Blog Post 6

 Antiwar Voices 

During the Progressive Era, which was a time of extensive social activism and reform that lasted from the 1890s to the 1920s, tried for a time of our nation to become better. Many important reforms were made and other movements such as women's right to vote, thus making this era an extremely important one. However, during this era it led to many people voicing their opinions on whether or not the United States should enter the war. 

In today's world, people who voice their opinion's on certain topics may be subject for their voice to be silenced. If you watch the news or read it on a major website, there is little to no reports on how the United States should not went a war. Those reporters who are anti war are constantly silenced and never published in a major news site. 

While looking into Antiwar, that was rather difficult considering how confusing the site was, they had hundreds of articles published about every major country and their war stance and situation. I had never heard of this website before and while it was not the finest site to look at they had many interesting articles about subjects that are not posted in mainstream media. On the other hand, while looking into The American Conservative, it was more refined and had very well written articles. But again these are not published in mainstream media or news which is very upsetting because some of these posts are extremely important and educational. For example, in The American Conservative I read an article about Realism and the Ukraine War, which was written by someone who was actually there. These kinds of pieces should be published on major news sites and it a shame that they are not. 

I do not believe war is ever the answer, but some people in higher positions believe it is, so many journalists who disagree are not published in mainstream media because they are not agreeing with them. Voicing your own opinion should not be considered bad and people should not be silenced for doing so. 

Blog Post 5

What I Learned about the Telephone

The telephone is probably one of the most important in all of history. Today it is one of, if not the most used piece of technology. Majority of the world today would not know what they would do without their phone. However, the telephone has definitely gone through its evolutions. 

Even though Alexander Graham Bell was credited with the creation of the telephone, but in actuality it was Antonio Meucci. In 1849, he began developing the design for the first talking telegraph. However, he struggled to renew his caveat, so Alexander Graham Bell was accredited with the invention of the telephone since he was the first person to successfully “transmit vocal sounds telegraphically causing electrical undulations". Surrounding this there has been several controversies including court cases, articles and books about Antonio's role in the invention. It was not until 2002 until the House of Representatives passed a resolution for Meucci's involvement.

With the invention of the telephone it made communication much faster and easier for the everyday person. Before the telephone it took so much longer for people to get a message to someone. It has helped everyone everywhere, especially in business. Businesses became much easier because people were able to sell products or services over the phone. As well as being able to talk to employees or coworkers about work.

The invention of the telephone also triggered the idea of cell phone. The cell phone is probably most used piece of technology these days. If it was not for the original telephone the phones today would not be the same. Although this was a great stride for everyone in technology it caused people to become less inclined to have an in person conversation. Even with the negatives the telephone will always be an extremely important and necessary invention that people will forever use. 

Source: https://waggonerlacy.blogspot.com 

Blog Post 4

 The First Motion Picture

The creation of film making has completely changed peoples lives. It is something everyone nowadays uses and will continue to use. Without the creation of the motion picture many things in life would be so different. It is a way for artists to show their work and for people to learn and escape from everyday life. It is something that has opened the door for creativity and has been able to educate other people. As well as bring careers for actors and actresses. 

The idea of the motion picture all started with taking photographs. Photography became quite popular during the Civil War, and as it progressed some inventors thought there could be more done. Some had the idea of taking several pictures and show them in rapid succession to create the appearance of something in motion. On October 18, 1878, there was a publication of a series of images of the duration of a horse galloping. These images were taken by Eadweard Muybridge, he published them in the Scientific American that came with instructions to view his images using the zoetrope. Zoetropes are devices that produce the illusion of motion. This was a fascination too many people in the US because it was the first attempt at making a motion picture. However, over in Paris, France, Auguste and Louis Lumière had a very similar idea. The brothers came up with the Cinématographe, which is a projector that allowed them to show over sixteen frames per second. 

With these inventions becoming more and more useful, film directors began to expand their ideas when creating a motion picture. They soon thought to include plot or storylines into their work. Thus originating the ideas of actual movies. At first these films were in black and white and completely silent as well as being very short. They only spanned about five to eight minutes long and were collections of short scenarios. It was not until February 15, 1915, when the first full-length motion picture was released. It was called Birth of a Nation, it was a film adaptation of D.W. Griffith's novel on the Civil War. Along with the success of Birth of a Nation, it came with controversy and brought a lot of racists people out and caused riots. It even created the rebirth the KKK. Even with its controversy Birth of a Nation was the most profitable and most advanced film in those days. 

With the success of Birth of Nation, it exploded the movement of people going to the west to produce more films. Los Angeles, California became the home of the majority of filming locations. This is how Hollywood is known today. Also coming with the success of films, the actors and actresses of the movies began to grow in popularity. When people would be in these films they were recognized and beloved by the viewers. This is how the modern day "celebrity" was created. The creation of the first motion picture has become on the most important things in today's life. Everyone watches movies and television, and without it many artists would not have an outlet or somewhere to put their skills to work, and the general people would not have their escape from day to day life. This invention was one of the most influential things to ever be created and is still influential to this day. 

Blog Post 3

The Eight Values of Free Expression

    The First Amendment states that Congress cannot make a law that can regulate an establishments religion or prohibits its free exercise. The First Amendment includes freedom from and of religion, speech, press, assembly, and petition. The Eight Values of Free Expression include Marketplace of Ideas, Participation in Self-Government, Stable Change, Individual Self-Fulfillment, Check on Government Power, Promote Tolerance, Promote Innovation, and Protect Dissent. 

