of usage in my screen time. I have found myself occasionally coming to this platform when I want to look into something that is blowing up in the media. For example, when seeing something on a different platform, I can come to X to see what everyone else has to say about it. 

I wouldn't recommend using this source as a main source of information because there are a lot of different opinions out there. People can be drastic, passionate, or heavily emotional on a topic and so we can't assume that what we read on there is always truthful. 

LinkedIn 

LinkedIn is a great way to see what is going on for the business side of things. What I mean by this is, you can follow certain companies and they do a pretty good job of making announcements or letting you know when hiring events are. 

Additionally, it is a great way to network. By making connections you are able to keep up with your friends or people you meet in the workforce. Individuals tend to post when they are starting a new position or if they are looking for someone to fill a position. I would recommend using this as a good outlet for networking and keeping up with new job postings.

Instagram 

Instagram has become quite a large news outlet for many individuals. There are hundreds of news outlets that post current events or updates on different happenings. I like this platform because the different outlets do a great job of posting current information. While yes, there are platforms for big news companies, but also there are regional and more local platforms that may be more specific for me. For example, I follow High Point University and they post updates on current events happening around the school and it's a great way for me to remain updated and "in the know" of things. 

I would recommend this as a top source of information because as mentioned, there are profiles or platforms that may be specific to you and they generally do a great job of promoting new events and sending out information. 

Friends & Family

Another great way to get new information or news updates is word of mouth. This may be a lot of people's primary way of getting information just because it is easy, convenient, and happens naturally. I find myself doing this on a day-to-day basis whether its a fresh piece of gossip or happening from my group of friends, or listening to my parents talk about current news topics such as politics. 

I believe this to be a good way to stay "in the know" because there is opportunity to hear from so many different people. What I mean is, different friends or family members may have a different opinions or have the ability to bring new/additional information to the conversation. This can allow for a more well-rounded viewpoint on certain topics. 

TikTok

Lastly, TikTok is our generations biggest hit, and can be an opportunity to gather new information from many different perspectives. Similarly to other platforms such as X or Instagram, TikTok has billions of different platforms that aim to creatively spread important messages or information. From my own experience, especially right now, I see a lot of political conversations on my "For You" page. It is important to understand that you can't always rely on this platform to be your main news source, just because there is a lot of opinion and fabrication that goes on. 

Some examples of things I see on a day-to-day basis would include footage from rallies, interviews from FoxNews or CNN with presidential or vice presidential candidates, interviews from protests, or just people expressing/voicing their own opinion. TikTok can be a double-edged sword because there is benefit from all of these news outlets sharing these interviews or hearing differing opinions, but there are also a lot of issues that can arise from this. We may often see things get heated and that may fuel a more emotional opinion rather than a constructive/informative one.