Personally, the value of free expression that resonates most with me is Individual Self-Fulfillment. Individual Self-Fulfillment is "free speech enables individuals to express themselves and thereby create their own identity - and, in the process perhaps, find kindred spirits. Freedom of speech thus becomes an aspect of human dignity, human agency and autonomy." I believe this freedom so important to each person so they are able to express themselves and are able to say or post whatever they please. Without this, change or growth will not happen. People need to be inspired by other individuals to broaden their horizons and to see and hear different things.

Social media in this day-in-age plays a key role in keeping the fourth value of free expression alive. A Tufts University article defined social media as the "interactions among people in which they create, share, and/or exchange information and ideas".  This is exactly a way people can express their thoughts and ideas as well as be themselves. Today more than ever people are posting whatever they like on social media as a way to express themselves and show off their personality. 

    However, with the government being involved more and more with people online and involved in the applications, they are censoring people who do not have the same opinions as them. We have talked in class how numerous, well known, people have been shunned off the internet and can no longer post or express their thoughts to everyone online. A ScienceDirect article stated that "a new type of censoring has emerged wherein people selectively remove opposing political viewpoints from online contexts." This is something dangerous because this kind of censorship is not allowed. People are allowed to voice their own opinions on any topic online and should not have to worry if someone from the government, who is most likely working with whatever social media platform they are using, is going to remove their posts. Getting rid of opposing views is not beneficial for anyone, online differences spark debates which can teach others on the other topic and broaden peoples views. 

Silencing peoples posts online is completely against everything the Eight Values of Free Expression writes about. Our country's citizens will not learn, grow, or change if people do not learn from one another. That is why Individual Self-Fulfillment is such an important value because it allows people to truly be themselves and connect with others just like them. Even if they don't find others with the same opinion, they are still able to have a conversation with someone who believes the opposite. Both can benefit from learning from one another. If they are silenced constantly it will only bring a negative feeling towards others for not allowing them to voice their opinions. 

Blog Post 2

 History and Workings of the US Supreme Court

    I somewhat knew information about the Supreme Court, however it was quite beneficial for me to read more on the court that basically runs the country. However, I do know how important the Supreme Court is and the importance of who is on it because of their role in our government. 

    Something that I did not know before reading this article created by the HISTORY Channel, was that the court did not hear any cases until their first term. This surprised me because I feel like since it was so new, things must have happened that cases would go to them. Something else I learned was how the number of seats in the Supreme Court changed quite often. At first it started with six justices, then down to five and then up to ten seats. But it has been set to nine seats, even up to present day. 

My most important takeaway from learning about the Supreme Court would be their power in government. They are the head of the judiciary branch and "has the ultimate jurisdiction over all laws within the United States and responsible for evaluating the constitutionality of those laws". They decide what laws are passed and if the President is impeached. Their role is extremely important and powerful.

    The most surprising thing I learned while reading this article was how so many cases that they have held are so important in shaping our laws for the country. For example, Gideon v. Wainwright which is the law that "defendants who cannot afford legal representation must be provided it without charge". Other very important cases include Roe v. Wade, United States v. Windsor, Obergefell v. Hodges, Mapp v. Ohio, and many more. 

    The article did not change much of how I thought about the Supreme Court. However, it did enlighten and teach me more things about the court itself. I was very interesting to learn more and more about our country's most important court. 

Blog Post 1

 My Top 5 News Outlets 

    I do not typically check the news everyday with the majority of being quiet negative. However, on the occasions that I do want to be informed or educated on certain topics these are typically the news sites that I look at to get my information. 

The BBC, British Broadcasting Corporation, is the nationwide newscaster for the United Kingdom. The site covers topics such as news, sports, pop culture, TV/film, weather, and much more! It is a more reliable outlet because it is the national newscaster and it covers every subject that a news site would. I am also a major fan of the English culture and life, so when I can get educated on their county I jump at the chance!

    While I do love my British news, I still need to stay updated on my country, the infamous United States. When I want to see what going on with our country I tend to look at The Washington Post. This was the newspaper my family would receive when I was growing up so I was familiar with this source. However, since I'm GenZ I get their news online now! They are one of the most well known news outlets in the US and one of the oldest ones. I feel they are not as one sided and certain papers or other news outlets. I enjoy reading about both sides of subjects and I think this paper does it best! 

    While I am embarrassed to be admitting this, I do get a lot of daily news from TikTok. Now, this is most likely the most unreliable news source, but the app's algorithm is so advanced that get it knows exactly what I want to see and hear. The majority of news I get from here is pop cultured related or news based on other things than politics. For example, today on the app I learned that one of my favorite makeup brands is going bankrupt. Also, something that helps make the information I learn on the app is the ability to include images on videos and the comment sections. I can see what people are thinking on the specific videos I watch. Through TikTok I am able to see certain news about smaller based topics that are important to me. 

    Another news outlet I tend to use is NBC, National Broadcasting Company. Majority of the time I use this channel is because I watch some shows on NBC. However, I take NBC, like every site I use, with a grain of salt. They tend to be more Democratic, which is not bad, but I do like to hear both sides of politics. So I use NBC only some of the time.

    One of my most used news sources is Instagram. I feel in this day-in-age Instagram is majority of people's most used news outlet. You are able to follow sites such as NBC, BBC, FOX, etc. and get a quick look into what is going on and what the post is about. But it also allows you to be able to go to the website that the posts article is on. I also think that since it's so personable and curated to your liking it is more appealing to people. It's more appealing and practical to me, which is why I typically use this app!